St. Patrick Parish

Monday- Friday 8 am

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

* * *

Saturday 5 pm 

Sunday: 7:30 a.m. (no livestream)

Sunday 10 am 

Sunday 5 pm (no livestream)

                   ✞    CONFESSIONS IN LENT    ✞ 

Every Monday night in the church

   March 1- Fr. Artur
 March 8- Fr. Bob
      March 15- Fr. Artur
                        March 22- Fr. Bob & Fr. Artur

         and 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.

Lent:  Appreciation of Our Family

A young man comes home after his first date with a woman whom he admires. His mother asks him, “What does your girlfriend like about you?”  The young man replies, “She believes I am handsome, talented, clever and a good listener.”  His mom asks, “And what do you like about her?”  He responds, “She thinks, I’m handsome, talented, clever and a good listener.” This weekend the church celebrates the Second Week of Lent, which brings to light an assortment of ways that family members interact with each other aware that the blessings of each generation within a family are essential to foster peace and love in the home so that like the young man who comes home from his date, we believe in ourselves.
 
The scriptures for this weekend bring together a tense situation illustrated in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18) through the “testing of Abraham”. It calls Abraham to place incredible faith and trust in God that tests his love for God and his son whom he is called to sacrifice. Obviously, none of us would wish to be in Abraham’s shoes. It must be noted that a deity’s request for a sacrificial offering was part of the cultural and religious norms of the time. The passage also leads us to see that the sacrificial offering of a child to a god had crept into Israel worship. Upon facing this difficult choice, God puts stoppage to the event. Abraham’s faith in God leads him to become the “father” of a great nation with descendants as numerous as the stars. This biblical passage makes a statement against human sacrifice, but more importantly for today it touches upon the issue of non-violence. Another perspective is to question whether God tested Abraham to do the right thing and refuse to sacrifice his son even though he felt compelled by God to do so. This opens our eyes to take notice that many children today live under dangerous situations without anybody to defend them, and that sometimes the needs of particular children are sacrificed for certain luxuries that society believes to be of greater importance than the life of the child.
 
Our lives are shaped by those who love and defend us during troublesome moments. Strong families render a spirit that offers affirmation to each member, which leads to happiness and self-confidence. It is essential to know the way we are appreciated by each member of our family in that so many of the uplifting moments in life are generated through family life which includes holiday celebrations such as Thanksgiving and Christmas to personal celebrations such as birthdays, baptisms, communions, graduations and weddings.
 
Families are models for communities of all faith traditions in the same way that Abraham plays a prominent role as an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The family unit thrives when it is a model of honesty, good judgment, and hard work that is shared by people bonded to each other who take time to be with one another. Families instill into each member courage, self-assurance, convictions, and confidence. Although it is valuable not to heighten all levels of personal accomplishment within family life, it is valuable to possess sound values that are shared by each individual member. This weekend’s Gospel reading from Mark (Mark 9:2-10) thrusts forth a message of transformation which bids us to work on our present image within family life and transform annoying habits into life giving qualities that instills greater love into our homes.
 
This week for Lent seize an opportunity to take an inventory of qualities that hold back your family from spiritual growth and success. Review the times that family life provided a pessimistic image of Christian living. Transforming trials and hurts into life changing benefits is possible through discipline, effort, work and prayer that will lead to the enjoyment of an elevated sense of self-esteem within each member of the family.
 
In Christ's Love,
Fr. Bob