St. Agatha Parish exists primarily to serve the spiritual needs of those of the Polish language and ethnicity living in the St. Louis area.  We live our faith in union with the Supreme Pontiff and the Archbishop of St. Louis.  While living in American society, we celebrate our heritage of rich cultural traditions.  Through the intercession of Our Lady of Częstochowa, the Queen of Poland, and St. Agatha, the patron of our Parish, we seek to fulfill our calling in Jesus Christ by living out our Catholic faith in love, justice and peace.

Jubilee Year to honor St. Thérèse of Lisieux

 

A special Jubilee Year to honor St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897) was opened on January 2, the 150th Anniversary of the birth of the French saint commonly known as the Little Flower. The commemorations, which continue until 7 January 2024, will also mark the 100th Anniversary of her April 29, 1923 beatification. Only twenty-six years after her death she was beatified by Pope Pius XI, and in the Year of Jubilee 1925, he pronounced her a saint. Two years later she was named heavenly patroness of foreign missions along with St. Francis Xavier.

 

October 1st is the Feast Day of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Virgin.

 

As a young woman and religious Carmelite sister she had many health problems. During the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday, 1896, she suffered a pulmonary hemorrhage. Although her bodily and spiritual sufferings were extreme, she wrote many letters, to members of her family and to distant friends, as well as continuing her memoirs  <Histoire d'un ame>. She carried on a correspondence with Carmelite sisters stationed at Hanoi, today Vietnam. They wished her to come out and join them, not realizing the seriousness of her ill health. She had a great yearning to respond to their appeal.

 

 At interval moments, revelations came to her, and it was then that she penned those precise reflections that are now repeated so widely. Here are three quotes that give the state of her mind: "I will spend my Heaven doing good on earth." "I have never given the good God ought but love, and it is with love that He will repay." "My 'little way' is the way of spiritual childhood, the way of trust and absolute self-surrender."

 

 The occasion of the Jubilee Year of St. Thérèse is good news for all who worship at St. Agatha’s Church in St. Louis. Since the time of her beatification, the St. Agatha Young Ladies Sodality was established under her patronage. The side altar with a reliquary and statue in St. Thérèse’s honor was installed in 1930 with gratitude for her intercessory prayer. A plaque can be seen at the base of this altar. Even today through art and her own words, Saint Thérèse leads us into the heart of her "Little Way" of love as embodied in the spiritual childhood she lived.

 

We invite you for special Masses to honor her on April 29 (Vigil 4:30 PM) and April 30 (8:00 AM English and 10:00 AM Polish)

 

MAY - MONTH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

 

The month of May is dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary. The entire month falls within the liturgical season of Easter, which is represented by the liturgical color white - the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored).

 

Many traditions associate the month of May to Mary.

 

The tradition of a month-long May devotion honoring Mary spread throughout Europe in the 19th century, with specific prayers for the devotions promulgated by Rome in 1838.

 

Mark your calendar

 

May 3 – WEDNESDAY – Feast of Our Lady Queen of Poland – Mass and Devotion at 7:00 PM. May 3rd, is the Feast of Mary, Queen of Poland. Pope Pius XI designated this feast day to coincide with the civil holiday commemorating the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791.

 

May 7 – Sunday – Day of Prayer for Polish Nation and Homeland – 10:00 AM

 

SUNDAY - May 14 – Mother’s Day

 

May 21 – Sunday – The Ascension of the Lord – The End of the School Year and Catechetical Year of the Polish School of St. John Paul II

 

May 28 – Pentecost Sunday

 

      May 29 – Monday – Memorial Day and Prayers for the Dead. This is a time for the USA to honor their dead and to decorate the graves of War Veterans with flowers, wreaths and flags.