Christmas Shopping

I don't like to speak about Christmas especially since we have not even completed the month of November.  However, Christmas shopping is a reality.  Do you shop at Amazon?  If so, could you consider going through the parish website (http://stmarystpatrick.net) to get to Amazon.  If you do, the parish will receive 4% of your purchase.  Doing this adds nothing to your cost.  Just go to the parish website and click the link that is there for Amazon

For your convenience you can click on the graphic below:

Prepare Your Funeral - You Can Still Be in Charge

We never like to think about dying, but I guarantee that all of us will die.  A part of our death should be a proper Christian funeral.  However, today many have forgotten what a proper Christian funeral means, especially for a Catholic.  In fact, many skip the funeral entirely.  I strongly encourage you to reconsider what you think about funerals.  I will offer a one hour presentation about preparing your funeral.  The program will be offered twice:

Monday, November 10, 2014 - St. Mary's Church - 4 pm

Wednesday, November 12, 2014 - St. Patricks Church - 9 am

Please come and learn how to plan your funeral.  Please believe me: your family will be quite content that you have made these preparations.  

November - Month of the Holy Souls

Our strong Catholic belief is to pray for our beloved dead.  The origin of our belief and practice is rooted in our fundamental respect for the human person.  People who were dear to us in life are dear to us in death.  At the time of their death, they may not have been fully prepared to be with God in heaven.  So, we pray for them.
  "May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen."  We remember this prayer, but we should also pray for the dead who are in purgatory that they soon be with God in heaven.
  In your envelope packets there are envelopes for all souls.  The money put into these envelopes is used for the celebration of Masses for the dead especially those whom you list on the envelopes.

2014 Bishop's Fund Appeal - We are Close!

As of October 24, 2014

St. Mary's Goal is $21,827.  Actual $21,921.  100.43% of the goal

St. Patricks's Goal is $15,383.  Actual $13,337.  86.7% of the goal

Christ-led + Christ-fed + Hope-filled

Each year we are asked to support the Bishop's Fund Appeal.  In fact, as a member of the diocese I believe that it is a privilege to support the Bishop's Fund Appeal.  As pastor, I believe it very important to spread the message of Jesus Christ in every way possible.  However, just like for any of you, there is only so much time.  The Bishop's Fund has become my way of sharing in the apostolic work of so many others in the Diocese of Ogdensburg.  Every diocesan agency affects every parish of the diocese: faith formation, the education of priests and seminarians, family life, Catholic schools, youth ministry are just some of the activities organized by the diocese for the benefit of all.  Perhaps, here in our local community we feel even more the support for Campus Ministry given by our fellow parishioners in the diocese.

St. Mary's Goal is $22,000.  We hope that at least 200 families will donate.

St. Patrick's Goal is $15,500.  We hope that at least 150 families will donate.

When you received your letter from Bishop LaValley or when we speak about contributing to the appeal in church, we hope that you will continue to be as generous as in the past....and even to surpass your previous levels of giving.  I know that I will.

Thank you for your consideration of this very worthy appeal.

Celebrate 150 Years of St. Patrick's in Colton

                        St. Patrick's Sesquicentennial Celebration

St. Patrick's Sesquicentennial Celebration

Please join us to celebrate the Liturgy on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at 6pm at St. Patrick's Church in Colton, NY. This Mass, celebrated on the vigil of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica will be in commemoration of one hundred fifty years of Catholic faith in Colton, NY. As Pope Benedict XVI stated in his Angelus Address on Nov. 9, 2008:

"Dear friends, today's feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God's desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth(cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the presence of God. Every community therefore has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which are a precious religious and historical patrimony."

Catholicism came to Colton, NY predominantly with the influx of Irish immigrants as a result of the potato famine in the 1840s as well as many French Catholics from Canada being drawn to the foothills of the Adirondacks for lumbering. These early Catholics had to travel by foot or horse to Ogdensburg, Waddington, Canton or Potsdam for Masses and the Sacraments.

In 1857 St. Mary's Parish in Potsdam was established as an independent parish and soon after Colton became  a station and then a mission of St. Mary's. As a "station" Mass in Colton was celebrated in a private home on the Wildwood Road.

It was in November of 1864 when 144 parishioners, predominantly Irish Catholics realized their prayers were answered when Father Patrick J. McGlynn, pastor of St. Mary's in Potsdam purchased the Universalist Church building on present day Riverside Drive in Colton, NY for $1200. It was in that same month that the newly acquired church was dedicated. 

In 1881 St. Patrick's received its first resident pastor, Rev. Thomas Plunkett, and thus being separated from Potsdam was truly an independent parish.

Through the years many renovations were done to the church building purchased in 1864 and remained as the site of worship for Catholics in Colton until the present St. Patrick's Church was built and dedicated in 1979, under the leadership of Rev. John Kennehan. The new church building was added on to the St. Patrick's-St. Paul's Parish Center which was built in 1963 and dedicated during St. Patrick's Centennial celebration in 1964 under the leadership of Rev. Peter Ward.

In the early years of St. Patrick's Parish there were three stations. When two of these were discontinued they became part of Holy Cross in Hopkinton and one became part of St. Paul's in South Colton. The Catholics in South Colton built St. Paul's Church in 1899 and the church was dedicated in 1900, being a mission of St. Patrick's Parish.

In 1988 through another reconfiguration of the parishes, St. Michael's Church in Parishville became a mission of St. Patrick's, with Rev. Lawrence Cotter as pastor.

Most recently in 2010, St. Paul's Church in South Colton and St. Michael's Church in Parishville have been named oratories, and St. Patrick's Parish has been linked with St. Mary's Parish with Rev. Msgr Robert H. Aucoin serving as pastor of both parishes.

Again, please join us celebrating 150 years of our great Catholic faith at Mass at St. Patrick's Church in Colton on November 8, 2014 at 6pm. St. Patrick-St Paul Altar & Rosary Society will host a reception in the parish center immediately following Mass.

Thank you to Mary Aiken for writing this article.

We've Got an App for That!

Click on either image to get the app

We are excited to announce the release of a new Mobile App for our parish. This app is available for download in the Android and Apple Stores. The App is a new and effective way for the paris
h to communicate with you and for you to stay connected with the parish. The App is PACKED with prayer resources including Liturgy of the Hours, Daily Mass Readings, the Order of the Mass, Sunday Reading Reflections, the Bible, the Catechism, a digital rosary and on and on. It is also packed with educational resources, parish events, event sign up forms, mass schedules, photo capture tools, discussion boards and more. Best of all, we can alert you of extra special happenings and cancellations via the app’s push notifications system. 

The app is compatible with either Android or IOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod).
Just click here or on either of the images and get the app.