Pastor’s Corner — December 14th, 2025
PLC Bathroom Project Update
Here is an update from Ryan Nardozzi on our bathroom updates at the Parish Life Center:
Over the summer, we refreshed the bathrooms on the south end of the building near the classrooms. The updates included fresh paint, new countertops, faucets, lighting, and new ceiling tiles that match the existing tile in those rooms. Our maintenance team did an excellent job, and we are very pleased with the results.
We have also begun a larger renovation of the bathrooms located just outside O’Kelly Hall. This project includes replacing all floor and wall tile, installing new fixtures, lighting, countertops, and updated wall-mounted heating units. Work is currently underway in the women’s restroom while the men’s restroom remains open. Once the women’s restroom is complete, renovations will shift to the men’s. Our goal is to finish the first restroom by Christmas. We are deeply grateful to the generous donor who is funding this entire project.
Opportunities to Serve at Mass
We are blessed at St. Pat’s to have five Sunday Masses every weekend with lots of people coming to our Parish to worship the Lord in the Holy Mass. When people are thankful and moved by the Masses at St Pat’s, I am fully aware that there are a lot of people who selflessly volunteer their time and serve to make all of this happen. Let me be even clearer: we couldn’t have the beautiful, reverent, and dynamic liturgies that we do without many, many volunteers. Thank you so much to all those who currently volunteer!
The thing is, we actually need more volunteers. Many of our current volunteers are stretched thin, serving almost every weekend in roles that would normally not require them to be there every time. They love to serve, but it would be a great blessing to them, and to the whole parish, to have more men and women step into roles of service. Here is a brief summary of the various roles:
Roles open to all high school youth and adults: (Confirmed and older)
• Ushers: They are men and women who attend to and serve the congregation before, during and after Masses in various ways. They assist those in need, those with walking devices, those needing hearing-assist devices. They also assist parishioners to find seats when the church is full and pass the collection basket to gather our offerings to God and his service. In coordination with our Safety team and medical personnel, they make sure any situations that arise are handled properly.
• Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion: They have the holy privilege of assisting the priests and deacons in distributing Holy Communion during Mass. Some can even be trained to bring Holy Communion to those who are homebound.
• Lectors: They proclaim the Word of God at Mass with clarity and conviction, so that we might be convicted, consoled and built up by the Word.
• Sacristans: They assist the celebration of the Mass in a special way by reverently preparing beforehand the vessels, linens, and books used for the Mass and ensuring that they are properly taken care of after Mass.
Roles open to Youth: (After reception of First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion)
• Altar Servers: These young men are integral to the execution of Holy Mass, assisting the priest and deacons serving the Lord at the altar in various ways. In this program, the older boys (8th grade and above) can serve in a role of leadership (Captain) to direct and lead the younger boys.
• St. Therese Sacristan Guild: These young ladies have the honor to assist in preparing the vessels, linens, and books used for the Mass under the guidance of a trained sacristan.
Please seriously consider volunteering in one of these ministries. Don’t worry if you’re concerned you won’t be qualified; each ministry has a training component as well as a handbook. The way I see it is: if you already plan on being at Mass every Sunday, why not volunteer to serve one Sunday a month? All of these are great ways to serve our parish and assist in the worship of God.
If you are interested in any of these ministries, please fill out this Jotform. If you’re still on the fence and want to learn more, I encourage you to stop by the table in the gathering space. There will also be paper forms at the table after all the weekend masses if you prefer to sign up that way.
Altar Servers and the St. Therese Sacristan Guild
You may remember from my bulletin article at the start of this year, we made the pastoral decision to have a separate program designed for girls (St Therese Sacristan Guild) and one designed for boys (Serviam Altar Boy Program) to allow each group to serve in unique and important ways in the Mass. I am proud of the work that has been done encouraging and shaping them in their vocations and the fruit that is born from these programs.
One of the main reasons why we moved in this direction is to get more youth involved in the Mass. In December 2024, we had 30 boys and girls serving as altar servers at Masses. Despite some of our servers graduating this past year and/or moving on from serving at Mass, we have seen some positive growth of both programs. As of December 2025, we now have 48 boys and girls involved at Mass (38 altar servers and 11 girls serving as sacristans). Praise God!
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias