JOIN US AS WE BEGIN THE SEASON OF LENT TOGETHER | |
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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.
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Please support our parishes by clicking the ONLINE GIVING picture - these are your local homes where God is present! Let's share this grace with those of the next generation! | |
In front of St. Patrick's Church, Cones will be placed in the area where cars are asked not to park, out of respect for our Neighbors. | |
News & Notes with Fr. Pete Jankowski
ANOTHER WEEKEND OF FAITH-FILLED TESTIMONIALS AT ST. PAT'S
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Feel free to contact Fr. Pete at email pjankowski@yahoo.com. If you have an emergency, please contact Fr. Pete at (815) 685-1359 | |
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In addition to taking care of our Diocese’s Annual Catholic Ministry Appeal this weekend, over at St. Patrick’s we focused on the testimonials that our parishioners, alumni and friends of St. Patrick’s offered in our annual Parish Newsletter. So many of those who offered their testimonials were sitting in the pews as we read about all the GOOD that takes place within our community. We must be doing something right at St. Patrick’s – six years ago, we did not have a Spanish Mass but now, the number of faithful attending the Spanish Mass is more than the other three Masses I celebrate on the weekend COMBINED! Whereas our weekly collection equaled about $1,200 a week at my arrival in 2019, the last two weeks the St. Patrick’s Collection exceeded $5,000 (which for us is SPECTACULAR!!!)!
For the Online Ash Wednesday Mass that we present to you, we offer some of those testimonials as part of the homily that week. For the Spanish Mass, I asked members of the community who wrote these testimonials to offer them as part of the homily (including Ana & Eileen Rivas from the Cerrito de Camino y Esperanza Retreat House, co-coordinators of our Hispanic Ministry Program, Ruben & Carmen Andrade, Musician and New Parishioner Freddy Franco and Secretary Ema Elvir). I also offered the prayer given to me by housekeeper María Saldaña to conclude this homily. You can view both homilies in these notes.
| Ruth Montoya-Gomez asked me to look at some immigration material that she received online. I sent these materials to Maggie Rivera (who chairs the Illinois Migrant Council and takes care of those entering our country and who gifted us a couple years ago with a bunch of computers and fresh produce for our community). Maggie has asked to come to St. Patrick’s this Sunday at 11:00 a.m. in our rectory basement to speak to our parishioners about immigration issues, which I have been more than happy to accommodate. Please pass the word!!! | |
To being our Lenten journey together, Our Border Town Parishes are honored to welcome back the students and staff of Christendom College, who will be invested in their Spring Break Mission from March 8-15, 2025. I am exceedingly grateful to all those who have assisted us locally with this mission. The list is too long to cite here but special thanks are noted for Kristen Stockle, the President of Good Shepherd Manor, who will be housing this group for a week at the former residence of our religious brothers and will feed the students all meals on their dime on March 9.
To use an analogy, last year’s week-long mission was like “putting our toe in the water,” learning how invested and serious this group wanted to be with the tasks we provided for them. The purpose of a mission is to learn about the faith from a unique vantage point (in this case, a rural setting with a growing Hispanic population) and taking those lessons of faith and culture learned, back to where they live.
During this Mission Week, the students will be invested in four major projects – painting the floor of St. Pat’s parish hall (thank you Joe Kraus and Wally Martin for all your preparation on this task!), painting rooms and lockers at Bishop McNamara High School (thank you Esmerelda Elvir for coordinating this project!), sanding and refinishing picnic tables at Good Shepherd Manor and painting and upgrading homes and businesses in Hopkins Park (thank you Aaron Woodard from the Pembroke Township for your help with this!)
During the Mission, students will be attending Mass and learning from the communities of St. Patrick’s (Momence), St. Anne’s (St. Anne), Good Shepherd Manor (Momence), St. George (Bourbonnais) Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Bourbonnais), Camino y Esperanza Retreat House (St. Anne). On this mission, the students will be part of a full-day retreat with Ana & Eileen Rivas and their staff and the Poor Clares of the Annunciation Monastery in Minooka will host the students with a special Latin Mass and Reception on Monday, March 10.
