Greeting Cards of These Images are Being

Made for our Parishes! More Info to Come...

Faithful can subscribe to the notes by contacting the parish office and providing their e-mail address. Thanks for your support of our border town parishes!!!

Please remember - Fr. Pete does not send out text messages, e-mails or social media posts to solicit

funds for himself or any organizations outside of the parishes he serves. Fr. Pete's emergency phone

number is (815) 685-1359 and his e-mail addresses

are either pjankowski@yahoo.com or pjankowski@stfrancis.edu.

Please do not trust any correspondences that

utilize any other phone number or e-mail address.

Feel free to contact Fr. Pete at email pjankowski@yahoo.com. If you have an emergency, please contact Fr. Pete at (815) 685-1359

During the Easter Liturgies this weekend, I had mentioned how a senior member of St. Anne’s Church stopped me in my tracks on Palm Sunday morning, as I was rushing from one VERY LONG 9:00 a.m. LITURGY at St. Anne’s to my car to “break the speed barrier,” so to speak and make it on time to the other parish for the 10:30 Mass. The parishioner yelled at me, “FATHER, WE NEED TO TALK!,” which usually never is a good sign when someone is chasing you down.

I stopped in my tracks as this senior member of the parish was stalking me on the first day of Holy Week. From his perspective, the man had something important to say. He mentioned in a chiding voice, “Father, have you noticed how crowded the Masses have become over the last few years?”

“Yes,” I replied, not knowing where he was going with this conversation. His opening salvo reminded me of the three “complaints” I received at last year’s end over at St. Patrick’s – the parking lot is too full on Sundays and we need a bigger parking lot, we need to eradicate the debt and build more classrooms for religious education students and there are too many wrappers in church because too many kids are coming to Mass. I told the man, “Isn’t it a great dilemma to have, getting so many people coming to church?”

The senior church member responded, “Yes, it is!!! Keep it up!!!” More people should complain like this senior member of St. Anne’s complained to me on Palm Sunday…

As I stated at Masses on Easter, Nadine White from the SoundTronix corporation (who installed what turned out to be a $60,000+ state of the art sound system at St. Patrick’s for us, courtesy of the late Jim & Marlene LaMotte) mentioned that when she attended a Sunday Mass in 2018 to check out the church’s acoustics, she noticed that only EIGHT souls were in attendance during the Mass she witnessed. Last Sunday, we had to put out chairs to accommodate the crowd at the Spanish Mass at 12:00 p.m., a Mass that DID NOT EXIST in 2018.

The big complaint this year was that so many people attended the Easter Vigil Mass this year that the wax that dripped on the carpeting was MASSIVE (even though I instructed the faithful numerous times about turning the UNLIT candle sideways, NOT the LIT one – so much for instructions). I ended up going online to Amazon and found electric candles that would do the trick. Liturgically, electric candles do not have the same impact as a real flame, but in the long run they are cheaper, they save time on us having to clean wax on the carpets after the Vigil Mass and they will not burn the church down (in my twenty-eight years as a priest, I have witnessed two churches and a rectory catch on fire so no thank you on the live flames while I am around!!!).

Retired organist Janice Gelino mentioned that in the decades she has played organ at our Easter Masses, she has NEVER seen a crowd as large as we had from our Easter Vigil this year. The highlights from the Easter Masses can be viewed above and the in-Church homilies from the Holy Week services can be viewed below…

Easter Homily

in Spanish

Bilingual Easter

Vigil Homily

Bilingual

Good Friday Homily

Bilingual Holy

Thursday Homily

Palm Sunday

Homily in Spanish

Palm Sunday

Homily in English

This week, we focus on the Divine Mercy Novena, which culminates with Sunday’s Holy Hour from 2:00-3:00 p.m. During that time, we will expose the Blesses Sacrament and I will hear confessions, concluding our time with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. You are most welcome to join us at these festivities.

Finally, Brother Jhobany Orduz, CSV will be ordained a deacon on Saturday, April 6 at 10:00 a.m. at Maternity BVM Church in Bourbonnais (308 E. Marsile St. – Bourbonnais, IL, 60914). The Viatorians used to staff both parishes under my care at one point of each parish’s history. We do not get to participate in ordinations all that often and Brother Jhobany (as well as Frs. Moises Mesh & John Peeters, as well as Deacon John Eustice) have been very active in our Hispanic Communities. This would be a great way to support the Viatorians by PACKING THE CHURCH on Saturday with our presence.

Deacon Jhobany will be preaching at St. Patrick’s Church at the 12:00 Mass in Spanish on April 7 (Divine Mercy Sunday), followed by a reception for him in our church basement. You certainly are encouraged to attend this event and support a vocation from our local community.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT DEACON JHOBANY AND AN INVITATION TO HIS ORDINATION MASS

One of the lessons we tried to impress on the students at Christendom College was that the little things in life sometimes make all the difference in the world. Lately, I have been focusing on a passage from the Talmud (a Jewish text) that states, “When you save one life, you save the world.” Sometimes the little things in life can really make a difference in the larger picture – a smile, a handshake, a kind word or even a letter can lift up someone’s life – and teach us how to act this way towards everyone in our community.

