St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church

Pray for our church, our priests, our country, for an end to abortion.

Wednesday, eleven days before the bulletin date.Submit to lcordova@stasugarland.com.

The practice of receiving Holy Communion on nine consecutive First Fridays in reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is derived from revelations made by Christ to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690). See First Friday Devotion. NEXT DATE: OCTOBER 7TH

OCTOBER 7TH: Healing Mass with Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, 7 pm in the Sanctuary.

Those who practice the First Saturday Devotion receive Holy Communion on five consecutive First Saturdays, receive the Sacrament of Penance within an octave of this reception, recite five decades of the Rosary and make a 15-minute meditation on one of these mysteries. This devotion traced to St. John Eudes gained momentum after Our Lady of Fatima (1917) requested it, promising her intercession for final perseverance at the hour of death to all who would be faithful to it. See First Saturday Devotion. NEXT DATE: OCTOBER 1ST

Awaken them that the same hands lifted up to you in prayer 
Are the hands that pull the lever in the voting booth;
That the same eyes that read your Word
Are the eyes that read the names on the ballot,
And that they do not cease to be Christians
When they enter the voting booth.

Awaken your people to a commitment to justice
To the sanctity of marriage and the family,
To the dignity of each individual human life,
And to the truth that human rights begin when human lives begin,
And not one moment later.

Lord, we rejoice today
That we are citizens of your kingdom.

May that make us all the more committed
To being faithful citizens on earth.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

--PRIESTS FOR LIFE

St. Thomas Aquinas holds conversational English classes for adults. Classes are available Monday through Thursday mornings from 9:00 until 10:30 am in the Aquinas Center.  Evening classes are from 7:00 pm until 8:30 pm Monday through Wednesday.

This year STA will partner with our neighboring parish, St. Theresa, to offer Saturday classes from 9:00 am until noon.

If you would like to learn more or volunteer (no teaching experience needed and new volunteers are paired with experienced ones), contact Pat Fahy at 281-455-0998.

Eucharistic Adoration is held in the Divine Mercy Chapel weekdays from 9 am to 10 pm, or until 8 pm on Friday.

If you can sign up for a regular hour during the week, contact Jenny Gonsalves, 281-814-4340, or call the parish office at 281-240-6721.

St. Francis De Sales, a doctor of the church, published his "Introduction to the Devout Life" in 1608 to help both his directees and Christians lead an authentic Christian life. It was a best seller of his times and remains a classic.

The first of two semesters of "Introduction to the Devout Life," a book study by St. Francis de Sales, goes through November 17, 2016. Our pastor, Fr. Santy Kurian M.S.F.S., presents.

Attend the morning session at 9:00-11:00 am, or evening session at 7:15 pm-9:15 pm. Both sessions in Aldridge Hall.

"We the Parishioners of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church are a diverse, Christ-centered community empowered by the Holy Spirit and strengthened by the Word and Sacraments to proclaim the Good News."

Fr. Santy Kurian, M.S.F.S., celebrated his first Mass as pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas on Tuesday, July 1, 2014, and was officially installed by The Most Reverend Bishop George Sheltz at the 9:30 am Mass on Sunday, July 20, 2014..

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. A native of Kerala, South India, Fr. Santy came to the U.S. in October 2007.

Ordained a priest on May 2, 1995, Fr. Santy notes that "Priesthood is meaningful only when rooted in the Eucharist."

In case of illness, please call the priest. Ministers of Holy Communion are available to bring the Eucharist to the sick who cannot attend Mass. Please call the parish office, 281-240-6721, for assistance.

ATTENTION ALL HIGH SCHOOL JRS. AND SRS.

 Do you like to discuss your faith? Do you like to help people learn?

Do you need service hours for your graduation or college applications?

Become an EDGE catechist and help our middle school students learn about their faith.

If interested, please contact the youth office before August.

email cvigil@stasugarland.com

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EDGE & LIFE TEEN CLASSES RESUME IN SEPTEMBER

S.T.A.Y. CONNECTED @stayministry.com.

"Enter" the link above and discover the history, beauty, spirituality and accomplishments of the Catholic Church, founded by Jesus Christ more than 2,000 years ago.