I was asked to host this mission by a wonderful benefactor who has provided so many resources for both of the parishes under my care as well as Christendom College. Tim Cook (the Dean of Students from the college) selects very few locations for the students to invest in mission work – for him to choose us is a wonderful testimony of our faith communities and his trust in us doing right be the students.
At the end of their mission stay, I have asked the students to videotape reflections of their experience of working in our community, similar to what we did last year. Those videos will be part of the Online Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (March 30, 2025) as well as a special video that I will provide on our Border Town YouTube Channel and in the weekly News and Notes we send out (to subscribe to either, contact me at me e-mail address). Please pray for the students during their Spring Break Mission.
Provided here are the student reflections from last year’s mission…
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Finally… some of our parishioners flew down to Bogota, Columbia to participate in Fr. Jhobany Orduz’ ordination Mass on February 22. Fr. Jhobany will celebrate TWO special Masses for us on March 16, 2025 which include his first blessings at the parish (traditionally, Apostolic Blessings are included for a newly ordained priest when he does this). Fr. Jhobany will celebrate the Masses at 10:30 a.m. at St. Patrick’s in English and the 12:00 noon Mass in Spanish for our community. Following the Masses, we will offer a reception for our community in our church hall. As I have told Fr. Jhobany, more important than us celebrating his ordination, we celebrate the priesthood and religious life and the Holy Spirit that now works through Fr. Jhobany to celebrate these sacraments. Please come and join us for these milestone events for the Viatorian Community!
Below is the Ordination mass for Fr. Jhobanyin its entirety...
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We also are gearing up on the March 8, 2025 Annual Irish Mass & Dinner, which begins with a 4:00 Bagpipe Mass and continues with our annual Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner (and Irish Stew!) with entertainment by the Galway Guys. This year, we are making a concerted effort to advertise on Facebook (and whatever other social media we can find) to extend this invitation out to our community. If you “right click” your mouse on the Clip Art for the dinner, you can “paste” the clip art on to whatever social media you are connected to get the word out concerning this annual event.
Now that we have installed new ovens at both parishes (thank you Kyle Volek!), both parishes are kicking into Fish Fry Season. Similar to the Irish Dinner, we are advertising this event on Facebook and other social media (we already have done so in both cities, to some degree). If you can “right click” the clip art for the event and “paste” it into your social media platforms, you can help us advertise the event around the area. We would appreciate your help with this!
| Per the request of our Online Parishioners, I am starting to record special Lenten Videos for our at-home parishioners. The first video is an Online Stations of the Cross, featuring a tour of both parishes. We are hoping to get a Lenten Reflection Online this year as well. One of our most popular videos from last year concerned the covering of statues – if there are any special topics you would like us to address, feel free to contact us | |
Knocking another four thousand dollars off our Parish Debt at St. Patrick’s, we finally have dipped under the $25,000 mark before we are square with the diocese! The demolition of the old academy and other previous “sins of the past” ran the debt up to $330,000 on my arrival. What Kathy Griffiths and Julie Bisaillon have done to eradicate the debt has been nothing short of spectacular!
Don’t panic but… we actually have a winner for our 50/50 “Split the Pot” Raffle at St. Patrick’s. Congratulations Jana Stedman for winning $1,000 in the Raffle!
The Parish Newsletters are starting to find their homes in the mail. Our alumni and other friends of St. Patrick’s have been sending back their raffle tickets (which will be pulled during our Picnic in September).
We have started to include some Lenten Activities that kick into gear the week of March 2. Our next News & Notes will focus on the Christendom College Spring Break Mission from March 8-15. Lots of good to report soon! Have a blessed week! – Fr. Pete
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FELICIDADES/ CONGRATULATIONS FATHER JHOBANY ORDUZ, CSV | |
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On February 22, Bishop Christopher Glancy, OSV ordained Fr. Jhobany Orduz as the newset priest for the Clerics of St. Viator. You want watch his ordination Mass from Bogota, Columbia by clicking the video above.
Fr. Jhobany will return to the US to celebrate his first Masses at St. Patrick’s in Momence on March 16, 2025 at the 10:30 a.m. Mass in English and the 12:00 noon Mass in Spanish. After both Masses, we will hold a reception for Fr. Jhobany in the Church Hall. ALL are invited to attend!
