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Welcome!

To the people of God and parishioners of
St. Thomas the Apostle Church and St. Patrick Mission

 

Message from the desk of the Pastor:

 Sunday Connection

God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Sunday Scripture readings. The Sunday Connection provides useful background and activities to better understand the upcoming Sunday's Scripture readings, helping you to connect the Scripture to daily life in a meaningful way.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
March 19, 2023
 

THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN 9:1-41.

BACKGROUND: In today’s Gospel, the Gospel of John, the healing of the man born blind invites us to focus on the physical and spiritual aspects of sight and light. In the first part of today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus’ response to a prevalent belief of his time: that misfortune and disability were the result of sin. That belief is why Jesus is asked the question of whose sin caused the man’s blindness—his own or his parents. Jesus does not answer directly, but instead gives the question an entirely different dimension— through this man’s disability, God’s power will be made manifest. Jesus then heals the man. The healing is controversial because Jesus heals on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, the religious authorities of Jesus’ time, understood that the law of Moses forbade work (including healing) on the Sabbath. They also have trouble believing that Jesus performed a miracle. To determine whether the man was really born blind, the Pharisees question him and his parents. The man challenges the leaders of the synagogue about their assessment of the good that Jesus has done. In turn, they expel the man for questioning their judgment. The final revelation and moment of enlightenment comes when the man born blind encounters Jesus again. Having heard the news of his expulsion, Jesus seeks out the man born blind and reveals himself to him as the Son of Man. In this moment, the man born blind shows himself to be a man of faith and worships Jesus. Jesus replies by identifying the irony of the experience of many who encounter Jesus: Those who are blind will now see, and those who think they now see will be found to be blind. As in last week’s Gospel about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, today’s reading has many allusions to Baptism. The washing of the man in the pool of Siloam is a prototype for Christian Baptism. Through the man’s encounter with Jesus, the man born blind is healed, his sight is restored, and his conversion to discipleship begins. The man born blind gradually comes to a greater understanding about who Jesus is and what it means to be his disciple, while the Pharisees (those who should see) are the ones who remain blind.

FAMILY CONNECTION: When infants are baptized, parents, with the help of the godparents, assume responsibility for raising the child as a follower of Jesus. The process of maturation in the faith is much like the example found in the story of the man born blind. The man is cured of his blindness, a symbol of his sin. Each time he meets after the healing, the man comes to a deeper awareness of who Jesus is. In a similar way, we who are baptized continue to mature in faith as our relationship with and knowledge about Jesus grows. Pray together that your relationship with Jesus will continue to grow and develop, becoming ever deeper.

From the Pastor’s desk

SPECIAL DIRECTIONS FOR ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE AND ST. PATRICK

Baptisms - you will need to contact the church office to schedule. 

Confessions - before each Mass or contact church office to make an appointment. 

Adoration on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Sundays prior to 8:00 a.m. Mass.

 

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Mass Times

St. Patrick Mission:
Saturday Vigil @ 4:00 p.m.

St. Thomas the Apostle:
Saturday Vigil @ 5:30 p.m.
Sunday Masses @ 8:00 a.m. &                                           11:00 a.m.

WEEKDAY MASSES @ ST THOMAS
MONDAY - No Mass
TUESDAY: @ 12:00 noon
WEDNESDAY @ 12:00 noon
THURSDAY @ 12:00 noon                            (Holy Rosary 11:40 a.m.)
FRIDAY @ 12:00 noon                                 
(Divine Mercy 11:45 a.m.)

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