St. Thomas Aquinas Parish

ALPHA IS HERE!

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Are you wondering what Christianity is all about?

Are you curious about the Catholic Church?

Have you not received First Communion and/or Confirmation?

Are you engaged or married to a Catholic, and want to know why they believe “all that stuff”?

Are you returning to the Church after a long absence?

Or are you simply interested in learning more about the Faith you already profess and practice?

THE ALPHA COURSE classes are held on Tuesdays in Fr. D'Arco Hall, 6:00-9:00 p.m.

(There is no commitment, cost , or obligation to you!)

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EVANGELical catholicism

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What does "evangelical" mean?

Is it only a Protestant concept?

In what ways is Catholic Christianity evangelical, and why and how SHOULD it be?

Our pastor, Msgr. Douglas Raun, will present a four-week book discussion of George Weigel's recent book, EVANGELICAL CATHOLICISM. It will meet in Fr. D'Arco Hall on Mondays, 6/3/13-7/1/13 (no class on 6/17), 7:00-9:00 p.m. A limited number of books will be available for purchase for $19 each the first night of class. (Come early!)

Missed the first talk?

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!

NEW Great adventure bible study group forming

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A new, 11-session Great Adventure Bible study group is forming to study the book of Revelation.

It will meet in the Religious Education Center, room 6, on Saturdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m., beginning 7/13/13.

All Great Adventure studies require participants to use a Catholic Bible and a Catechism of the Catholic Church. The optional, but strongly recommended study kit will cost $20 or less. Please e-mail Jeannette at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (or call 892-1511, x104) by 6/27/13 to pre-register.

Pastor's Corner - 5/26/2013

msgr3 My dear family,

On this great feast that summarizes the mystery of our faith, we pray,

All hail adored Trinity,
All hail eternal Unity;
O God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, ever One.

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This is the last weekend that our dear Father Anthony Akabogu will be with us here at St. Thomas. On May 30th he goes to his new assignment as Vicar of Our Lady of Sorrows in Las Vegas, N.M.

On behalf of the entire parish I wish to thank Fr. Anthony for all the wonderful service he has given to our parish. God bless and reward you, Fr. Anthony!

After all the Masses this weekend we will have a reception in Fr. D’Arco Hall where you can wish Fr. Anthony farewell. I hope you can stop by and thank Father for his ministry to us.

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I am happy to announce that our new vicar is Father Robert Peccatiello, one of the newly ordained priests of our Archdiocese. Fr. Peccatiello is from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Moriarty. He will begin his ministry among us May 31st.

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And many thanks to everyone who helped with the celebrations of the Ordinations and First Masses of Fathers Gutierrez and Carian. What a beautiful Pentecost Weekend in our Parish!

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Next Sunday (June 2) is the glorious feast of Corpus Christi - the feast of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. We will be doing two things to commemorate the feast:

- We will have the traditional outdoors Corpus Christi Processionat 3 pm, where we will carry the Blessed Sacrament around the parish property and have outdoor Benediction, publicly showing our faith in the Real Presence and asking our Eucharistic Lord’s blessing upon our parish, and

-We will have a visiting priest, Father Louis Guardiola, preaching at all the Masses about the value of Eucharistic Adoration, which is the living heart of our parish. This will give us an opportunity to consider committing to a weekly hour with our Lord in the Adoration Chapel.

God bless you all!

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Msgr. Doug Raun

Congratulations to the Newly Ordained!

On Saturday, May 18th, two of our parish's own were ordained to the Sacred Priesthood! Congratulations to Father Simon Carian and to Father Daniel Gutierrez! Also ordained to the Sacred Priesthood was Father Robert Peccatiello, who willl be serving his first assignment at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish starting in June!

Pictured in the larger picture from left to right: Father Robert Peccatiello, Deacon Felipe Valdez, Archbishop Michael Sheehan, Father Simon Carian, Deacon Dominic Pierson, Father Daniel Gutierrez.

Thank you to Sarah M Photography for the excellent picture!

Pastor's Corner - 5/19/2013

msgr3 O Day of Jubilation!

With all our heart, we congratulate the sons of our parish, FATHER SIMON CARIAN and FATHER DANIEL GUTIERREZ, ordained to the Sacred Priesthood yesterday (Saturday), and who celebrate their First Holy Mass today.

Ad multos annos! - For many years! We pray that God grant them a long, happy, and most of all, a holy life of priesthood.

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Of course today is the glorious Feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Church. With today’s celebration our Easter Season come to a close, and we enter that season of steady spiritual growth, symbolized by the color green, which we call Ordinary Time.

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With the Ordinations, and the end of school this week, May Madness comes to an end in our parish. It's been quite a thrilling three weeks in the parish, folks! Tiring, but wonderful.

A blessed week!

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Msgr. Doug Raun