(We will record these two Masses for Fr. Jhobany and his family down south. Fr. Jhobany will become the SECOND ordained priest in his family – WHAT A GIFT!!!)
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SPEAKING OF APPRECIATION... | |
ST. PAT'S GOLF OUTING UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT!!! | |
Thank You, Sandy & Bob Malpasuto!!!
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After decades of faithful service to the St. Pat’s Community (both as principal of the academy and faithful parishioner), Rick Preston passes on the baton as he enjoys his “senior years” at St. Pat’s. Taking over the Golf Outing is Sandy Malpasuto, one of the many generations of LaMotte Family Members who have served our parish so well. Sandy and husband Bob coordinated the Golf Outing at Bishop McNamara High School for years; now they bring their talents to their home parish!
This Year’s Golf Outing will take place on Saturday June 21, 2025 at the Oak Springs Country Club in St. Anne, IL
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SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY | |
Please consider donation socks and slippers to Harbor House in January. More information can be found in the bulletin. | |
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We will participate in our annual Baby Bottles for Life fundraiser in February. Bottles to fill with change can be picked up at next weekend’s Masses. Information will be placed in next week’s bulletin concerning this fundraiser, Thank you for supporting life at our parishes! | |
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MASS FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT
Celebrated at ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH - Momence, IL
Every liturgical year, the gospel reading for the First Sunday of Lent focuses on Jesus' temptation in the Desert. In the "A Cycle" of readings, the gospel comes from Matthew 4: 1-11; in the "B Cycle" of readings, the gospel comers from Mark 1: 12-13. This year, we focus on the temptation story from Luke 4: 1-13 and the role of the Holy Spirit guiding Jesus, protecting Jesus and sustaining Jesus, as the Spirit does for us, if we choose to allow God to lead us rather than the ways of the earth.
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ASH WEDNESDAY MASS
Celebrated at ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH - Momence, IL
Ash Wednesday In-Church Services
St. Anne's Church
8:00 a.m. Mass and Distribution of Ashes
5:00 p.m. SERVICE and Distribution of Ashes
St. Patrick's Church
9:15 a.m. Mass and Distribution of Ashes
5:30 p.m. Mass (English) and Distribution of Ashes
7:00 p.m. Mass (Spanish) and Distribution of Ashes
As we begin our Lenten Season with this Mass and the distribution of ashes, Fr. Pete references the St. Patrick's Church and Alumni Newsletter that is being mailed to the parishioners later this month. For those in the parish who do not pick up their newsletter in church, Fr. Pete has asked the Hispanic Community to become invested in what some dioceses call "Door-to-Door Evangelization," something promoted by Christians as early as the First Century (via the twelve and certainly St. Paul) and also is utilized in the United States. In this video, Fr. Pete offers a video concerning how the Diocese of San Bernardino, CA offers this type of evangelization, a video you can watch in full at the end of the Mass video.
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UPCOMING PROJECTS
AT ST. PATRICK'S
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WE HAVE FINALLY MADE IT UNDER THE $25,000 MARK! LET'S KEEP GOING!!! | |
St. Patrick’s Church Debt finally is now just above $80,000 but we still have a bit to go. We talked about how that debt grew to over $330,000 and how our business managers have been able to reduce it by a factor of $250,000 in two years. Before we can get to the other side of our ledger at Pat’s (and think about parking lots, classrooms for our kids, etc.), this debt needs to be eradicated. Thanks for those who have helped us reduce our debt and please consider doing what you can to lowering it even further! | |
ST. PATRICK'S / ST. ANNE'S
PHOTO DIRECTORIES
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Thanks to Ruth Sparenberg, Anne Andrade & Joanne Hermann for assembling, scanning and editing the follow Photo Directories from the Church History of St. Patrick's and St. Anne's Churches! | |
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THE COMPLETED CEMETERY PROJECTS FOR BOTH ST. ANNE'S AND ST. PATRICK'S CEMETERIES | | |
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The Holy Father provides a wonderful opportunity to receive an Apostolic Blessing for Birthdays, Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, Weddings, Religious Professions, Ordinations and Anniversaries of these sacraments. | | |
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Congratulations to Leonard & Bernie Ratuszny from St. Anne's their 50th Anniversary of Marriage!
