Blood Pressure Screenings. Our volunteer Parish Nurses will be available after all Masses this weekend for blood pressure screenings. Please stop by to get a blood pressure check or simply to ask a nurse a question! Remember, we care about your health, and you are never alone in dealing with life’s challenges.
Encounter Christ
Stations of the Cross with Music! This Friday, March 8, music will be provided before, during, and after the stations. Enjoy this beautiful form of worship beginning with a soup dinner at 6 pm.
Parish Reconciliation. Join us on Wednesday, March 13, at 7 pm, in our church for a parish Lenten reconciliation.
Be Reconciled. A Diocesan-wide day of reconciliation on Wednesday, March 20. Our priests will be available from 9 am-7 pm.
Parish Potluck! Join us for our next potluck on Saturday, March 23, after our 4 pm Mass. The parish will provide pulled pork sandwiches. Please register and bring a dish to share based on your last name. We want to provide enough food! Sign up here.
Grow In Christ
Reflections from the Holy Land for the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Click here for this week's annotations.
Mysteries of the Rosary - Paradisus Dei on FORMED.org. Travel with Mark Hartfiel and over twenty guest speakers to the Holy Land. Gain deeply reflective insights into the life of Christ, theological truths, and captivating stories together with breathtaking scenery, sacred art, and music. Sign up for a free, all-access account by visiting signup.formed.org.
Bible Foodie: A Lent-Inspired Tasting Session. Take Two, but now a different menu! On Saturday, March 16, starting at noon, in the Rosinski Reading Room. Join our director of Adult Faith Formation, Brent, and cooking duo John and Ann Cirpinski for a delicious sampling menu based on the cuisine of the eastern Mediterranean. Please sign up here.
Spring 2024 Cursillo Weekends. Men gather April 11-14, and Women gather April 18-21. Join a movement that gives life to essential Christian truths. Discover your potential as a disciple of Christ! Come for a four-day weekend that begins with a retreat and transitions to “a short course in Christianity.” For more details, visit here.
Sanctuary Course Coming This Spring. Thursdays 7-8:30 pm, April 11 through May 30. During this eight-session program, participants will learn about the struggles and successes of mental health. Each week, reflect and discuss topics such as stigma, recovery, companionship, self-care, and the Church. This weekend, visit the Welcome Center to speak to a representative for more information. Please sign up here.
Be Sent by Christ
Hope for Haitians. “My cup overflows” – In today’s psalm we recount how the Lord shepherds us and leads us so that “There is nothing I shall want”. In our daily life, it is easy to find something to eat. This is not the case for the poor in Haiti.
This photo shows a cassava bakery where cassava, a tuberous root, is ground into flour and made into a flatbread. This flatbread is one of the staples in Haiti. In some Hope for Haitians villages, we have provided a cassava bakery to help develop sustainable food sources for families.
In other villages, we provided a rice or corn mill for the villagers so they could be more efficient in processing their hand-harvested crops and help feed their families. These mills also allow them to produce additional rice and flour to sell to other villages providing an income opportunity.
Help Hope for Haitians complete its 18th village by donating during the parish Lenten almsgiving appeal. Each gift is truly appreciated. Thank you to all who picked up a donation box at the Welcome Center. We hope you are following your Lent Calendar and making this a family journey. If you would like to find out more about Hope for Haitians Mission or donate online visit hopeforhaitians.org/rockford-diocese/
Holiday Food Baskets Ministry-Easter Baskets. Do you have a basket lying around in your house that you would like to donate to this ministry? We need 20 baskets for our St. John Neumann Families along with the hygiene items to assemble their kits. Families will be getting an Aldi Gift Card, an Easter basket for the kids, and hygiene goods to help with their household expenses. If you would like to share your blessings, you can do so by donating money here. Hygiene kit items needed: toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, deodorant, toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap and laundry detergent. Please bring your donations, now through March 20 to room 216. God bless your generosity!
Join us for Our Day of Prayer. This Friday, March 8, is our day as a parish to peacefully pray for the end of abortion for the 40 Days for Life campaign. We are called to cover prayer from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. Our Respect Life Ministry will be praying a Pro-Life Rosary at 11:00 am outside Waterleaf, 3051 E. New York Ave, Aurora. If you are not able to participate on this day, pray any other day during the campaign, February 14- March 24. Pro-life rosaries are available at our Welcome Center! Let’s build together a culture of life and a civilization of love.
Ongoing Events
Street Outreach for the Homeless. Bags with essential supplies are available at our office and Welcome Center. Next time you encounter a homeless person, follow Jesus in reaching out with a bag and a smile.
