St Patrick's of Smithtown
Welcome to the Parish
This Week in the Parish
Bottles For Babies Collection
Next weekend (Octoberber 27th & 28th), Kids for Life will hold their monthly "Bottles For Babies" Please recycle your bottle and cans and donate the money to the worthy cause of helping mothers and their babies in need. Look for the Pink Baby Bottle Banks at the church exits.
Knights of Columbus Membership Drive
The Knights of Columbus will be holding a membership drive after all
Masses on October 27th and 28th.
If you are interested in the Knights of Columbus or would
like more information, speak with a member after Mass on
the weekend of October 27th & 28th, call 724-5040 or visit
www.holymothermarykoc.org.
Catholic Daughters of the Americas Membership Drive
The Catholic Daughters of the Americas will be holding a nationwide membership drive after all Masses on Sunday, October 28th.
Parents’ Guild 2nd Annual Restaurant Showcase
The St. Patricks Parents’ Guild will host its
2nd Annual Restaurant Showcase
Sunday, November 17thAfter the 5PM Mass
Come and enjoy foods from some of our area's finest restaurants!
Tickets on Sale:
Saturday, October 27th after the 5 PM Mass and
Sunday, October 28th after the morning Masses.
Adults: $25, Children: $10; Children under 3: Free
Seating is limited! Reservations will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Sign-ups for the show on Wednesdays during Folk Group or Children's Choir rehearsals between 6:00 and 8:15 PM.
To honor our veterans on Veteran‘s Day, Sunday,November 11th all who have served our armed forces are invited to have their photo submitted for a Veteran‘s Day Display in our church lobby. You can send us the photograph via the Internet, or along with this form it can be dropped off or mailed to the rectory, or placed in the collection basket.
St. Patrick Photo Gallery Updated
The parish photo album has been updated with pictures from the building of our new church a few years back. The albums depict "Foundation Day" where parishoners were able to write their names on rocks that were placed beneath the site of our present altar; the raising of the cupola and cross onto the roof of the parish; the "Blessing of the Cornerstone" and finally, the "Dedication of the Church" on November, 15th, 2007.
One of the customs we have as we begin a new year is making resolutions. We are now more than ten months into 2007. Have we persevered in our resolutions? Do we even remember them? Today’s gospel speaks about perseverance in prayer. ‘In this passage Jesus presents a widow who keeps after a judge who "neither cared for God nor respected any human being." Widows at that time were considered powerless. In her quest she does not lose heart, does not become bitter, does not complain or seek to hurt the unjust judge. She simply perseveres. In the end justice is done for her. The judge does not act with the right reason, but he does the right thing. Jesus tells this parable to encourage us to persevere in prayer. He is not saying God is anything like the unjust judge. Our words of prayer do not wear God down. Our words of prayer bring us into his presence and unite us with him. The key is to unite ourselves in mind and heart with him. True perseverance in prayer enables us to live with love and to stay on the path of peace.
So often when we do not get what we believe is justly ours or when those we love do things that are harmful to themselves and others we are tempted to lose heart and give up. That path is paved with complaining, anger, impatience and, at times, thoughts of doing something hurtful to those who are frustrating us. There is no greater example of perseverance in prayer than the prayer of Jesus in the Garden on the eve of his passion and death. His prayer to the Father is: "Not my will, but your will be done." Healthy, life-giving prayer lifts us beyond our concerns, fears and feeling of powerlessness to the mind and heart of God. Jesus’ prayer led him to give us life on the cross, a cruel, tortuous, painful and unjust death. The resurrection began in his prayer as he rose above his fear of this death, a natural human reaction, to see the good that would be accomplished by his sacrifice. The disciples on the other hand, who fell asleep during Jesus prayer awoke, panicked and ran away in fear.
At times we pray and there seems to be no answer. Those we love get incurable diseases, we lose our jobs, we feel rejected and unappreciated. How easy it is to lose heart. But perseverance in prayer opens our minds and hearts to the mind and heart of God. We see that we have a hand answering the prayers of petition we offer to God. As we pray for justice, we realize that we are called to be people of justice. As we pray for an end to abortion and a deeper respect for life we realize that we are trusted by God to respect and love those whom God has entrusted to us and all who cross the paths of our lives. As we pray for mercy and forgiveness from God we realize we are called to be people of mercy and forgiveness. Perseverance in prayer makes us more fully alive. Of course part of perseverance is being sincere, praying from our hearts, meaning what we say. How awesome to be in the presence of God and have his attention. In prayer, in a sense, we return the favor to him. We allow God into our presence and give him our full attention.
God is never frustrated by our lack of understanding and failures. His hopes in us and for us are unwavering. He created us in his own image and therefore knows the good and love we are capable of. Prayer unites us with the God of love and nourishes our minds, hearts and souls. It is prayer that opens our hearts, softens our hearts, and leads us to love and be steadfast in God’s way of peace. As much as we seek to persevere in prayer, even more we see the life-giving perseverance of God’s love.
The following is from a prayerful meditation by Pope John XXIII:
Only for today, will I do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.
Only for today, will I do at least one thing I do not like doing;
and if my feelings are hurt, I will make sure that no one
notices.
Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed for twelve hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life
How encouraging to see the fruit of perseverance in prayer of one of God’s humble servants who did so much for his church. What good is accomplished and love given when we persevere and prayer for and with one another.
Father Walden
The Roman Catholic Community of St. Patrick, Smithtown sees itself as:
- The People of God, The Body of Christ.
- Enlightenment by the Word of God.
- Nourished by the Life of Christ in the Sacraments.
- Supported by our love for and our forgiveness of each other.
- Empowered to bring the love, justice and peace of Christ to our families, our neighbors, our friends, our enemies, the poor and the powerless.
- Called to reach out to the unchurched and the non-practicing members of our community and to assist in the spiritual, intellectual and social growth of all whose lives we touch.