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!!!
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Parish Hotline... If you know of someone who is sick and in need of the sacraments or if you know someone who wishes a visit at the hospital or care facility, please contact the parish office or Fr. Pete Jankowski at (815) 685-1359.
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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). | |
KEEP UPDATED WITH OUR PARISH BULLETINS!!! | |
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To View St. Patrick's Bulletin for
March 9, 2025
CLICK HERE!
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To View St. Anne's Bulletin for
March 9, 2025
CLICK HERE!
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PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR SICK: June Burns, Guadalupe Mike Cronk, Maria De Leon, Cindy DeYoung, Debbie Georgiani, Joanne Hermann, Don Hout, Gustavo Lopez, Jesus Ariel Lopez, Evelyn Provost, Art Schmidt, Cynthia Vickery and all those on our sick list.
At St. Anne's... Eva Bell, Paula Bertrand, Lola Billings, Duane Blanchette, Cheryl Boswell, June Burns, Patrick Burns, Cindy Capriotti, Ashley & Jesse Childress, Abraham Daily, Tom Dandurand, Aria Dionne, Carol Futcher, Raelynn Garrett, Tommy Klonowski, Val Lagacy, Bentley Lottinville, Linda Miramontes, Josh Odelson, Ruth Sparenberg, John Wojnowski and Cynthia Vickery.
At St. Patrick's... P. Anderson, N. Atkinson, R. Bailey, D. Barth, Beedle Family, D. Brown, W. Bukowski, M. Cárdenas, P. Caro, 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, A. Fuhrmann, R. Gall, Tony & Adrianne Gallinaro, J. Grill, R. Harper, K. Hensa, J. Hibbs, D. Hiller, C. Jones, L. Kane, R. Kazee, A. Kijewski, Joe Kraus, L. Lee, L. Leranth, E. Lopez, B. Love, J. Marcotte, W. Marten, J. McCracken, L. McNulty, L. Mercado, R & V Morse, C. Ortman, M. Peterson, C. Piec, M. Pontow, J. Prather, C. Provost, E. Provost, R. Rehmer, P. Reising, D. Roberts, B. Ryan, M. Saldaña A. Schaff, J. Schopf. D. Schmied, K. Simpson, B. Siwicki, B. Spagnola, M. Tolbert, M. Tolmer, H. Tousignant, M. Velazquez, C. Vickery, M. Williams, Gary Witherell, M. Witherspoon, S. Young, J. L. Zagal, A. Zimmerman, M & L Zink and G. Zokal.
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Fr. Pete Jankowski posts his homilies online at the parish website for those who wish to keep up with the gospel message each week.
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PARISH REGISTRATION FORMS | |
FR. PETE'S TELEVISION SERIES | |
CLICK HERE to watch Fr. Pete’s Twelve Part Series “Stories on the Journey,” Broadcast on Shalom World TV! | |
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ITEMS FOR PURCHASE / DONATION TO HELP OUR PARISHES!!! | |
Call the Offices at (815) 472-2864 or (815) 427-8265 for more information... | |
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For only $100, you can dedicate a brick to someone special at St. Patrick's Outdoor Grotto (where the Our Lady of Lourdes Outdoor Masses are celebrated)!!!
(815) 472-2864
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For only $25, you can dedicate a Journeysongs Pew Book from either parish. Please call (815) 472-2864 (St. Patrick's) or (815) 427-8265 (St. Anne's) for more information! | | |
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Greeting Cards of These Images are Now Available for Purchase in the Parish Office.
$25 for Books of Twenty...
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St. Patrick's
T-Shirts
$10 Each or
Three for $20
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St. Patrick's
or St. Anne's
Blessed Water / Oil
$2 a Bottle
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St. Patrick's
Mugs
$10 Each or
Three for $20
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LINKS TO CATHOLIC WEBSITES
CLICK ON PICTURE TO ACCESS SITE
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