Daughters of Mary Widows Group. If you like to share conversation, enjoy fun afternoons, and visit interesting places, join us! The meetings are on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 1:30 pm, in rooms 213-215.
That Man Is You! Saturdays, 6:45 am, with breakfast, in the Hoffman Center. Includes small group discussions and presentations.
Looking Ahead to the Weekend Gospel Study. Wednesdays, 11:15 am, in rooms 213-215.
Lord of Life. Weekly sharing of blessings, the Sunday Gospel, God's action within our lives, and prayers of petition. Wednesdays, 7:30-8:30 pm, in Rooms 213-215.
Pietra Fitness. Thursdays, 9:30 am, in the Hoffman Center. Contact Laura at laura.m.saad@gmail.com.
Feed My Starving Children. Pack food at the Aurora location on the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Contact Bob at drinibird2@gmail.com.
Northern Illinois Food Bank. Pack food at the Geneva location on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 5:30 pm. Register here.
Neumann Needlers. If you already know the craft or would like to learn, join this group on the first Monday of every month, 9 am - 11 am, in rooms 213-215, or pick up supplies from our office and knit from home! Contact Helen at Toots410@aol.com
Silver Foxes. Join the fun and fellowship with this 55 years & over group. Contact Lorraine for more information at 630-632-5453.
Baby Items Collection for Walking with Moms in Need. Please donate baby items for area moms in need: baby shampoo, lotion, diaper rash cream, baby wipes, clothes (0-24 months), and diapers. Bring items to room 216.
Community Events
Grief Support Group at St. Patrick Parish. Are you looking for healing amidst grief? Join us for a free six-week grief support/book study group. We will discuss “Finding a Loving God in the Midst of Grief” by Susan Erschen. The book can be ordered from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Please purchase before the first meeting. When: Tuesdays, April 2 – May 7, 6:30 – 8 pm
Where: St. Francis Room, St. Patrick Crane Road Church (6N491 Crane Road)
Baptisms
Called by Name to be a Child of God
February 4: Ava Marie Lollino; Makenna Rose Blake
February 10: Daphne Michelle Bates
February 18: Henry William Harrison
February 25: Ethan Lind Kasprzak; Edmund Patrick Hutchins
Mass Intentions
Sunday, March 10th
8:00 † John Balzanto
9:30 Lilly Hale (Intentions of)
11:00 † Kimberly Frias
Monday, March 11th
7:30 † Robert Slaughter
8:30 Lilly Hale (Intentions of)
6:00 † Jeff Carlisle
Tuesday, March 12th
7:30 † Stanley Peck
8:30 † Jim Hyler
6:00 Ava Lubas and Logan Houser (Intentions of)
Wednesday, March 13th
7:30 † Clara Williams
8:30 † Theo Kramer
6:00 † Virginia Radcliffe
Thursday, March 14th
7:30 † Rick Jungels
8:30 † Marie Schero
6:00 Marianne and Michael Hale (Intentions of)
Friday, March 15th
7:30 For the People of SJN
8:30 † Richard Kirchberg
6:00 † Irene Muilenburg
Saturday, March 16th
8:30 † Clara Williams
4:00 † Maas and Berkes Families
Sick List
Georgette Wurm, Jenny Martin,
Adele Fabish, Terri Carlson,
Cathy Brandenburg, Lisa Marie Fuchs, Mary Anderson, Marianne Roberts, Glenn Johnson, Larry Fehling,
Darlene Thomas, Patrick Thomas,
Adele Fabish, Terri Carlson,
Cathy Brandenburg, Lisa Marie Fuchs, Mary Anderson, Marianne Roberts, Glenn Johnson, Larry Fehling,
Darlene Thomas, Patrick Thomas,
Don Van Borsch, Katie Kennedy, Constance Thullen, Mary Ann Yench, Carol Klooppmann, Gabby Amore,
Carmen Mullally-Powers
Heavenly Father, we lift up all those who are facing various illnesses. Give them the hope and courage they need today and every day. Comfort their pain, calm their fears, and surround them with Your peace.
Stewardship Corner
Oh Lord, we know that it is from Your hand that we have received all we have. Gracious and loving God, we understand that You call us to be the stewards of Your abundance, the caretakers of all You have entrusted to us. Amen.
Collection Report
Budgeted Monthly Contribution Needed: $119,583.00
February Contribution Received: $104,167.00
Diocesan Stewardship Appeal Progress
Goal: $138,956.00
Pledges: $133,790.43 (Help us to the finish line!)
Pledges: $133,790.43 (Help us to the finish line!)