St. Patrick Parish

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Monday- Friday 8 am

Except First Fridays, No 8 am Mass
Mass is at 12:30 pm every First Friday

* * *
SUMMER MASS SCHEDULE
Saturday 5 p.m.
Sunday 7:30 am, 10:00 am

Begins the Weekend of June 25 & 26

                   ✞    CONFESSIONS    ✞ 

offered on Saturday afternoons

from 4:00-4:30 pm in the church
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.



To make a pledge for our Capital Campaign, please ckick on button below.

     The Saint Patrick Parish office is open for walk-ins Monday through Thursday, 9 am- 3 pm and 
Fridays 9 am - 12 pm or by appointment.
Please contact the Parish Office to make an appointment after walk-in hours.

Celebrants the Weekend of June 25 & 26:  NEW SUMMER MASS TIMES!!

For important and the most up-to-date Capital Campaign news including our brochure, videos, newsletters and more...   
CLICK HERE TO BE DIRECTED TO THE ST. PATRICK PARISH CAPITAL CAMPAIGN WEBPAGE!


   

Our annual outdoor Mass and picnic is scheduled for Sunday, September 11, 2022 beginning with Mass at 11:00 am at the Washington Avenue School field followed by our picnic. There will be lots of activities and games for all ages! Please save the date and join us!

Want to be part of the fun?!? VOLUNTEER to help us plan the event or with various needs that day such as set-up, clean-up, overseeing various components such as the food station, beverage station, greeter, food pantry organization and more!

Click here to volunteer!



 

Ordinary Time

Last Tuesday was the first day of summer; it has finally arrived. Summer renders an open door to a host of activities that occupy our lives as many of these events were put off in previous years due to the pandemic. Overseas travel no longer requires a negative covid test to return to the United States, which instantly put a rush on airline tickets to countries across the Atlantic. For the church the Sundays of summer steer us back into a Season labeled Ordinary Time. The initial Season of Ordinary Time occurs in winter upon the close of the Christmas Season and terminates with Lent. The Second Season of Ordinary Time initiates after the celebration of Pentecost and draws to a close with the beginning of Advent; however, Sunday celebrations of Ordinary Time do not begin until this Sunday which follows the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ which was celebrated last weekend.

Ordinary Time is defined as “a time for growth and maturation” as it equates to a season when plants are growing and crops ripen for the harvest. This is the reason the church uses the color green throughout Ordinary Time. Recently I visited a family who had no less than 500 blueberries that were ripening on the vines in their garden. In our spiritual lives Ordinary Time is an opportunity to evaluate our faith life knowing that there is ample time to permit it to grow, mature, and ripen. The important factor with the weekends of summer is to prevent a vacation from God in the same manner that we vacation from work, school, or other activities common to us throughout most of the year. It also provides a time in the parish to render hospitality to visitors or others who have recently moved into the community. Last Sunday after the 7:30 a.m. mass I was introduced to a lovely couple who moved into Chatham from San Francisco.

Throughout the Sundays of summer, we will advance through several chapters of Luke’s Gospel that takes us on Jesus’ long journey to Jerusalem that begins today. This includes the events, life and ministry of Jesus, his contemporaries, and his behavior which is signposted with encounters, events, and stopping places. It will challenge us to grasp messages from the parables, teachings, and examples that Jesus puts into action, which invite believers to become stronger examples of a living faith. This weekend Luke’s Gospel teaches an important message about the way Jesus, James, and John are refused housing due to ethnic differences that renders anger to James and John; however, Jesus takes it in stride and seeks to journey to another village. It is common for us to react as James and John anytime we face rejection.

Our journey through Luke’s Gospel will also lead us to see the way Jesus commissions his disciples to go out into the world, and embrace the two great commandments that calls us to love our neighbor despite differences. This sets the stage to hear the parable of the Good Samaritan. In mid-July, Luke’s Gospel brings us into the home of Martha and Mary with the challenge to let go of world anxiety, and grasp time to relax in ways that provide peaceful encounters with Christ. We will also hear Luke’s version of the Our Father which is a bit different than Matthew’s which we pray at mass. The month of July will conclude with the Parable of the Rich Man that leads us to see that a person’s life does not consist of possessions since it does not ensure a happy life.

One important component within Luke’s Gospel is the image of Jesus at prayer. Luke situates Jesus at prayer more often than any other evangelist as he associates this theme in conjunction with mission, baptism, table fellowship, discipleship, joy, perseverance, and even death. Luke makes Jesus the perfect example of ways to pray. This encourages us never to let go of prayer or give it a rest while taking time off throughout the summer, but permit prayer to give thanks to God for the beauty of summer so that time spent in recreation and relaxation engenders greater opportunities to be with family, friends and others who mean so much to us.
 
 In Christ's Love,
Fr. Bob