NOTES FOR OCTOBER 21, 2026 | | 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
| | Please support our parishes by clicking the ONLINE GIVING picture - these are your local homes where God is present! Let's share this grace with those of the next generation! | | PLEASE REMEMBER... In order to keep our parishes open and serving the needy, we need to average $3,000 a week at St. Patrick's and $2,000 a week at St. Anne's. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. | | |
News & Notes with Fr. Pete Jankowski
FOOD, FAITH & FRIENDS FOR LIFE!
| | | | Feel free to contact Fr. Pete at email pjankowski@yahoo.com. If you have an emergency, please contact Fr. Pete at (815) 685-1359 | | Practically every week, Nick Skokna and friends deliver to our Border Town Parishes Meats, Fruits, Vegetables and such to the needy of our area. For a hundred or so dollars we spend for travel each week, we have received in return TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS worth of food for the needy. Last week alone, we received pallets of strawberries, potatoes and pastries from the Oak Brook Costco which are so needed in our area. THANK YOU NICK SKOKNA AND FRIENDS!!! | | |
Over the last few days, we have received notices about Chief Todd Navrartil, who runs the police department over at the city of St. Anne. A “Go Fund Me” page has been set up on Facebook for Chief Todd, who, according to messages I have received, is in the ICU on a ventilator. As I told my parishioners last weekend, we certainly pray for Chief Todd and this family during their time of suffering.
Over the last few years, I have had a really nice relationship with both Todd Navratil and Chief Patrick Simpson over at the Momence Police Department. When Chief Siemsen asked me for resources to purchase a “Speed Trap Sign” for the city, I was able to help him out. Now, every time I pass that blessed thing, when the sign tells me I might be going a couple of miles over the speed limit, I feel like I am almost convicting myself of speeding! We have given both police departments our full blessing to be present on our campuses at will – the safety and security of our property and good souls using them are of the utmost importance.
As I have discussed with both police chiefs, due to various circumstances that have taken place in both cities and certainly at both of our parishes, both Chief Navratil and Chief Siemsen urged me to upgrade the security systems at each campus. Towards that end, after discussing these concerns with the police, our diocesan lawyers and the local States Attorney’s Office, we ended up purchasing and upgrading cameras at both of our campuses that could be accessed both on my phone and on our parish computers. We also installed a “key card” system for the doors of our buildings as well so that we can monitor the comings and goings of those renting our buildings without having to provide them keys. Finally, we re-keyed all of our buildings at both parishes, which probably is a good thing to do every so often.
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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 Navratil and Chief Simpson (as well as our local mayors) 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).
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.
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This week, we also are in the process of installing a church generator for St. Patrick’s. Thanks to an anonymous donor, we were able to install a generator for our gymnasium (and thanks Rick Perez and our friends of AA who helped maintain the generator and electrical on our property!). Thanks to the estate of Paul & Sandra Gelino, we received the funds to install a generator for St. Pat’s Church & School (this cost just under $60,000). We have already spent over $40,000 this year on a new boiler for the church and will need just over $70,000 to pave the new parking lot at the gym (the foundation for the lot was created with economically thanks to our parishioners). This means we need to restock our Capital Improvement account at Pat’s!
We still need to install generators at St. Anne’s and work on the $1,500 bill for the leaky rectory roof and the $7,500 for the crumbling wall of the church that we fixed.
If anyone can help us with any of this, we would appreciate it!
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In the meantime, I feel very blessed that our “Prayer Warriors” at both parishes continue to adore the Blessed Sacrament and pray the rosary for life before practically all of our masses at our parishes. Members of our Anglo Communities continue to pray the rosary prior to every Mass we celebrate. During the month of October, our Hispanic community has been processing through town on a daily basis with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe while praying the rosary as well. To help out the Hispanic Community, I provided for them electric tapers that work off AAA batteries so that light procession can provide a symbol of what we are trying to do for the people that live with us, our brothers and sisters.
We will be offering a “Rosary for Life” with a Holy Hour and Adoration this Saturday at St. Anne’s from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. and at St. Patrick’s from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Feel free to join us at either (or both) Holy Hours!
| | Finally… we just installed the latest “Bricks 4 Life” Donations from our faithful parishioners. Because of your generosity, we had to build upon our Life Garden at the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto. Thanks for supporting life in this special way! | | |
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.
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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.
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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
| | FR. PETE'S PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION COURSE | | 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!!! | | |
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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MASS FOR THE 30th SUNDAY
IN ORDINARY TIME (OCT. 25, 2026)
Using the example of Christian Charity (= LOVE OF GOD) and the 2026 Community Picnic as an example, Fr. Pete illustrates how that one theological virtue can allow so much to be accomplished in the life of the faith and the growth of a parish.
Preceding the Mass is a short prayer video supporting the priesthood and religious life.
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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.
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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.
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You are invited to include the names of your deceased loved ones in our Book of the Dead, which is located at the back of the Church, in remembrance of those who have died this last year. The Mass in Commemoration of All Souls will take place on Sunday, November 1st at St. Anne’s (9:00 p.m.) and St. Patrick’s (10:30 a.m. in English and 12:00 noon in Spanish). All names of our beloved deceased will be honored on the weekend of November 1.
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St. Pat’s is sponsoring its “100 Bricks for Life!” Promotion, in honor of Rite to Life Month.
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We will sponsor a “Rosary for Life” on October 24 (10:00 a.m. at St. Anne’s and 12:00 noon at St. Patrick’s). all are invited to join us.
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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.
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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.
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ST. PATRICK'S / ST. ANNE'S
PHOTO DIRECTORIES
| | Thanks to Ruth Sparenberg, Anne Andrade & Joanne Hermann for assembling, scanning and editing the follow Photo Directories from the Church History of St. Patrick's and St. Anne's Churches! | | | THE COMPLETED CEMETERY PROJECTS FOR BOTH ST. ANNE'S AND ST. PATRICK'S CEMETERIES | | | | The Holy Father provides a wonderful opportunity to receive an Apostolic Blessing for Birthdays, Baptisms, Weddings and Anniversaries, First Communions, Confirmations, Religious Professions and Ordinations. | | |
Parish Hotline... If you know of someone who is sick and in need of the sacraments or if you know someone who wishes a visit at the hospital or care facility, please contact the parish office or Fr. Pete Jankowski at (815) 685-1359.
| | | 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
OCT. 25, 2026
CLICK HERE!
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To View St. Anne's Bulletin for
OCT. 25, 2026
CLICK HERE!
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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.
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Fr. Pete Jankowski posts his homilies online at the parish website for those who wish to keep up with the gospel message each week.
| | | PARISH REGISTRATION FORMS | | CLICK HERE to watch Fr. Pete’s Twelve Part Series “Stories on the Journey,” Broadcast on Shalom World TV! | | | ITEMS FOR PURCHASE / DONATION TO HELP OUR PARISHES!!! | | 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!!! | | |
For only $100, you can dedicate a brick to someone special at St. Patrick's Outdoor Grotto (where the Our Lady of Lourdes Outdoor Masses are celebrated)!!!
(815) 472-2864
| |  | For only $25, you can dedicate a Journeysongs Pew Book from either parish. Please call (815) 472-2864 (St. Patrick's) or (815) 427-8265 (St. Anne's) for more information! | | |
St. Patrick's T-Shirts
$10 Each or
Three for $20
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St. Patrick's or St. Anne's Blessed Water / Oil $2 a Bottle
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Greeting Cards of These Images are Now Available for Purchase in the Parish Office.
$25 for Books of Twenty...
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St. