St. Patrick's Celebration

Join us as we celebrate the patron saint of Ireland. Tickets are on sale after all masses. Purchase early, seating is limited to 125. A small number of take out orders will be available.

When: Saturday, March 13, 6:30pm

Where: Becket Hall

Tickets: $15/adults, $6 child under 12

Dinner provided by our Knights of Columbus and includes mouth-watering corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, vegetables, soda bread and an ice cream bar.

Live music and Irish dancers!

This is a fundraiser to benefit Catechetical Ministry. In addition, the seminarians of our diocese will be our guests for the evening. Let's give them a hearty St. Thomas welcome and also encourage them in their vocation of service to the local church.

Vacation Bible Camp

We invite you to go on an adventure with us to SonQuest Rain Forest where we will "Follow Jesus on a life-changing adventure!"



Register online at www.sacredheartsaratoga.org
Hurry! Registration closes April 3!



When: M-F, June 14-18, 2010

Time: 8:45am-12noon

Or: 8:45am-3:00pm (full day option)

Where: Sacred Heart Parish

Cost: $65 half day

Or: $110 full day (includes catered lunch)

Scholarships available for St. Thomas families



Co-Sponsored by: St. Thomas and Sacred Heart Parishes



We need Adult and Teen (grades 7-12) volunteers to help.

Questions? want to volunteer?

Please contact Sherry at (408)364-8840 or sscott@dsj.org



"It's the most fun week of the summer," quote from a satisfied camper.

Classes resume this Sunday/Tuesday

Confirmation and Early Childhood classes resume tomorrow, Sunday, Feb 21.

CM classes for grades 1-7 resume on Tuesday, February 23.

There is Youth Choir practice in the church on Tuesday from 5:30-6:30.

Volunteers are needed to burn and label CD's for this years Vacation Bible Camp this Tuesday, Feb.23 from 4-5pm and from 7-8pm.

Lenten Outreach

This Lent, Catechetical Ministry will be collecting food items for our local families. Each week, please help your child to bring the in requested items. Spend some time talking with your child about the fact that many people go to bed hungry each night. Pray together that the food you offer along with many others can make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

1. Week of February 21 and 23: Bring in Breakfast items. (box cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat..)

2.Week of February 28 and March 2: Bring in lunch items. (cans of soup, box of crackers, peanut butter, cans of fruit...)

3.Week of March 7 and 9: Bring in dinner items (bag of rice, bags or cans on beans, meal in a can, stews...)

4.Week of March 14 and 16: Bring in staples. (TP, tissues, flour, sugar, cake mixes...)

5.Week of March 21 and 23: Any of the above.

Don't forget to pray!

Monthly Food and Clothing Drive, February 20-21

This weekend is our monthly food and clothing drive. Please bring gently used clothing (especially BLANKETS) and non-perishable food items (no glass containers) to mass this weekend. Bring your items forward during Offeratory.

No classes on Sunday or Tuesday, Feb 14 and 16

Just a friendly reminder that we do not have Early Childhood classes, confirmation or Children's Liturgy this Sunday. Also, there are no CM classes on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

Enjoy your break from school and Happy Valentine's Day!

Lenten Soup Supper and Stations of the Cross

Our Lenten Soup Supper and Stations of the Cross is coming up on Friday, February 26, from 6:30-8:30pm.

This is part of Catechetical Ministry and I expect all families to participate. Please email to let me know if you can bring a "meatless" soup or bread to share.

Even if you cannot bring anything, I really want all children in CM to attend with their parents.

The Stations of the Cross will be lead by our students.

