WHAT A GIFT!!!

Faithful can subscribe to the notes by contacting the parish office and providing their e-mail address. Thanks for your support of our border town parishes!!!

Please remember - Fr. Pete does not send out text messages, e-mails or social media posts to solicit

funds for himself or any organizations outside of the parishes he serves. Fr. Pete's emergency phone

number is (815) 685-1359 and his e-mail addresses

are either pjankowski@yahoo.com or pjankowski@stfrancis.edu.

Please do not trust any correspondences that

utilize any other phone number or e-mail address.

THE TERM FOR THIS SCAM IS "PHISHING,"

IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH

Feel free to contact Fr. Pete at email pjankowski@yahoo.com. If you have an emergency, please contact Fr. Pete at (815) 685-1359

Dear Friends of the Border Town… some time back when we sponsored our major parish events (St. Anne’s Day, our Community Picnic etc.), a person of influence asked if we could find a way to provide transportation for our seniors who had difficulty getting around our respective campuses, especially during outdoor events where many seniors would need to walk.

I had noticed that in other parishes I have served and visited, many of the faithful purchase Golf Carts to assist those in need travelling back and forth. After speaking with a couple of our benefactors, one of them helped us address this issue.

Howard Heckler (father of Business Manager Debby Absher) was kind enough to price out Golf Carts for us so that we might have one for the sake of those who have special needs at our parishes. Thanks to a generous (and anonymous) donor, we were able to purchase an electric golf cart to achieve this purpose.

I am giving maintenance man Artemio Ojeda his “props” by creating a “Cartoon GIF” of him riding the actual electrical golf cart we purchased from Stephenson’s Powersports. This week, Artemio is installing closet doors in the St. Patrick’s Rectory Bedroom; for some reason, a priest from twenty-five or so years ago decided to remove all the closet doors from the rooms of the house. As one of the final projects at St. Patrick’s Rectory, we decided to put closet doors back up in the bedrooms of the house.

Our fix-it-all guru Wally Martin (who needs your prayers with his own medical issues) spoke about staining the kitchen cabinets at St. Patrick’s. With these projects (and the installation of a generator for the rectory), hopefully we will have done as much as we could to address yet another issue in the house that needed to be addressed.

I also wish to thank Vista Painting for coming through once again to parishes in great need. Over the last few years, this business has donated its labor (and most of the time the paint and materials) to repair and paints corrupted stucco walls in the St. Patrick’s sanctuary, the St. Anne’s side chapel and various rooms inside and outside our campuses at both parishes. This week, the folks at Vista Painting have repaired and painted the garage at St. Anne’s Rectory, which needed upgrading. By repairing/installing hanging garage doors at the house, by installing the garage door openers in the garage and because of the normal wear and tear that takes place in any building, the gang at Vista completed what we asked them to do – make the garage CLEAN, not pretty. Towards that end, the company did really well.

I bring this up because, as with all fledgling businesses, they are most willing to work for the families in our local communities. Feel free to contact them at (815) 272-3455 for pricing… and we thank them for their service to our Churches!

Speaking of which, Rick Perez and the wonderful souls at Alcoholics Anonymous have gone beyond the call of duty to help our parishes with projects that we normally could not afford. We made a deal with the folks from AA – when the local Protestant Church in Momence closed, the group could not find a place to meet and help out those in need. We told the AA Group that if they would help us with our electrical projects (many in the group are licensed electricians), if they would help us upgrade our electrical projects on both campuses and IF THEY WOULD PROTECT OUR GYM, then they could use the St. Pat’s Gym, free of charge, for meetings that take place four times a week.

Over the last four years, our AA Group have accomplished the following…

• Installed the electrical necessities for St. Pat’s Academy Gym Kitchen & Bathroom
• Install Air Conditioning on the Second Floor of our St. Pat’s Academy Gym & Community Center
• Upgrade the outdoor electrical in the St. Anne Pavillion
• Upgrade the electrical and garage door openers at the St. Anne Rectory

And so much more!!!

Something happened with a member of the AA Group this week that humble me as a priest and makes me blessed to serve all of you. After all our years ministering together with AA, one of their members came to the office this week to talk about her journey of faith. One of the initial steps in AA is to acknowledge a higher power. This individual took that step to heart and asked to join Mary Jo & Bailey Boicken in the Christian Initiation Process for Adults (which now has THREE individuals taking classes!).

Along with the growing number of teenagers joining Freddy & Noemi Franco in our Sunday morning Bilingual OCIA Process and the growing number families signing up for religious education (I received at the time of this writing yet another call from a family with two kids wanting to join the program), we are fulfilling the mandate the words of the Risen Jesus from Matthew 28: 18-20 by “making disciples” of those within our community. We truly are blessed with what we have!

Thanks to everyone who have helped us in so many ways in our parish communities. God bless you for all you do!!!

Last month, we were able to install software to access our parish security cameras by telephone and computer. By doing so, we are able to monitor the comings and goings of those utilizing our parish facilities, as well as being able to program when doors open and close from our electronic devices. I kind of laugh when I am asked to lock and unlock doors and turn alarms on and off when I away in Minnesota, Antarctica or even Hanoi, Vietnam for the faithful of our communities! God love modern-day technology!

We also had an opportunity to install “Ring Doorbell Systems” at both parishes to monitor what was going on outside our properties. By doing all of this, we can make sure that we are good stewards of what you have provided for us in protecting two churches, showing that are very good symbols of God's presence in our cities.

Both Chief Todd Navratil (St. Anne) and Chief Patrick Siemsen (Momence) have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help out our respective parishes and we have tried to show both of them how grateful we are for their service to our communities. On our part, we have provided for both police forces (and the St. Anne Post Office) boxes of food and lunches that we acquired as a way of thanking them for their service. We also paved the entire alleyway at St. Patrick’s with the city’s blessing, even though the alleyway was not our responsibility to pave. They, in return, have access to our all buildings; I gave both police chiefs a key to all buildings on our campuses, in the event that entering our buildings become necessary (I live a boring life – if the police wish to enter my house while I am sleeping, they are most welcome to do so).

This next week, we will be installing security cameras to monitor the front of St. Anne's Hall and the upgraded parking lot. Thanks to Tom Klonowski & Jeremy Brown for updating the sign in front of the hall!

We are called as Christians to sacrifice our lives for the salvation of others. Both of these gentlemen and their respective staffs have put their lives on the line to physically protect us. God bless our police departments, our public servants, and God bless all of you.

Thanks to an anonymous donor who gave us $3,000 for the St. Anne Church Parking Lot and another $2,000 for the Rectory Roof Repair. We still need to install generators at St. Anne’s and work on the $7,500 for the crumbling wall of the church that we fixed.

If anyone can help us with the St. Anne Church Repairs, we would appreciate it!

Thanks to the Cryer Brothers and Momence Pallet, we took their $500 WalMart Gift Card they donated towards the FIRST PRIZE of our Grinch Raffle next month. Ted Peterson from Van Drunen Farms helped me acquire a $250 Gift Card for the Grand Marsh Restaurant in Momence (a high-end establishment in the area) as our SECOND PRIZE for the Raffle. Debby Absher took two of our gift baskets and combined them for a “Game Night” THIRD PRIZE for the raffle, which includes games for the family and a $20 Dominos Gift Card.

The purpose of this Raffle is to raise awareness of what we do in the area, Outside of Momence & St. Anne, we doubt that few outside the area (or inside the area, to be honest) is aware of the good work offered by those of the faith, taking care of those in need. Any way you can help us would be much appreciated.

In addition, we have been focusing on the “Stewardship” aspect of the parish, via “Time, Talent & Treasure.” Since my arrival in 2019, the parish collections have taken an upswing… which is good! We now have upgraded THREE parking lots in the parishes, eliminated St. Patrick’s $330,000 debt and have undertaken major upgrades on all of our facilities. The basic framework for Financial Stewardship is that 10% of our earnings should be offered to the needy – 5% towards the Church and 5% towards charitable organizations (I included an AI Summary on Stewardship at the end of this week’s posting).

If we choose to be good stewards towards our parishes and prepare them for a solid future, I implore you to consider remembering the parishes in your will and estate planning so that we can establish a “Border Town Foundation” that will finance the parishes for years to come. If we can establish a $2,000,000 foundation at St. Anne’s and a $3,000,000 foundation at St. Patrick’s, then the interest from both foundations can support our parishes during the lean years (remember the Joseph story from Genesis?) and we can offer our families places of worship, study and social that will bring them closer to God and prepare them for the other side of life. Thank you for considering this important work we do in the Church!