If you watch the Online Mass for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (which we kept in the Notes for one more week), you can encounter seven students from the Christendom College Spring Break Mission Trip who spoke about those “little things,” like cleaning the cemetery grounds at St. Pat’s and learning the stories of our beloved deceased here in Momence or visiting the farmers who grow produce to help our local migrant workers.

A parent of two sisters from the college sent us the gift pictured above, offering a little Easter hope to a homebound member of the parish. I keep thinking about this – someone from Virginia who has never met anyone from our area just sent a package to someone out of God’s love – what better lesson can we teach our RCIA Students or our Confirmation Students or any of us, for that matter? The small things make all the difference in the world (like writing letters to our RCIA Candidates, hint hint…). Perhaps this might be one reason why an East Coast College who had the entire country at their disposal choose us as their only US Mission location for 2024 - you all have a great deal you can teach those who represent the future of the Catholic Church.

If you watch the Palm Sunday Homily Videos we have provided below, you can view the attendance from our weekend liturgies last Sunday. Nadine White from the Soundtronix Company (who helped us upgrade our sound systems at our respective parishes these last few years), shared with me that in 2018, she attended a Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s and was shocked that only EIGHT souls attended that Mass! Two Sundays ago, one of the St. Anne parishioners hunted me down after Mass to comment how full the church has become on Sundays compared to a few years ago.

I keep reminding myself that little things make all the difference in the world – little by little, if each of us do those things that show others we care in God’s name, so much GOOD can happen in the community.

All of this comes to a crescendo this week with the most important services we offer the entire Church’s Liturgical Year. As we offer the sacraments to TWENTY-FIVE members of our community this weekend, we see the fruits of our labor (and prayer is the official “work” or labor of the Church). We are so blessed with so many good souls showing us how to love God and love our neighbor in the “Border Town” way – as stated on our websites, our small parishes with a BIG HEART are second to none – each of you is created in God’s image, through his likeness. Each of you is special and sacred in God’s eyes – and ours! Thanks for all you have done to build up our parish.

Have a Blessed Easter Weekend –

God bless all of you!!!  - Fr. Pete

ONLINE VIDEOS THIS WEEK

And so we come to it… the services for the Holiest Week of our Church’s Liturgical Year. Because of so many blessings in our parish, we were able to record the Holy Week Videos in advance for your benefit that can be accessed early online – either at our Parish Websites or on our YouTube “Border Town Parishes” Channel. This endeavor took about FORTY-EIGHT HOURS to complete but… the dividends that have paid off from these videos has been fantastic! Included in these notes are the Holy Week Services for both parishes.

Mass for the Second

Sunday of Easter Sunday

Celebrated at St. Anne's Church - St. Anne, IL

With a significant decrease in vocations over the last fifty years, Fr. Pete speak about the doubt of society in relation to their respect for diocesan and religious order clerics, brothers and sisters. On Diving Mercy Sunday, Fr. Pete reflects on the lack of vocations in the Church and his desire to give, not take, for the sake of the good person he serves in God's name.

For Catholic Daily Reflections (based on the scripture readings of the day),

CLICK HERE!!!

CLICK HERE to Access the Readings for This Sunday's Mass

From the Website of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops

2024 St. Patrick's Church Irish Mass & Dinner Highlights

2024 Border Town Confirmation Retreat Highlights

Now that The Irish Review (Our St. Patrick’s Church and Alumni Newsletter) has been mailed out, we are in the process of selling our 50/50 Raffle Tickets for the event ($10 a ticket or $50 for six tickets). Last year, we were able to take in around $25,000 the raffle, half of which being used for prizes and half retained by the parish. If you could help us sell these tickets, please call the parish office at (815) 472-2864.

Reflections from the Students of Christendom College Included in this Video!

With the assistance of the students and staff of Christendom College from Front Royal, VA on a Spring Break Mission Trip to the Border Town Parishes, Fr. Pete Jankowski offers this Liturgy on location at St. Patrick's Church (Momence, IL) on behalf of the parishioners of St. Patrick's Church (Momence) and the National Shrine of St. Anne (St. Anne) who are not able to attend services. Everyone is invited to our indoor liturgies at the border town parishes (we have plenty of room)!

"Sir, I want to see Jesus" (Jn 12: 21). These words from John's gospel are reflected in the Breastplate of St. Patrick (the patron of the Momence Church that Fr. Pete serves) and is a fitting theme to the type of ministry the students of Christendom College - and all of us! - should learn in reference to Christian Service. Assisting Fr. Pete with his homily are the students on this mission, who offer reflections of their own after spending a week in the Border Town community (from March 2-9).

Border Town Appreciation Dinner

February 10, 2024

St. Anne Valentine Luncheon

February 11, 2024

WE HAVE REDUCED OUR PARISH DEBT AT ST. PATRICK'S BY A FACTOR OF OVER $200,000 IN THE LAST TWO YEARS!!!

1973 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

1981 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

1986 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

1993 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

2004 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

2006 St. Patrick's Academy 100th

Anniversary Commemorative Booklet

2010 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

2016 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

2023 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

1960s St. Anne’s Church Photo Directory

1970s St. Anne’s Church Photo Directory

1989 St. Anne’s Church Photo Directory

1998-2004 St. Anne’s

Church Photo Directory

2023 St. Anne's Church Photo Directory

For weddings and such, Fr. Pete offers a special blessing on the first Sunday weekend of each month and is willing to purchase an Apostolic Blessing for anyone who asks (and if he can afford it... since he pays out of pocket!!!).

If you are interested in receiving an Apostolic Blessing, you can do so by clicking the link below or by calling the parish offices.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR OWN APOSTOLIC BLESSING!!!

Fr. Pete offers the Anointing of the Sick at both parishes at the First Friday Masses every month (St. Patrick’s at 9:15 a.m. and St. Anne’s at 5:00 p.m. (English) and 7:00 p.m. (Spanish).

1. Our newly ordained deacon Jhobany Orduz will preach at St. Patrick’s Church in Spanish at 12:00 noon on April 7. A reception will follow the Mass.
2. A Divine Mercy Sunday Service will take place at St. Patrick’s Church on April 7 at 2:00 p.m. Fr. Pete Jankowski will preside, with adoration and confessions from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
3. Confirmation Mass at St. Anne’s (Saturday – April 27 at 2:00 p.m.)
4. Confirmation Mass at St. Patrick’s (Saturday – April 27 at 4:00 p.m.)
5. First Communion Mass at St. Anne’s (Sunday – May 5 at 9:00 a.m.)
6.  First Communion Mass at St. Patrick’s (Sunday – May 5 at 10:30 a.m.)
7. Weather permitting, Outdoor Weekend Masses will return to St. Anne’s on May 12.

To View St. Patrick's Bulletin for

April 7, 2024



CLICK HERE!

To View St. Anne's Bulletin for

April 7, 2024



CLICK HERE!

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR SICK: Mary Kay Blankestyn, Ashley & Jesse Childress, Guadalupe Maria De Leon, Austin Fuhrmann, Ron Gall, Cindy Gould, Joel Hart, Karen Hensa, Don Hout, Joanne McCracken, Marilyn Peterson, Joanne Prather, Evelyn Provost, Ruth Sparenberg, Cynthia Vickery, Gary Witherall... and all those on our sick list.

At St. Anne's... Eva Bell, Paula Bertrand, Lola Billings, Duane Blanchette, Cheryl Boswell, Patrick Burns, Cindy Capriotti, Abraham Daily, Tom Dandurand, Aria Dionne, Carol Futcher, Raelynn Garrett, Jack Houk, Val Lagacy, Bentley Lottinville, Linda Miramontes and John Wojnowski.

At St. Patrick's... P. Anderson, N. Atkinson, R. Bailey, D. Barth, Beedle Family, D. Brown, W. Bukowski, B & E. Coffman, S. Conner, M & D Cousin, M. Cruz, A. Delaney, D. Demack, M. Dionne, J. Dobbins, E. Duke, D. Dunlap, G. Field, C. Fritz, R. Gall, J. Grill, R. Harper, J. Hibbs, D. Hiller, C. Jones, L. Kane, R. Kazee, A. Kijewski, L. Lee, L. Leranth, E. Lopez, B. Love, J. Marcotte, W. Marten, L. McNulty, L. Mercado, R & V Morse, C. Ortman, D. Petronio, M. Peterson, C. Piec, C. Provost, E. Provost, R. Rehmer, P. Reising, D. Roberts, B. Ryan, A. Schaff, J. Schopf. Schmied, K. Simpson, B. Siwicki, B. Spagnola, M. Tolbert, M. Tolmer, H. Tousignant, M. Velazquez, C. Vickery, M. Williams, M. Witherspoon, S. Young, A. Zimmerman, M & L Zink and G. Zokal.

CLICK HERE TO READ

FR. PETE'S HOMILIES

Click Here for the Parish

Registration Form in English

Click Here for the Religious Education Registration Forms FOR BOTH PARISHES

Click Here to Register for the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults

Click Here for the Time

& Talent Form in English

Click Here for the Link to All the Parish Forms

Help support our parishes buy purchasing copies of Fr. Pete’s Homiletic Books! You can purchase them at the parishes or online at Amazon.com!

Cycle A Homilies - Cycle B Homilies

Cycle C Homilies