Station 1: Pontius Pilate- Michael Machado
Station 2: Barabbus- open
Station 3: King Herod-Jason Panelli
Station 4: Mary, Mother of Jesus-Cassandra Moreno
Station 5: Simon of Cyrene-Jeremy Panelli
Station 6: Veronica-Sara Machado
Station 7: Caiaphas-Daniel Machado
Station 8: a Woman of Jerusalem-open
Station 9: Longinus, a soldier-Thomas DiLeo
Station 10: Thief who was not sorry-open
Station 11: Dismas, the sorry thief-Augustin Tapia
Station 12: Mary Magdalene-Megan Lavond
Station 13: Salome-Ally Dagdagan
Station 14: Nicodemas-Jackson Lennon

Most students have received their scripts. If you have not received your script, let me know and I will email it to you. Please arrive by 6pm the day of so we can go over your speaking part and set you up with a costume/prop. If your plans change and you cannot commit to being in the stations, please let me know in advance so I can reassign your part. sscott@dsj.org

If you have an idea for a costume/prop for them, if you have something at home, like a garland, play sword, crown, veil, cloth, etc. Let me know, it makes it fun when the kids take ownership for their costume/prop. Just one simple item that represents the character is all that is needed. I can get things if you draw a complete blank.

Ash Wednesday, Lent Begins

The 40 days of Lent begin next week with the celebration of Ash Wednesday, February 17. Masses are at 8:30am and 7pm. Please bring your children to mass. Lent is a very special time of year, a time to be reflective, and to take inventory of our spiritual lives. We can model this for even our youngest children.

What are the three things that Catholics do during Lent?

1. We pray. We recognize our need for God in our lives, and we try to be more attentive to putting God first on a daily basis. Daily Mass, Prayer services, praying the rosary as a family, Lexio Divina (using scripture as a starting point to prayer) are just some of the ways we can pray during Lent. Taking a walk, observing the spring emerging around us can give us time to be with our Creator. Quiet time is wonderful time to spend with God. No words are needed. Quiet time is one of the best things we can give to our children in this fast-paced, electronic media driven world. We, and our children, need to seek a balance and regular time away from all that. Consider turning off the TV, computer and other noise makers in your home. Seek some quiet and solitude for yourselves and for your children. See you can let God in to rejuvenate you, like the fresh buds in the spring.

1. We fast. We sharpen our senses and our appreciation for things when we show restraint. Giving up a particular food, the more we like the particular food, the more we get to practice self-control. Self-control and moderation are two key aspects of living a balanced and peaceful life. Being able to make do with what you have, to have appreciation for what is around you, and not always looking at what others have is the key to the happiness God wants for us. Practicing our faith, means practicing being prudent, living with less, postponing our gratification. Do we really need it all NOW! What about NOW? Will it ever be enough? What is it that truly makes us happy? For me and for Catholic Christians, it is a relationship with God. And so, to remind ourselves of that, we fast.

Fasting can also be about giving up things which keep us from God. One of my favorites that a friend once told me is that her adolescents were giving up "put-downs" for Lent. In case you're not sure what that means, they were going to stop putting each other down with unkind remarks.

3. We give alms. We can't show our love for God by buying or making God a birthday present. But we can show God our love by loving his children. Almsgiving is all about doing what Jesus would do if He were still walking on this earth. As disciples of Jesus, we continue his work. We do it out of gratitude and also because of our discipleship, we have been sent. There are oh so many ways that we can do this that we may feel overwhelmed. One of the biggest ways we do this as a parish community at St. Thomas is through the monthly food and clothing drive.

Social Justice-Kairos Ministry

This weekend some of our St. Thomas parishioners will be reaching out to the imprisoned as part of the Kairos ministry. Our 3rd/4th and 6th graders made cut-out hands with inspiring messages to go into the prison this weekend. Please remember these women who will be ministered to this weekend as well as for the team of volunteers.

Note from Nidia Martinez, a volunteer from St. Thomas

Hello Everyone, this is a gentle reminder for those who will be praying for the Residents of FCI Dublin Prison and for the outside team of 42 ladies. Kairos weekend will start tomorrow Friday 12th at 5:00 pm and will finish at 5:00 pm on Monday 15th.

May God Blessed you all.

Love,
Nidia