Practicing works of mercy during this Jubilee Year takes...well... PRACTICE. Here are some excellent suggestions from Aleteia.

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.

HOW TO PRAY THE CHAPLET OF DIVINE MERCY

 A copy of the original image of the Divine Mercy is in our chapel.

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, passing through a Holy Door is part of the pilgrimage that all Catholics are encouraged to make, whether during a trip to Rome or a trip to the cathedrals or specially designated churches in their own dioceses. These pilgrimages come with special graces, and they allow each of us to share in the many blessings of the Holy Year. Eight Catholic churches in the Archdiocese will serve as pilgrimage sites during the Holy Year of Mercy.

Closest pilgrimage site to St. Thomas Aquinas: St. Theresa, 705 St. Theresa Blvd., Sugar Land. 281-494-1156.

PRAY THE ROSARY FOR WORLD PEACE

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.

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.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

In an address to the United Nations on Friday, September 25th, Pope Francis told world leaders that the right to life is a foundational human right, and that it includes unborn children. His remarks come one day after he urged members of Congress to “defend life at every stage of development.”

“First, it must be stated that a true ‘right of the environment’ does exist,” the Holy Father said. “First, because we human beings are part of the environment. Because every creature, particularly a living creature, has an intrinsic value, in its existence, its life, its beauty and its interdependence with other creatures.

“Consequently, the defense of the environment and the fight against exclusion demand that we recognize a moral law written into human nature itself, one which includes the natural difference between man and woman, and absolute respect for life in all its stages and dimensions.

He concluded: “The common home of all men and women must continue to rise on the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity and respect for the sacredness of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned, those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of a statistic."

COMPLETE TEXT OF UN ADDRESS IN ENGLISH

Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain. -- Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2562.

Learn English Ministry teaches English to non-English speaking people free of charge.

There are four sessions of the classes during the school year, September through April. Mon.-Wed. (9-10:30 am & 7-8:30 pm); Tues.-Thurs. (9-10:30 am only); Sat. (9-12 pm)

FMI: Volunteers contact Pat Fahy, Ministry Coordinator - learnenglishministry.sta@gmail.com. Students contact: learnenglishministry.sta@gmail.com or 281-240-6721.

 For novena prayers and email reminders for ongoing novenas, go to Pray More Novenas.

The Supreme Court's narrow majority decision (June 26th) is gravely unjust as it attempts to change the nature of marriage. Mandating marriage redefinition across the country is a tragic error harming the common good and the most vulnerable among us. The ruling does not and cannot change what marriage really is. No one and no court can make what is false true.

Marriage is a perennial institution, with deep roots in who we are and in our nation's culture and laws. Marriage is and always will be the union between one man and one woman. This truth is inseparable from the duty to honor the God-given dignity of every human person, to protect the beautiful truth of marriage, which concerns the essential well-being of the nation, especially children. Children have a basic right, wherever possible, to know and be loved by their mother and father together. The law has a duty to support every child in this most basic right.

With renewed purpose, we call upon all people of good will to promote and defend marriage as the union of one man and one woman for life. The redefinition of legal marriage to include any other type of relationship has serious consequences, especially for religious freedom.

Our Church will continue its efforts to support public policy issues, including a version of the marriage and religious freedom act, which would prohibit the government from discriminating against those who act in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that marriage is the union between a man and woman.

I encourage the faithful of the Archdiocese to move forward with faith, hope, and love: faith in the unchanging truth about marriage, hope that these truths will once again prevail in our society, and love for all our neighbors. Together, we must increase our efforts to strengthen marriages and families and rebuild a marriage culture. And, we shall continue to reach out with love and support to all people, including those who experience same-sex attraction knowing that all people are loved by God and are called to love Him.

THE SEVEN SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY: 1. Admonish Sinners; 2. Instruct the Ignorant; 3. Counsel the Doubtful; 4. Comfort the Sorrowful; 5. Bear Wrongs Patiently; 6. Forgive All Injuries; 7. Pray for the Living and the Dead.

THE SEVEN CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY: 1. Feed the Hungry; 2. Give Drink to the Thirsty; 3. Clothe the Naked; 4. Visit and Ransom Captives; 5. Harbor the Harborless; 6. Visit the Sick;  7. Bury the Dead.