VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
Vacation Bible School will be held July 28-August 1st.
Registration Date: Sunday, June 29th.
MURDER MYSTERY NIGHT
Come join our youth for some detective work and fellowship on August 11, 2014 at 7 pm in Aldridge Hall!
Cost of $5 includes a snack or finger food to share.
RSVP to Crissy Vigil in the Youth Office, 281-240-6721 x111, by August 1st. Seating is limited.
AECC FALL ENROLLMENT
Aquinas Early Childhood Center (AECC) is now accepting applications from parishioners for enrollment in the fall semester that begins Monday, August 25th.
We have space for 12 months to 4 years old. Please call to set up a tour to view our beautiful facility: 281-240-7196.
Classes are filling fast, so reserve your child's learning space NOW! Free registration for Parishioners for July.
BULLETIN DEADLINE
The deadline for the weekend bulletin is noon on Friday, nine days before the bulletin date. No exceptions.
Submit items to czavala@stasugarland.com.
CONGRATULATIONS, FR. SANTY KURIAN, ON YOUR INSTALLATION AS PASTOR
Fr. Santy Kurian, M.S.F.S., celebrated his first Mass as pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas on Tuesday, July 1st, and was officially installed by The Most Reverend Bishop George Sheltz at the 9:30 am Mass on Sunday, July 20th.
Fr. Santy is a member of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, a religious order. He has served as a Catholic school principal for seven years, a pastor for four years, and as a parochial vicar in India and the U.S. for eight years, the last seven of them at St. Laurence in Sugar Land. A native of Kerala, South India, Fr. Santy came to the U.S. in October 2007. He holds four masters degrees.
Ordained a priest on May 2, 1995, Fr. Santy notes that "Priesthood is meaningful only when rooted in the Eucharist."
OFFICE HOURS
Monday to Thursday: 7:30 am to 5:00 pmClosed 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm (Lunch)
Friday: 7:30 am to 12:00 pm
Saturday & Sunday:: Closed
MASS TIMES
Saturday - 5:00 pmSunday - 7:30 am
9:30 am, 11:30 am
Daily Mass
Monday - Saturday
8:00 am Mass,
Divine Mercy Chapel;
Wednesday, 7:00 pm Mass,
Sanctuary
Life Teen 11:30 am Sunday
Mass each month
First Friday of month Mass
and Anointing of Sick, 7:00 pm,
Sanctuary
Eucharistic Adoration
Monday - Thursday,
9:00 am to 10:00 pm;
Friday, 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
Divine Mercy Chapel
Sacrament of Penance
Saturday, 4:00 to 4:45 pm
and by appointment
PRAYER FOR THE PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
O God our Creator, from your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty. Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome—for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—this great land will always be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court granted a landmark victory for religious liberty June 30th when it ruled in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that individuals do not lose their religious freedom when they open a family business. The court ruled 5-4 in favor of David and Barbara Green and their family business, Hobby Lobby, that they will not be required to violate their faith by including four potentially life-terminating drugs and devices in the company’s health insurance plan or pay severe fines.
The decision has important implications for over 50 pending lawsuits brought by non-profit religious organizations, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor, which are also challenging the mandate.
CCE REGISTRATION IS AUGUST 4TH-29th
CCE Registration opens August 4th-29th. Register through the parish office Monday through Thursday from 8 am to 4 pm (closed between 12-1 pm), and on Sunday, August 10th and August 17th after all Masses.
REGISTER EARLY. Late fees apply after August 17th.
Register for grades K through 12th, First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion, Confirmation and RCIC.
Sacrament registrations are separate classes in addition to regular faith formation. All sacrament registrations are not complete until Baptismal Certificates are on file with completed registration forms.
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
Interested in being part of our Life Teen, Edge or Confirmation Teams?
We are looking for Adults, Young Adults, Recent Grads, High School Juniors and Seniors for our teams. Training is provided.
Call the Youth Office, 281-240-6721 X111 for details.
GAME NIGHT MONDAYS FOR YOUTH
Coming events: Monday, July 21st and 28th, 6:30-9 pm.
Open to Incoming 9th - Outgoing 12th
Come play games in Youth Room and basketball and other games outdoors.
Thissen Bldg., Youth Room. (Enter through Back Stairs or Call number on door to be let in through the elevator.)
PRAYER GROUP WEDNESDAYS FOR YOUTH
Next date: July 23rd,: 7 pm - 8:30 pm, youth room.
Not registered for AYC? You can still come and join us for this prayer group (must be in high school).
FMI: cvigil@stasugarland.com, 281-240-6721 x111.
LIFE TEEN & EDGE REGISTRATION
Register August 10th and 17th after all Masses. Forms can be downloaded from stayministry.com.
