The Catholic Ministries Appeal is replacing the Fruitful Harvest Appeal and will begin in our parish September 19-20, 2020. Prior to this weekend, you have probably received an envelope in the mail from Bishop Doherty with a brochure, pledge card and return envelope for mailing...

Mark you calendar now to celebrate Mass outside on Friday, October 30, at 6:00 PM on the St. Paul Parish Grounds. This event will be followed with an opportunity for children to “trunk-or-treat”. Parishioners and school families are invited to sign up for a parking space and pass out Halloween treats to children in attendance. More details to come.

La inscripción para la catequesis familiar (grados K-7) y la educación religiosa de octavo grado está en proceso. Si su hijo asistió a Educación Religiosa el año pasado en San  Pablo, se envió por correo a casa una carta del Padre Christopher y un   formulario de inscripción...

Registration for Family Catechesis (grades K-7) and 8th Grade Religious Education is underway. If your child attended Religious Education last year at St. Paul, a letter from Father Christopher and a registration form was mailed home. Please bring the registration form to Mass and drop it in the offertory basket, mail it or bring it to the parish office...

Each Sunday our Youth Group provides dinner to the high schoolers who attend. The meal is graciously provided by stewards who either prepare the meal or provide a monetary donation for the purchase of food such as pizza. Bethany Kuhn, Director of Youth and Young Adult Evangelization, is looking for help. Please contact her at 765-664-6345 ext. 106 or by email at bkuhn@stpaulcatholicmarion.com if you are willing to help fill this need

Father Christopher Roberts will celebrate Mass in Latin at St. Paul Catholic Church on Saturday, September 26, at 6:30 PM. It is open to the public with social distancing and other COVID safety protocols being followed. Latin Mass will also be celebrated at St. Paul on October 24.

You might have noticed recently that after the final blessing we have been starting to have hymns to Our Blessed Mother Mary fairly consistently. Strictly speaking, the Mass concludes with “Go in peace” - so there are no hard and fast guidelines for what we tend to call the recessional hymn. We do take a cue from the official daily prayer of the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours. 

The Knights of Columbus are holding their annual golf scramble on Saturday, October 3, starting at 9:00 AM at the Marion Elks Country Club. Individuals and teams of four are invited to play. The cost is $50.00 per person. Hole sponsorships are available for $100.00. All proceeds go for scholarships awarded to parish seniors. For information contact Andy Raih at 765-618-5612.

I wanted to give you a brief update on my academic work. As you know, I am completing an advanced degree in Theology. This degree would qualify me to teach theology in a seminary. The Holy See has asked Bishop Doherty to make sure that there were more priests in the diocese with these degrees.  

La formación familiar reemplazará las clases semanales de educación religiosa los domingos por la mañana. El formato único de este programa unirá a su familia a través de la fe entusiasta de sus hijos. Su creatividad y conceptos simples hacen que el aprendizaje sea divertido, ya que cada lección está escrita en un nivel elemental pero con instrucción de nivel adulto para guiar y mejorar su enseñanza. Los padres no tienen que ser expertos en la fe, simplemente estar dispuestos a dedicar alrededor de una hora a la semana a un tiempo familiar de calidad centrado en Jesús.

Family Formation will replace the weekly Sunday morning religious education classes. This program’s unique format will draw your family together through the enthusiastic faith of your children. Its creativity and simple concepts make learning fun, as each lesson is written at an elementary level but with adult level instruction to guide and enhance your teaching.  Parents do not have to be experts in the faith, just willing to devote about an hour a week to quality family time centered on Jesus.

Todos los adultos jóvenes (de 18 a 35 años de edad) pueden venir a The Abbey Coffee Co. los Sábados por la mañana a partir de las 10:00 AM. El objetivo es conocerse unos a otros y crear un espacio donde los adultos jóvenes puedan reunirse y hablar sobre la fe. Estaremos sentados en cualquier mesa que esté abierta en ese momento, pero sabrá que somos nosotros si ve un pequeño cartel de "Conversaciones con cafeína" en la mesa. ¡No dudes en venir y traer amigos también!

All young adults (ages 18-35) are welcome to come to The Abbey Coffee Co. on Saturday mornings starting at 10:00 AM. The goal is to get to know one another and create a space where young adults can come together and talk about the faith. We will be sitting at whatever table is open at the time, but you will know it is us if you see a little ‘Caffeinated Conversations’ sign on the table. Feel free to come and bring any friends as well!

St. Paul is holding an outdoor movie night on Saturday, September 19, 2020. Help to decide which movie we will be watching by voting! Link available by opening this news story. Voting ends on September 9.

On September 5 and 6 we will resume celebrating the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick following all Sunday Masses. Anyone who is facing a life-threatening illness, looking forward to a major surgery or is in overall poor health because of the burden of years may receive this sacrament in order to help them deal with the trial of serious illness.

After evaluating the current religious education program and formation, the staff and I have been praying about how we can best serve the children and parents of St. Paul. We are eager to offer the Family Formation program beginning in September. This program has a new vision with new vitality. During COVID, this program also mitigates health risk to children.

We are less than one week away from the 2020 school auction! This annual event makes a difference for the more than 100 students at St. Paul Catholic School. Tuition assistance helps 90% of our students. Tablets and laptops are now available for ALL students, from preschool up, allowing one to one learning. Safety of our students and staff has been improved including secured entrances and video monitoring systems.

As we draw near to our upcoming pastoral transition, it is important to take some time to reflect. I am happy to be staying on as pastor at St. Paul. Judging from poverty statistics, Marion is the third poorest city in the state (after East Chicago and Gary). We face trying to minister to the poor with dwindling financial and volunteer resources but we know, with God, nothing is impossible. He has already provided for the parish as He alone can do more than once. I feel utterly inadequate for the task of meeting the challenges that face St. Paul, so we will have to trust in God’s providence.

Have you or someone you know thought about becoming Catholic? The RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is how the Roman Catholic Church welcomes and teaches those who will journey into full communion with Jesus Christ and His Church! Our first "Breaking Open the Word" dismissal session for the new season of RCIA will be during the 10:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, September 13. To learn about starting RCIA, please call the parish office (765-664-6345).   Have you ever considered sharing or deepening your faith by either sponsoring  someone entering the Church OR actually being a catechist (teacher)? If so, please consider the RCIA. You don't need a theology degree or a wealth of personal knowledge about the Catholic faith because we have lots of easy materials to use. All you need is an honest wish to help those who want to join us at the table of the Lord. You can do it by yourself or with a friend or spouse. Share your Catholic faith with those who are searching for their own! If you want to know more about the options, please call the parish office (765-664-6345).

The Catholic Church has declared many saints and it turns out that many of the saints were young! A considerable number were even under the age of 20. Consider the following list: St. Philomena, St. Maria Goretti, St. José Sánchez del Río, St. Dymphna, St. Joan of Arc. What do all these saints have in common? They all had a specific encounter with Christ and they had someone in their life (or in most cases, many people) that were authentic and holy witnesses of what it means to be a disciple of Christ.