About Christian Stewardship

In the Catholic Church, the concepts of time, talent, and treasure form the core pillars of Christian stewardship - the belief that everything we have is a gift from God on loan, to be shared generously and returned with increase.

The Three Pillars of Stewardship

• Time: Giving God your time through daily prayer, reading Scripture, attending Sunday Mass, and participating in parish or community life.
• Talent: Using your unique skills, abilities, and personal strengths to serve the parish, assist the poor, and perform works of mercy.
• Treasure: Managing financial resources responsibly and sharing them to support the mission of the Church and those in need.

The Biblical 10% (The Tithe) and the Catholic Approach

• The Biblical Ideal: A tithe literally means 10%. In the Old Testament (such as Leviticus and Malachi), God asked the Israelites to return 10% of the first fruits of their harvest or income to support the temple and the community.
• Catholic Guidelines: The Catholic Church does not strictly enforce a legalistic or mandatory 10% tax on parishioners, as Catholics are not bound by the old Levitical legal codes in the same manner. However, 10% remains the biblical ideal of generous giving.
• Recommended Breakdown: Many Catholic parishes and dioceses suggest a practical guideline for the 10% tithe—often dividing it as 5% to your local parish (to fund the church, sacraments, and operations) and 5% to general charities, the poor, or the wider community.
• Proportional Giving: Rather than imposing a rigid rule, Catholic teaching emphasizes intentional, sacrificial giving. Parishes encourage members to start where they can (for example, aiming for a smaller percentage like 1% or 5%) and grow steadily toward the biblical 10% standard over time as an act of faith and gratitude.

Thanks to Business Manager Debby Absher and the members of the Finance Committees from Both Parishes, we have been able to take all monies from whatever “side accounts” we have and move them into a central account so that both parishioners and the diocese would be guaranteed of “Financial Transparency” – through a central computer processing system, the diocese now can see every cent that is put into our accounts and every cent taken out (no monies have been hidden and I certainly have taken none – my staff childes me for giving “everything” I earn away to the parishes the best I can, as God instructed me to do in Mt 19: 21.

As I stated in previous notes, the diocesan insurance office gave both of our parishes a 100% rating concerning maintenance. Below are the letters our respective Finance Committees are sharing with the diocese and parishioners, as required by diocesan policy; these letters can be found in our bulletins this weekend, both here Online and In-Church:

CLICK HERE to View the Letter about the 2025-26 Financial Status of St. Patrick’s Church

CLICK HERE to View the Letter about the 2025-26 Financial Status of St. Anne’s Church

The leaders from the University of St. Francis have asked Fr. Pete once again to teach another course to the Students at the University of Education & Business in Hanoi, Vietnam. Below are the Classes that Fr. Pete has been asked to teach for the Phil 312 Philosophy of Religion Course... which you can view! CLICK HERE to watch all Catechesis Videos offered for both the University and Our Border Town Parishes!!!

CLICK HERE FOR THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY TO THIS SESSION!!!

CLICK HERE FOR THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY TO THIS SESSION!!!

CLICK HERE FOR THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWER KEY TO THIS SESSION!!!

As my birthday gift to you, I spent $1,800 out of pocket to purchase what is called the “Formed” Adult Education Program for your consideration. As summarized by AI, FORMED is an online digital platform created by the Augustine Institute that provides Catholic movies, video courses, audio talks, study programs, and e-books. Often called a "Catholic Netflix," it is designed to help individuals learn about and practice their Catholic faith. THIS SERVICE PROVIDES ONLINE CATECHESIS IN BOTH ENGLISH & SPANISH!

