EVENTS

ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH NEWS

 Soup , Video and Stations at St. Augustine Join us at St. Augustine Catholic Church each Friday in Lent for soup and bread at 6 pm, during which a 30-minute video will be shown from “No Greater Love: A Biblical Walk-Through Christ’ ’s Passion”. Stations will follow at 7:00 pm

Fridays Group

 

 

ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH NEWS

Taize Prayer Service
March 21, 2024, 7:00 PM
Saint Augustine Church

 

     St. Augustine will be collecting Nonperishable food, Household supplies (paper products, soaps, etc.) for the Boy Scout Troop 29 St. John’s Food Pantry. Please bring Donation to the Church After Mass on Sundays. 

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Lenten, Holy Week, Easter Schedule

Stations of the Cross: Feb. 16, 23, Mar. 1, 8, 15, 22

8:30am Our Lady of Mercy Church
9:30 am St. Benedict School
11:30 am Queen of Martyrs Church
3:00 pm St. Benedict Church
7:00 pm St. Augustine Church

Holy Thursday

7:00 pm St. Augustine Church March 28, 2024
6:00 pm Corpus Christi Church March 28, 2024

Good Friday

Stations March 29, 2024

noon (noon) St. Augustine Church
1:00 pm Our Lady of Mercy Church
11:00 am Queen of Martyrs Church
3:00 pm St. Benedict Church

Good Friday Passion of the Lord Service March 29, 2024

5:00 pm Corpus Christi Church
7:00 pm St. Augustine Church

                  Holy Saturday Easter Vigil March 30, 2024
(Combined Mass for All Holy Spirit Family)
8:30 pm St. Benedict Church

Easter Sunday March 31, 2024

8:30 am St. Augustine Church
9:00 am Our Lady of Mercy Church
10:30 am St. Benedict Church
11:00 am Queen of Martyrs Church

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ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH NEWS

2024 Life in the Spirit Retreat at Queen of Martyrs

All St. Augustine Parish Members are Invited.
Saturday April 13, 8:30am till 4pm
Continuing on Sunday, April 14. 1:00pm till 5:00pm
Optional Closing Service, 5-6:00 pm
Free Retreat

Location:
McAuley Hall, at Queen of Martyrs 4311 N. Dixie Dr., Dayton, OH 45414
Continental Breakfast and Lunch provided.

To Register go online at http://qmdayton.org or use QR Code, or Call 937-277-2092, Ext. 4001
or mail to: Queen of Martyrs Office 4134 Cedar Ridge Rd. Dayton, OH 45414 or fill out Flyer and return Sunday Mass.

 

                     QR Code                                                           2024 Life in the Spirit Retreat at Queen of Martyrs Flyer

        2024 Life In the Spirit Retreat at Queen of Martyrs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH NEWS

Save These Dates

 

Confirmation Mass at Saint Augustine Sunday, May 5th.

Need servers, lectors and Eucharistic Ministers Please Contact Deacon Ken

 

ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH NEWS

Combined Family Masses for 2024

    We will continue our efforts of growing together as a community, with the 2024 Combined Mass. Recall, there will be a single mass each quarter dedicated as a combined mass for the entire Family of Parishes. On those days when we schedule a combined mass, it will be the only mass for that weekend. There will be announcements within the bulletin and at masses leading up to the scheduled combined mass.

Confirmation Mass at Saint Augustine Sunday, May 5th.

Need servers, lectors and Eucharistic Ministers Please Contact Deacon Ken

The Combined Mass 2024 schedule is as follows:

First Quarter Easter Vigil Mass, March 30, 2024, 8:30 pm at St. Benedict the Moor

Second Quarter – Pentecost; May 5, 2024, 10:30 am at St. Augustine

Third QuarterFamily Picnic, September 8, 2024, 10:00 a.m. To be Determined (TBD)

Fourth Quarter Sunday before Thanksgiving, November 24, 2024, 10:00 am at Corpus Christi

Thank you for your attention, please do continue to check the bulletin for future updates.

3:00 Church

ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH NEWS

 

 Congratulations to Sylvia M. Hess as you retire after 34 years of service as the secretary and pastor’s assistant at St. Augustine Church in Germantown.

 

 ST. BENEDICT SCHOOL NEWS  

 

 

 

Recycled Plastic Bag Bench

A new bench was placed at the Grotto at St. Benedict School by Marie and Randy Klotz of St. Augustine Church. This bench is made from recycled plastic bags. We all can help make more benches by saving our plastic bags and giving them to Randy and Marie at St. Augustine Church. A special thanks to Randy and Marie, and to all who donate plastic for this cause.

 

ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH NEWS

Thanks to all who attended the Holy Spirit Family of Parishes Mass celebrating Queen of Martyrs 75th Anniversary!

Deacon Ken Stewart, Father Francis,
Archbishop Schnurr, and Father Benoit

 

Thank You

I want to say thank you to Queen of Martyrs for inviting the Holy Spirit Family churches to their 75th Anniversary Mass (Pontifical Mass) and the magnificent dinner after Mass. As part of our Holy Spirit Family of Parishes, I found the whole day to be blessed.

Randall Klotz
St. Augustine Church
Regional Parish Council Chair

 

ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH NEWS

SAINT AUGUSTINE PRAYER CHAIN

If you would like to be a part of the St. Augustine Prayer Chain, please contact Marie Klotz at saintapraysingtown@gmail.com

SAINT AUGUSTINE ONE CALL

To be added to the St. Augustine one-call, please contact Fran Delegato at delegatof@outlook.com

Sonshine in a Bag

St. AUGUSTINE PARISH is participating and supporting “SONSHINE IN A BAG” food program. The Sonshine in a Bag program provides bags of food to refer students who they feel could benefit from receiving food from this program. Donation are Appreciated.

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ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH NEWS

While traveling and you wish to find Catholic Services near your visiting area go to this website.

http://CatholicMassTime.org

 

 

Saint of the Week 
March 17, 2024

Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary

Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary First Century
Feast Day March 19

Patron Saint of the Universal Church, fathers, carpenters, and a happy death.

Quote

When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus. ~Matthew 1:24–25

      On March 19th, we celebrate the holiness in the midst of unpredictable fatherhood. We first meet Joseph when he discovers his betrothed is pregnant…and not by him! St. Joseph does not know who the father is (yet), but he knows the punishment for adultery is death. He decides to divorce Mary quietly, and thus save her life. When an angel appears to reveal that Mary is pregnant by the Holy Spirit, St. Joseph trusts his dream and marries her. As a new foster father, Joseph must help his wife give birth in a stable. Later, he needs to escape the threats to his son’s life by immigrating with his family to a foreign land. We know that St. Joseph is faithful, brave, and willing to sacrifice for those he loves.

On the solemnity of St. Joseph, until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus. ~Matthew 1:24–25 we don’t merely celebrate a carpenter. We celebrate a hero!

 

Saint of the Week 
March 10, 2024

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque   

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
Feast Day: October 16

Patron: of those suffering with polio, devotees of the Sacred Heart, loss of parents

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) was born Margaret Alacoque in a small village in France. After her father died when she was eight years old, she was sent to a convent school run by the Poor Clares where she became bedridden with rheumatic fever. For four years she was confined to her bed until she made a vow to Mary, Mother of God, to consecrate herself to religious life. Following this vow, her health was restored. Throughout her childhood and early adulthood, Margaret continued to have religious visions of Jesus.

 In 1671, at age 24, Margaret entered the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary and took the name Mary when she professed her vows. During her time in the convent, she had series of mystical experiences — most notably, her encounters with the Sacred
Heart of Jesus. According to her accounts, Jesus appeared to her and revealed his Sacred Heart, burning with love for humanity and instructed her to devote herself to adoration of the Eucharist every Thursday night during a holy hour which she immediately incorporated into her routine. He also instructed her to celebrate a new feast, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

St. Margaret Mary dedicated herself to promoting the feast and adoration of the Eucharist. Her visions and messages were met with skepticism initially, but she trusted God’s guidance. In 1688, just two years before she died, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was celebrated for the first time in the Church’s liturgical calendar. Eventually, her holy hour of adoration also became a popular tradition among Catholics worldwide. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us!

 

 

Saint of the Week 
March 3, 2024

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem  

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor c. 315–c. 387
Feast Day March 18

Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1883

      The legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire in 313 ended persecutions, but the Church continued to suffer. Politics entered the Church, emperors inserted themselves into doctrine, and theological and territorial divisions became fierce. The theological divisions in the fourth century centered on Jesus’ nature. Arius, a priest from Alexandria in North Africa, believed that the Father created the Son, making the Son subordinate to the Father and neither co-eternal nor co-equal with the Father. These teachings came to be known as the Arian Heresy. Others believed that the Son was “begotten of the Father,” meaning He existed from all eternity with the Father and was of the same divine nature. This theological battle was initially addressed in the year 325 at the Council of Nicaea but was not settled until 381 by the Council of Constantinople. It was in this fifty-six-year period of Church history and controversy that today’s saint was born, lived, and fought for the true faith.

      Cyril was born in or near the city of Jerusalem around 315. He was well-educated in the Scriptures and philosophy prior to his ordination as a deacon and then to the priesthood at age twenty-eight. His superior, Bishop Maximus, assigned Cyril the responsibility of assisting him as a preacher and catechist. Cyril preached every Sunday and catechized those preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation. A surviving set of twenty-four of his catechetical instructions are remarkable for their content and clarity. The first eighteen lessons explained what catechumens needed to know about baptism, how to change from pagan morals, the meaning of the Creed, and the errors of Arianism. Cyril’s last six lessons led the newly baptized in how to live the new life they received from the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Most Holy Eucharist, as well as lessons on prayer, especially found in the Lord’s Prayer.

