Category: Pastoral Blog

We are now less than two weeks away from Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Lent is in many ways a forty-day long parish-wide retreat during which time we […]

The primary goal of Archbishop Vigneron’s “Unleash the Gospel” effort is to form all of us into “joyful missionary disciples.” At the heart of this mission is the need to […]

In the wake of the sexual abuse crisis in the Church, we at St. Isidore have assured our parishioners that we will do everything we can to make this a […]

Although the majority of us have long packed up our Christmas ornaments, the historical Christmas cycle extends past the Baptism of the Lord. Traditionally the feast of Candlemas (the Presentation […]

Having celebrated the Advent and Christmas Seasons with their many bright feasts, the Church has now returned to “Ordinary Time.” The word “ordinary” has its roots in the word “ordinal”, […]

This weekend we welcome Fr. Adam MacDonald to St. Isidore. Fr. MacDonald is the Vocation Director with the Divine Word Missionaries. He is here to help us celebrate “Vocation Sunday.” […]

Today’s Feast of the Epiphany is, liturgically speaking, the brightest feast of the entire Christmas Season, outshining Christmas Day itself!  Traditionally, Epiphany is celebrated on January 6, the Twelfth Day […]

During these weeks leading up to our Christmas celebrations, we are taking the time to prepare our homes, cleaning, decorating, and baking in anticipation of hosting guests and spending time […]

Celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important part of our Advent preparation for the celebration of the Lord’s Coming, both at the end of time and at Christmas. For […]

This weekend we begin the beautiful Season of Advent, a season of joyful anticipation and patient waiting. It also marks the beginning of a new Liturgical Year, during which our […]

One blessing that I will be most grateful for this Thanksgiving is that of being a part of the St. Isidore Catholic Community. When Msgr. Mike left St. Isidore seven […]

It is just over one year since we began Eucharistic Exposition in the Resource Center on Tuesdays from following the 8:00 AM Mass until closing with Benediction at 6:00 PM. […]

November has been designated by the Church as a month to pray in a particular way for the Faithful Departed. Throughout the month there will be a Book of Life […]

This weekend we welcome Bishop Robert Fisher to St. Isidore. Bishop Fisher is presiding at the Confirmation Liturgy for our ninth graders on Saturday evening. As you know, it is […]

This week we welcome Fr, Tom McCarthy to St. Isidore, Fr. McCarthy, an Augustinian priest, is preaching at all of our liturgies this weekend, and will then be leading our […]

Last month I had the privilege of attending the 2019 National Convention of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP). The SVDP is a worldwide Christian community founded in […]

We are very grateful to the 752 parishioners who have made gifts and pledges to CSA 2019. As you know, contributing to the Catholic Services Appeal is the best way […]

On September 7/8 & September 14/15 we are demoing (or demoed depending on when you read this) new speakers. Our goal is to dramatically improve the intelligibility of the spoken […]

The observance of Labor Day this weekend reminds us of the “dignity of work,” one of the major themes of Catholic social teaching. Far from being a “necessary evil,’” human labor […]

I pray everyone has had a fun and safe summer so far!  For some of us though our thoughts have started to move from summer activities to fall, especially those […]

“You may not be able to hear US.  But we have heard YOU!’ We continue to get “feedback” from parishioners and visitors to our parish that it is difficult to […]

Please “save the date” and plan on joining us for our Parish Picnic following the 4:30 Mass on August 10th. The picnic will be held in the Social Hall as well as the […]

When we started our 5:30 PM Sunday Night Mass in May of last year (“A Mass for the Busy Catholic” as we used in our tagline), our plan was to […]

Even as we enter into these “dog days” of summer, our Faith Formation Team is hard at work preparing for the next school year. The members of the team are studying […]

We thank everyone who helped to make Strawberry Festival 2019 a huge success.  When it was announced at my former parish that I would be coming to St. Isidore, many […]

A CORPUS CHRISTI STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL? Yes folks, simultaneously this weekend, we have the yearly Liturgy of the Feast of Corpus Christi as well as the annual Strawberry Festival. What do […]

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity, one of the few doctrinal feasts on the Church calendar.  As Chris Kozlowski’s reflection on this week’s Connecting Point makes clear, […]

What is the Green Team? In the Fall of 2018, the idea of a Green Team surfaced in a Leadership Team discussion. Shortly after the discussion occurred, Tony Kendzierski, St. […]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!Our St. Isidore family is awesome! On behalf of the entire Lenten Giving Tree Committee, Christian Services, Miracles in Action Magical Classroom, D.B.Peru – representing […]

Today’s Feast of Pentecost brings the Easter Season to a close.  The high points of our Easter celebration were the Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist of our four neophytes and […]

Today (June 2) the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord.  In the past, the Ascension of the Lord was celebrated on Ascension Thursday, forty days after […]

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers of our parish, and to those who share motherly love with our young people, such as aunts, teachers, coaches, mentors, counselors, etc. In many […]

We congratulate our second graders who celebrated their First Eucharist with us over the past two weekends, and whose names have appeared on the front page of the Harvest News!  […]

Experience some the beauty from the Easter Vigil. Check out the entire gallery (155 photos) in our app!

“HE LORD IS RISEN!” “HE IS RISEN INDEED!” This is the traditional joyful greeting Christians share with each other on this Easter Day, celebrating the very heart of our faith.  […]

In this season of new life, we can realize how much we are dependent on the church through life stages. We begin with baptism, receive the sacraments, and celebrate marriage. […]

Consider becoming a part of the St. Isidore Parish Council. Here you have a voice to share feedback and help shape the direction of our Church so that we can […]

Our first Vicariate Lenten Communal Penance Service is here at St. Isidore this Monday night, April 8, at 7:00 PM.  Celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation is an essential part of […]

As I depart St. Isidore, my hope is that my Jesuit superiors will now allow me the time (and money) to pursue my own artwork. This is the direction in […]

As I come to the end of my tenure here at “Izzy’s,” I return to the theme of my very first “Musings,” namely Art (the visual arts). Last summer I […]

Fr. Ron takes pride in the fact that St. Isidore does the full liturgical cycle of the year. (Most parishes today do not have a Saturday morning Mass because priests […]

Lent begins this Wednesday! It is a time for us to go ever deeper into our spiritual life and experience spiritual renewal as we prepare to renew our Baptismal promises […]

Lent begins late this year. Ash Wednesday is March 6. But it is not too early to begin planning how you will keep the penitential season. As in the past, […]

Lent begins late this year: Ash Wednesday is March 6. But it is not too early to begin planning how you will keep the penitential season. As in the past, […]

Being a good speller is a curse. Mistakes that most people don’t notice stick out like a sore thumb to us—actually it’s more like fingernails on a chalkboard! In my […]

It is a long tradition in the Church of having special “intentions” for a Mass.  The special intention is usually a deceased loved one, or someone in special need of […]

Some of the most powerful prayers/reflections of the 20th Century have similar themes: serenity, patience, and humility.  Some of these prayers will be familiar to you, but others may not […]

Having celebrated an Advent season of joyful preparation, and the wonder-filled Christmas Season with its many bright feasts, we have now entered into “Ordinary Time” on the Church calendar.  The […]

There are so many themes in this Christmas season that comes to a close today. Light, gift, family, the humanity and divinity of Jesus (incarnation), etc. One that I had […]

Today’s Solemnity of the Epiphany is, liturgically,  the brightest feast of the entire Christmas Season.  Today we rejoice in our belief that Jesus is revealed as the Light for all […]