Key Features of FORMED

• Content Library: Features thousands of hours of content on Scripture, the sacraments, the lives of the saints, and church history.
• Trusted Partners: Includes resources produced by the Augustine Institute alongside materials from Ignatius Press, the St. Paul Center, Word on Fire, and Lighthouse Catholic Media.
• Access Options: Available via individual subscriptions or through local parish accounts that often provide free access to parishioners.
• Compatibility: Streamed through web browsers, mobile phones, tablets, and TV devices like Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire Stick.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THEIR WEBSITE

CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP FOR FREE

(WE ALREADY HAVE PAID FOR THE SUBSCRIPTION)

Second, Campus Projects and the Capital Improvement Accounts

This week at St. Patrick’s, our air conditioning system went out… again! One of my predecesors went on the cheap with the last system – when it is working, few can hear the lectors or priest at mass because the system is so loud and many of the units are leaking or have stopped working altogether. We spent $40,000 last winter on replacing the church boiler that broke down; generous donors came forward to install generators on our property (hopefully this will get done by the end of the summer) and creating two parking lots that I personally thought would never get addressed.

Over at St. Anne’s water damage has corroded one wall in the church from what I was told had been at least ten years in the making. The repairs to the outer wall will run just under $10,000. We used to have a parking lot across the hall which, due to neglect and lack of funds, caused the lot to become corroded. We might have a way to address a portion of the lot at little to no cost but we probably will need $60,000 to re-do one portion of the lot to make it nice.

Regardless, the Capital Improvement accounts at both parishes have taken a hit and we will need to replenish them if we wish to continue functioning as parishes. If you can help us with any or all of these projects, please contact the office.

Because of THREE SNOWSTORMS which swept through our area this winter, this has wreaked havoc on our finances, since we did not make up the finances in our collections needed to keep up afloat. Thanks to a couple of my "friends from the outside" who donated $3,000 total to help St. Anne's Church. Also know that St. Patrick's Church spent over $100,000 this year alone to replace a church boiler and install generators for all of our buildings to keep everyone healthy and safe.

Please remember… the budgets that our Finance Committees established last June only work if St. Anne’s collects $2,000 a week in her collection and $3,000 a week at St. Patrick’s. We have been blessed that a couple major donors have assisted us in keeping the ships afloat but, if you can, please remember that the “Online Giving” Portal is always open Online and we continue to encourage you to remember St. Anne’s & St. Pat’s in your Will and Estate Planning. With a new bishop coming into the area later this year, a new bishop brings new and different ideas – let’s not let the bishop think about St. Patrick’s or St. Anne’s for a long time!

If any of our farmers might consider donating something “when the time comes” as part of an estate gift, if someone who attends our St. Anne Novena helps us maintain that Novena through a foundation gift, we would be well-served to allow the Lord to work through our communities to offer the same grace as has been offered since the 1850s.

Click Here

to Access

the St. Anne Novena Page!!!

MASS FOR THE 32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (NOVEMBER 8, 2026)

The last three weeks of Ordinary Time and our Liturgical Season focus on the 25th Chapter of Matthew's Gospel, which Fr. Pete likens to a "Final Exam" from what we have learned this year. As a professor at the University of St. Francis (and the University of Education and Business in Vietnam), Fr. Pete references in the homily for this Mass how students wait until the last minute (or not complete assignments at all), risking a failing grade or a "ZERO" for incomplete work. The Kingdom of Heaven works off the same principle - in this first of three parts from Matthew 25, Fr. Pete explains how last minute work (or no work at all) results in disaster for those who are not prepared, either in school or in faith. Today's gospel presents the challenge to be ready at any moment that God calls us home.

Preceding the Mass is a welcome by the new bishop of the Joliet Diocese, Most Rev. Brendan Cahill, who will be installed in his new role on November 11, 2026.

MASS IN SPANISH

• To help preserve our churches, we need to encourage the faithful to Fill the Pews!!! We need parishioners to get invested in parish life by helping with Time & Talent Forms, which will be distributed next weekend.
• Do you know of any adults who wish to receive the sacraments at Easter? The OCIA Process begins This Month. Information is available in the bulletin and brochures can be found in the Narthex of the Church.
• St. Pat’s is sponsoring its “100 Bricks for Life!” Promotion, in honor of Rite to Life Month.
• We are getting ready for our Angel Tree, Poinsettia Donations for Christmas and our Thanksgiving Food Drive and Manteno Veterans’ Home Drive over the next couple of weeks.
• Food Drive Bags will be available on October 25 & November 1 for our Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive for Our Pantry. Take as many bags as you want. Please return by November 9th. See the bulletin for more information.
• The 2027 Calendars for Both Parishes Have Arrived and are available at the back of church.
• We will take a Second Collection for the Seminarian Endowment Fund on November 8th. Envelopes will be available at the end of the pews.

