Celebrating 100 years
- Clustered Worship Sites:
Christ the King
St. Salome
St. Thomas the Apostle - Individual Worship Sites:
St. Cecilia
St. Margaret Mary - Irondequoit Catholic Communities:
Regional Mass Schedule
Regional Calendars
Irondequoit Senior Ministries
Ashes of Repentance
Our ashes of repentance are worn on our foreheads symbolically for a day, carried in our hearts for the entire Lenten season, remind us of the depths of our own need for God. We are constantly reminded by the symbols of Lent that we can't rely on ourselves or on anything in the world to fulfill our deepest needs.
We have stepped into the desert to be with our Lord for 40 days. It is our time in the desert with Him to explore the ruined areas of our own lives, those areas most in need of God's healing, and candidly ask God for help.
Lent is the penitential season to fast, pray, and give alms. Within the symbolic harshness of the desert scene, we are called upon to respond to several challenging questions that center on these three penances. We are not expected to do this in isolation. We have a faith community that draws us together for a purpose. Just like none of our seven sacraments are to be celebrated and administered in isolation from the faith community, we participate in our Lenten practices with the loving support and hospitality of the St. Thomas faith community family.
This is a time to examine and challenge us to take inventory of our church giving in three areas, Time, Talent and Treasure, in the light of our Lenten penance.
Fasting is not just "giving up" something, it is also "doing something" by changing what is our normal routine and commitments. Prayer is not just "on our knees" it is also lending a hand where and when needed. Giving alms is not just about giving of money but about giving aid and resources to another.
Here we offer a short list of questions to consider that includes all 3 components of stewardship: time, talent and treasure. These questions are offered to help us have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a "child of the light," "salt of the earth," a disciple of Jesus Christ and a part of this parish family.
1. Has it been more than three years since I have been actively involved in the life of St. Thomas? If so, and this is not caused by illness or a major change in work hours, why?
2. Am I actively involved in at least one on-going ministry at St. Thomas in addition to Sunday worship? (Some of these ministries are: Lector, Eucharistic Minister, Ushers, Altar Server, Usher, Greeter, Coffee Host, School of Religion Teacher, Youth, Choir, Legion of Mary, Knights of Columbus, etc.)
3. Do I know what percentage of my income I give to charity? Am I working on ways to increase that percentage?
4. Does my church receive a significant percentage of the amount I give away?
5. If my income has risen in the last two to three years, does my charitable giving reflect this positive change?
6. Does my financial commitment to the parish represent a proportion of my total income? What portion of my total income does it represent? How do I feel about that percentage? Is it enough?
7. Does my commitment of time represent a percentage of the total number of hours I have available for charitable activity?
8. Is there an element of sacrifice in what I give of my time, energy and money to St. Thomas? Or do I fall back on what is easy?
9. Is the check to St. Thomas the first or last check I write when paying bills? Do I write my offering check based on faith or play it safe and give whatever is leftover?
10. Do I do whatever I can for St. Thomas or do I wait and assume others will do it?
These questions are challenging. They are meant to be. For only when we are willing challenge each other and ourselves in constructive and healthy ways can we really say we are doing God's work in the world. No one can answer the questions for you. Each of us must struggle with what these 10 questions mean for us and come to a conclusion… a decision we can live with.
