St. Patrick Parish

Monday- Friday 8 am

Except First Fridays, No 8 am Mass
Mass is at 12 pm every First Friday

* * *

Saturday 5 p.m.

Sunday: 7:30 a.m.

Sunday 10 am 

Sunday 5 pm 

                   ✞    CONFESSIONS    ✞ 

Monday Evenings in the Church
6:30 pm-7:00 pm

Monday, June 28, 2021 with Fr. Artur
Monday, July 5, 2021 with Fr. Bob
Monday, July 12, 2021 with Fr. Artur
Monday, July 19, 2021 with Fr. Bob

or
by Appointment: 973-635-0625 
phone extensions:

152 Fr. Bob                     156 Fr. Artur
fr.bob@st-pats.org        fr.artur@st-pats.org

To make a one time offertory donation, click here to access our GIVING page on our website.

     The Saint Patrick Parish office is open Monday through Friday, 9 am-1 pm.

Transforming the lives of families and individuals experiencing homelessness by serving our community through all stages of life to prevent homelessness and housing instability

Family Promise is an organization dedicated to ending the crisis of homelessness faced by Morris County families. They depend on the generosity of congregations like ours to continue their mission. In a non-pandemic year, we host these families for two weeks each year. Through the end of 2021, these families are being housed in motels; however, you can still help! Our summer ‘host’ week is July 11-17. Please click on the link below for the Family Promise Sign-up Genius link to volunteer to prepare food or donate gift cards to help these families in need.  You can drop off gift cards or monetary donations to the Parish Office (41 Oliver Stree) on or before July 8th. If you purchase an e-gift card, you can email it to Tina, our St. Pat's Family Promise coordinator at tinamariemaz@gmail.com.  If you would like to purchase non-perishable groceries or groceries for a meal, you can contact Nora Godown at Family Promise for the list and/or to coordinate delivery (her email and number are on the SignUp Genius).
Thank you for your generosity!

YES! Count me in to help those in Morris County struggling with housing insecurity! Click here for a list of needs.
 

On the weekend of the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 5 & 6, 2021, the dispensation from the Sunday obligation will be lifted. On the Feast of Corpus Christi, we are reminded of the gift that Jesus gives to us of receiving His Body and Blood in Holy Communion and our need for that Spiritual nourishment. We are more fully the "Body of Christ" when we all gather around the table of the Lord.

To read the Statement of the New Jersey Bishops about reinstating the general obligation to attend Mass, please click on the link below. To read the Protocals for Liturgical Celebrations by Mandate of the Bishop of Paterson, please click on the second link below. Please contact the parish office with any questions or concerns at 973-635-0625

Statement of the New Jersey Bishops

Protocols for Liturgical Celebrations by Mandate of the Bishop of Paterson

Creatures of Habit

There is a story about a philosophy professor who presents the following scenario to his students. A woman falls into a rushing river. A man passing by considers how much he has to lose; he has a wife and children and not much insurance. Still he dives into the water to save the woman. A second man, with the same kind of family and insurance dives in without thinking. The professor then asks his class which of the two men were brave. Although they were inclined to say the first man who realizes what he is risking, in fact, it is the second man because he has the habit of being brave. The first man performs a brave act, but it is not yet a habit. The second man has a habit of performing virtuous actions.

Most of us are creatures of habit in that every time we think a particular way or seek a particular good some type of habit is forming in our lives. Many habits begin to rule our lives for better or for worse. The habit of spending time with God both as part of a community and through a personal prayer life is essential. It is said by researcher, Dr. Wendy Wood, author of Good Habits, Bad Habits, that 43% of behaviors are performed out of a habit. I once chatted with a man who had a habit of leaving mass after communion and his comment was, “As a child our family always did it, and it is a habit that I continue to exhibit in my adult years.” As we age through life it is difficult to begin new, positive habits or to break old, existing ones no matter in the amount of effort that is made; however, summer is a season to work on the development of some new habits that include generosity, mercy and prayerfulness so that as we enjoy vacation season these acts are performed spontaneously without calculating the cost or risk to our lives.

Research indicates that it takes about three weeks to get into the groove of a new habit if the act is practiced every day, which is a reason that many Christians attempt to develop new habits throughout Lent, yet frequently break them once Lent concludes. This is an unhealthy perspective to the Season. One way to eliminate a bad habit is to replace it with something good. Habit substitution permits a person to look for a healthier obsession that replaces an unhealthy habit. The development of a strengthened prayer life can be a great replacement for unhealthy activities since it invites time for reflection that ponders all the good that has touched life throughout the course of a day. I believe it is so valuable to bring to prayer the people who are taken for granted that make life a bit happier or easier each day as well as those who challenge our lifestyles and decisions.

If you are one who plans each moment of your day, strive to take breaks from busy routines and welcome the enjoyment of spontaneous, fun moments, or unanticipated day trips during this summer, which restores energy to your life. In my younger years while on vacations, I religiously stuck to an agenda that incorporated a litany of activities and sights to see that I planned, however, travel experiences have taught me the beauty to welcome the unexpected during a vacation that often brings satisfying memories and unusual events coupled with relaxation to most trips. Covid-19 challenged people to develop new habits in that routines were discontinued, which led most to cultivate new habits that unlocked some hidden talents. It also gave people time to generate a positive outlook on life that included newfound respect for front line workers and those in work environments that serve the public.

 As you enjoy this long awaited summer, become the good habit you seek in life as it could be a way that God answers some of your prayers. C.S. Lewis, British writer and lay theologian once wrote, “Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes me.” Strength in prayer is the helping hand that people need to break old habits and develop new ones. Detachment from bad habits and the evolution of good ones will make it a rewarding summer.   
 
In Christ's Love,
Fr. Bob