      Cyril was chosen to succeed Maximus as Bishop of Jerusalem in 348. Soon after Cyril became bishop, a miraculous sign appeared over the holy site of Jesus’ crucifixion. A large cross of light, surrounded by a rainbow, appeared in the sky and stretched for about two miles over the city, perhaps an affirmation of Cyril or a sign of the suffering he would endure in office. Cyril encountered opposition from bishops sympathetic to Arianism and persecution from emperors. Cyril was deposed and exiled from Jerusalem three times during his almost forty years as a bishop.

      Even so, Bishop Cyril was a true shepherd of his flock, preaching and catechizing just as he had done as a priest. His gentle, pastoral, conciliatory, and humble approach to his ministry led some more orthodox bishops to suspect him of being sympathetic to the Arians. He was finally declared orthodox in his faith in 378. In 381, the Council of Constantinople gave further clarity on the Arian Heresy, clarified the Creed of Nicaea, and affirmed Bishop Cyril’s office of Bishop of Jerusalem. He remained a holy shepherd of his people until his death six years later. An eyewitness to Bishop Cyril’s catechetical lessons that were delivered in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre said that whenever Cyril completed a lesson, all of the people would enthusiastically applaud.

     Saint Cyril, you never wavered from the Truth, not even during persecution and exile, but proclaimed Christ Jesus to your flock. Please pray for me, that I will always remain firm in my faith in a hostile world and will lovingly proclaim the truth to those who need it most. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
 

 

Saint of the Week 
February 24, 2024

Saint Gregory of Narek   

Saint Gregory of Narek, 951–c. 1003
Abbot and Doctor of the Church
Feast Day February 27

Widely venerated in the Armenian Church Declared a Doctor of the Church in 2015 by Pope Francis in 2021

     Evangelized by the Apostles Saint Jude Thaddeus and Saint Bartholomew, Armenia became – in 301 – the first kingdom to make Christianity its official religion. The Church thrived in Armenia, but in 451, the Armenian Church separated from the Church of Rome over disagreements on doctrine from the Council of Chalcedon. The Armenian Church remained an apostolic Church, its Sacraments and life of prayer continued, but the division remained. Attempts at reunification have intensified in recent decades, and the honoring of Saint Gregory of Narek is the Roman Church’s most recent attempt to more fully unite with the Eastern Church of Armenia.

      Gregory was born in 951, near Lake Van in modern-day Turkey. His mother died when he was young, leading to his deep devotion to our Blessed Mother. His father was the ruling prince of the Andzevatsiq province and an Armenian bishop and scholar whose support of some of the teachings of the Council of Chalcedon led to his excommunication from the Armenian Church.

     After their mother’s death, Gregory and his older brother were sent to live at the Monastery of Narek. At about the age of twenty-six, Gregory was ordained a priest for the monastery and remained there for the rest of his life, teaching theology in the monastery’s school.

     Shortly after his ordination to the priesthood, Gregory wrote a commentary on the Song of Songs. He also wrote commentary on the Book of Job, and numerous chants, homilies, and speeches that sang the praises of holy men. Toward the end of his life, he wrote his most famous work, The Book of Lamentations, or, as it is commonly known today, The Book of Narek.

     Gregory’s father taught him to remain in continuous dialogue with God, ever attentive to His divine presence. The Book of Narek is a compilation of ninety-five prayers that flow from that dialogue. Each begins with the phrase, “Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart.” The prayers express a troubled – even tormented – soul’s deepest love of God. The torment is not despair, but an interior expression of hope from a soul in touch with its fallen humanity and sin, while also keenly aware of God’s mercy. His prayers reflect the psalms and are similar to Saint Augustine’s Confessions. Saint Gregory states that these prayers were written “by the finger of God” (Prayer 34) and that he saw God, as he says, “with my own eyes” (Prayer 27f).

     In the centuries after Gregory’s death, Armenia suffered greatly under foreign domination, culminating in the Armenian genocide when the Turks murdered an estimated 1 – 1.8 million Armenians in 1915-16. During their suffering, the Armenian people relied on Saint Gregory’s book of prayers. When Pope Francis declared Saint Gregory a Doctor of the Church, the book of prayers became accessible to the whole world. Let us conclude with the ending of Gregory’s final prayer.

     Prepare the earth for the day of light and let the soil bloom and bring forth fruit, heavenly cup of life-giving blood, ever sacrificed, never running dry all for the salvation and life of the souls in eternal rest. And though my body die in sin, with Your grace and compassion, may I be strengthened in You, cleansed of sin through You, and renewed by You with life everlasting, and at the resurrection of the righteous be deemed worthy of Your Father’s blessing. To Him together with You, all glory, and with the Holy Spirit, praise and resounding thanks, now, always and forever, Amen.

 

For More Saint of the Week go to.

https://www.catholicsmart.com/saint-of-the-week/

 

ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH NEWS

Sunday October 1st. St. Augustine presented the (The Top 3 Reasons That I Became Catholic… and Always Will Be. The Dr. John Bergsma, a former Protestant Pastor’s story) was shown immediately after the 8:30 am Mass. Please fill free to view this presentation.

To View click below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06F4i4TtS1c

 

ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH NEWS

Ben Mersch son of Joyce and Steve Mersch was ordained a Deacon at the Cathedral on April 29th, 2023.