For Catholic Daily Reflections (based on the scripture readings of the day),

CLICK HERE!!!

CLICK HERE to Access the Readings for This Sunday's Mass

1973 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

1981 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

1986 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

1993 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

2004 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

2006 St. Patrick's Academy 100th Anniversary Book

2010 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

2016 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

2023 St. Patrick's Church Photo Directory

1960s St. Anne’s Church Photo Directory

1970s St. Anne’s Church Photo Directory

1989 St. Anne’s Church Photo Directory

1998-2004 St. Anne’s Photo Directory

2023 St. Anne's Church Photo Directory

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR OWN APOSTOLIC BLESSING!!!

Fr. Pete offers the Anointing of the Sick at both parishes at the First Friday Masses every month (St. Patrick’s at 9:15 a.m. and St. Anne’s at 5:00 p.m. (English) and 7:00 p.m. (Spanish).

To View St. Patrick's Bulletin for

NOVEMBER 8, 2026

CLICK HERE!

To View St. Anne's Bulletin for

NOVEMBER 8, 2026

CLICK HERE!

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR SICK: Rick Blanchette, William Brown, Mike, Ashley & Jesse Childress, Mike Cronk, Maria DeLeon, Dave Fieramosca, Herve Gomichon, Linda Goodman, Joanne Hermann, Don Hout, Gustavo Lopez, Jesus Ariel Lopez, Bernardo & Linda Miramontes, Rita Palowicz, Evelyn Provost, Art Schmidt, Frank & Louise Shainauskas, Ruth Sparenberg, Cynthia Vickery, Joe Wielgus and all those on our sick list.

At St. Anne's... Eva Bell, Paula Bertrand, Lola Billings, Duane Blanchette, Sue Bonvallet, Cheryl Boswell, June Burns, Cindy Capriotti, Ashley & Jesse Childress, Abraham Daily, Aria Dionne, Carol Futcher, Raelynn Garrett, Val Lagacy, Pam & Bentley Lottinville, Linda Miramontes, Josh Odelson, Ruth Sparenberg and John Wojnowski.

At St. Patrick's... P. Anderson, N. Atkinson, R. Bailey, D. Barth, Beedle Family, D. Brown, M. Cárdenas, P. Caro, B & E. Coffman, S. Conner, M & D Cousin, M. Cruz, A. Delaney, M. Dionne, J. Dobbins, E. Duke, D. Dunlap, G. Field, C. Fritz, A. Fuhrmann, Judy & Ron Gall, Tony & Adrianne Gallinaro, J. Grill, R. Harper, K. Hensa, J. Hibbs, D. Hiller, C. Jones, L. Kane, R. Kazee, A. Kijewski, Joe Kraus, L. Lee, L. Leranth, E. Lopez, B. Love, J. Marcotte, W. Marten, J. McCracken, L. Mercado, R & V Morse, C. Ortman, C. Piec, J. Prather, C. Provost, E. Provost, P. Reising, D. Roberts, M. Saldaña A. Schaff, J. Schopf. D. Schmied, K. Simpson, B. Siwicki, B. Spagnola, M. Tolbert, M. Tolmer, H. Tousignant, M. Velazquez, M. Williams, Gary Witherell, M. Witherspoon, S. Young, J. L. Zagal, A. Zimmerman, M & L Zink and G. Zokal.

CLICK HERE TO READ ALL OF FR. PETE'S HOMILIES

CLICK HERE for the Parish

Registration Forms in English

(CLICK HERE for Spanish)

CLICK HERE for the Religious Education Registration Forms FOR BOTH PARISHES (CLICK HERE for Spanish)

Click Here to Register for the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (CLICK HERE for Spanish)

Click Here for the Time

& Talent Form in English

(CLICK HERE for Spanish)

Click Here for the Link to All the Parish Forms

Help support our parishes buy purchasing copies of Fr. Pete’s Homiletic Books! You can purchase them at the parishes or online at Amazon.com!

Cycle A Homilies - Cycle B Homilies

Cycle C Homilies

Call the Offices at (815) 472-2864 or (815) 427-8265 for more information...

Since 2019, We Have Raised Over $250,000 in Pew Donations!!!