Very happy updates - our Masses will NO longer be restricted to 25 people! We will go back to our regular sign-ups - no more dividing Mass goers to groups and alternating attendance. If you want to attend Mass this weekend although you attended last week, call the Office or email to sign up.
Immaculate Conception Mass and Christmas Mass Schedule and Sign-ups Reminder:
Please call the Parish Office 503-256-5850 or email info@stthereseor.org to sign up for Masses:
December 8 (Immaculate Conception): 10:00 am December 24 (Christmas Eve): 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM
December 25 (Christmas Day): 10:00 AM
January 1 (Mary, Mother of God) 10:00 AM
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We continue to work hard to make our church a safe and protected space for you to attend Mass in person and be able to receive Holy Communion. Please feel free to reach out to those who have been attending regularly in person for their feedback about the standard of safety guidelines that we follow in church. If you have been missing the community of worship and receiving Holy Communion, prayerfully consider returning this Advent. It's been awhile!
Sharing the Good News!
Archbishop Sample has appointed our Pastor, Rev. Stephen Geer, to be the Vicar Forane of the East Portland Vicariate. Parishes included in the East Portland Vicariate are St. Rita, St. Joseph the Worker, The Parishes of St. Michael, St. Aloysius and St. John, St. Henry, St. Anne, St. Peter and St. Therese of the Child Jesus. Please let Fr. Steve know that we will keep him in our prayers!
The Liturgical Calendar ended on November 22nd with the Feast of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Last Sunday is the First Week of Advent. Our "Advent Crew" was in Church yesterday to change the drapes and put up the Advent Wreath and Flowers. Thank you!
Here is how we do it at St. Therese - with singing!
Teachers and Staff of St. Therese School sanitizing pews after the Liturgy of the Word on Friday, November 13th at 10:00 am. Knowing how what they do positively impacts the quality of our safety level at St. Therese makes this act an act of love and service. Thank you, Marlene, Jenny and Cathy!
Meaning of Life Stuff: The Big Questions
Looking for Bigger Answers: Seminarian Matthew Knight's Call to Vocation
Love is faithful. Florence Dewey went to church yesterday to take pictures of our Remembrance Banner. Please continue praying not only for our loved ones who have passed away, but also for their loved ones who miss them.
Congratulations and continued prayers to our twelve Confirmandi who were confirmed on October 25th and November 8, 2020.
Click here for more Confirmation Photos
November 8, 2020
Fr. Steve's Confirmation Mass Homily
A Sincere Thank You to Our Volunteer Mass Ministers!
Without our volunteer Mass Ministers who also double (or triple) duty as sanitizing crew, the Parish would never have been able to provide and maintain the stringent safety protocol that we have at St. Therese since we opened up the Mass to limited public last May. Below: some of our Ministers who assisted in the Confirmation Mass as ushers, doorkeeper, lector, Bread ministers and cantor. Thoroughly sanitizing pews and surfaces after each Mass has definitely deepened the meaning of serving others - each minister is personally invested in your safety. Please continue to pray for them!
We have a door keepers and ushers who plan meticulously for each Mass, strategizing to find the maximum physical distancing for those who attend Mass.
Our trained Extraordinary Ministers of Communion and Lectors have found a deeper meaning of service as they also serve as sanitizing crew after each Mass. To be a Mass Minister at St. Therese has evolved into a humble form of both spiritual and corporal work of mercy.
The love and care that they bring to the work of their hands shows!
How to know it is sound teaching? Listen to a faithful guide:
"I address myself to you, Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, who share with me the responsibility of safeguarding "sound teaching" (2 Tim 4:3), with the intention of clearly setting forth certain aspects of doctrine which are of crucial importance in facing what is certainly a genuine crisis, since the difficulties which it engenders have most serious implications for the moral life of the faithful and for communion in the Church, as well as for a just and fraternal social life."
Are you looking for trustworthy resources for children about our Catholic Faith? EWTN has some options!
There is plenty of room at the Lord's Banquet, come!
Some photos taken from Sunday. If you are wanting to go but still have some concerns about the safety protocol we follow to keep everyone safe, check in with those who have already been attending the Masses regularly here at St. Therese. There are plenty of links on the website to help you connect directly with the Parish Office if you have questions and if you want to sign up.
Archbishops' Corner
Is being good good enough?
Do not be away too long, He awaits!
Please feel free to call the Office 503-256-5850 or email info@stthereseor.org to sign up for Masses. The Ministers have been doing an excellent job keeping our church space safe and contact-free for all of us. We miss you, and we would like you to be able to attend Mass in person and receive Communion. It's been a while, and the soul needs its renewing and strengthening food!
Holy Water to Bring Home
Starting on September 8th, please bring your own holy water bottle (or any clean similar container) when you go to the Parish Office for Holy Water. Dispensing of Holy Water is every Wednesday and Thursday only, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Because of our restricted hours due to the virus, we will not be able to dispense Holy Water during other days.
And, as always, God's invitation
In this challenging, tumultuous time, when fear could greatly weaken our faith, always remember that Jesus Christ entered history to leave us His Truth and His Way to follow - Divine Revelation that is safeguarded in Sacred Scripture, Tradition left by His apostles, and the Church. Return to our sure and faithful treasure in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - instituted by Jesus Christ Himself. Be like Peter in the Gospel who cries out, "Lord, save me!" Receive again the sacred Body of Christ and be strengthened by His divinity.
Thought For the Day:
"And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth."
(Luke 4))
Kindness in Words
Today's quote is from the Gospel of Luke - people were amazed by the gracious words that came from Jesus' mouth. One definition of "gracious" is that it is "something that is marked by kindness." We are familiar with kindness or, perhaps we might say, for most of us, it is easier to show kindness in forms we are familiar with, or with people who makes it easy for us to be kind. Because kindness is also a behavior we learn, something to think about today is learning how to be kind in words, especially toward people with whom we would normally find hard to be kind. Some questions we may ask ourselves before we engage by using words:
Is my purpose to express what I feel or think?
Am I interested in knowing what the other person feels or think?
Is my purpose to change the other person's mind/opinion?
Am I using words that I myself would find acceptable when used
toward me?
Remember that what we say about someone also says something about ourselves. Words that we use to point to the other also point toward ourselves. For whatever reason that we find ourselves letting words come from our mouth today, may these words lead others to say that we have been gracious and kind.
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Please call the Office 503-256-5850 to sign up for Masses (due to the current COVID situation, walk-ins will not be allowed). Mass schedule is:
Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:00 pm
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Sunday Masses at 9:00 am and 11:30 am
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Your volunteer Ministers remain very committed to provide us all a very safe and protected church environment. Their commitment to safety remains to encourage everyone to come back to church and allow us to participate fully in the Holy sacrifice of the Mass. Call the Office for more details about the safety protocol that we follow, or click on button below. Come and see!
Short cuts!
Our Prayer Intentions
Would you like to raise up in prayer frontliners whom you know? Let us know and we will include their names in our Prayer Book of Intentions.
Click on Women's Association page for answer key.
Consider Volunteering - and be Uplifted!
Give yourself the opportunity to weather this challenging pandemic situation by serving our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Be part of the community of Ministers and the grace-filled work that they do!
Get to Know Our Parish Organizations
Our Parish Gallery
REMEMBER: WE FOLLOW PARKROSE SCHOOL DISTRICT ANNOUNCEMENTS DURING INCLEMENT WEATHER FOR WEEKDAY MASSES. FOR SATURDAY VIGIL MASS AND SUNDAY MASS SCHEDULE WE WILL HAVE WEEKEND MASSES AS USUAL, BUT OBSERVE CAUTION.