UPCOMING SUMMER 2014 DATES
Edge Clean-up Day: August 6th, 4:00-8:00 pm
Lifeteen Core Planning: August 10th, 1:00-5:00 pm
Edge Team Planning: August 17th, 1:00-5:00 pm.
PRAY FOR OUR YOUTH
On July 25th-27th, thirty of our high school youth and chaperones will be attending the annual Archdiocesan Youth Conference. Please pray that all participants will have a faith-filled experience.
S.T.A.Y. CONNECTED
St. Thomas Aquinas Youth Ministry: stayministry.com or on Facebook.
MOBILE QR CODE
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Jul 25 2014 7:00 pm - Magnificat Prayer Group
- Jul 26 2014 6:30 pm - Charismatic Prayer Group
- Jul 27 2014 8:00 am - RCIA Adults
TO DONATE CLICK BELOW
DIOCESAN SERVICES FUND
DSF brings Christ's comfort and care to the many pressing needs that cannot be addressed by one parish alone.
Our parish goal for 2014 is $73,500. Our parish number is 7946. To give online, visit http://www.archgh.org/dsf/.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
We could use a second adorer to share the following hours:
MONDAY: 10:00 - 11:00 am; 12:00 - 1:00 pm; 5:00 - 6:00 pm; 8:00 - 9:00 pm;
TUESDAY: 10:00 - 11:00 am; 11:00 - 12:00 pm; 12:00 - 1:00 pm;
THURSDAY: 10:00 - 11:00 am; 1:00 - 2:00 pm; 3:00 - 4:00 pm;
FRIDAY: 2:00 - 3:00 pm; 3:00 - 4:00 pm.
Contact Jenny Gonsalves, 281-814-4340, or call the parish office at 281-240-6721.
WHO CAN RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST?
Catholics who have received their First Sacraments, who are not conscious of grave sin, and who have fasted for at least one hour, are encouraged to devoutly and frequently receive Holy Communion.
IMPORTANT: To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself." Anyone conscious of grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to Communion. (CCC#1385).
DIVINE MERCY DEVOTION
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed in the chapel after daily Mass and the Rosary for the conversion of sinners, for those who will die that day, and for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Saying the chaplet for the dying at the 3 pm Hour of Mercy is especially powerful and a great Spiritual Work of Mercy.
A copy of the original image of the Divine Mercy in our chapel.
PRAY THE ROSARY
WE PRAY THE ROSARY AT STA!!!!
Come half an hour before all Masses on the first weekend of the month and before all weekend Masses in May and October when different ministries at STA lead the Rosary.
The Rosary is also prayed after 8 am morning Masses and before the 6:45 pm Wednesday Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena and Mass.
Pious tradition teaches that Our Blessed Mother gave the Rosary to St. Dominic with instructions to popularize its use, and she has repeatedly asked in church-approved apparitions to pray the Rosary for peace in the world!
In his 2002 Apostolic Letter on the Rosary, "Rosarium Virginis Mariae," Pope St. John Paul II added the Luminous Mysteries to the traditional Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious to give the Rosary "fresh life and enkindle renewed interest in the Rosary's place within Christian spirituality." He asked that the Rosary be prayed for the cause of peace in the world and the cause of the family.
The Rosary is not a dry and boring exercise, the Saint reminds us, but a way of concentrating the mind on the particular mysteries and "remembering" with Mary as we pray to Christ and listen in the Spirit to the Father's voice.
POPE FRANCIS REQUESTS "INTENSE" PRAYER FOR BISHOPS' OCTOBER SYNOD ON THE FAMILY
Dear Families,
With this letter, I wish, as it were, to come into your homes to speak about an event which will take place at the Vatican this coming October. It is the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which is being convened to discuss the theme of "pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization". Indeed, in our day the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel by confronting the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family.
This important meeting will involve all the People of God - bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the particular Churches of the entire world - all of whom are actively participating in preparations for the meeting through practical suggestions and the crucial support of prayer. Such support on your part, dear families, is especially significant and more necessary than ever.
This Synodal Assembly is dedicated in a special way to you, to your vocation and mission in the Church and in society; to the challenges of marriage, of family life, of the education of children; and the role of the family in the life of the Church. I ask you, therefore, to pray intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that the Spirit may illumine the Synodal Fathers and guide them in their important task.
As you know, this Extraordinary Synodal Assembly will be followed a year later by the Ordinary Assembly, which will also have the family as its theme. In that context, there will also be the World Meeting of Families due to take place in Philadelphia in September 2015. May we all, then, pray together so that through these events the Church will undertake a true journey of discernment and adopt the necessary pastoral means to help families face their present challenges with the light and strength that comes from the Gospel.
--POPE FRANCIS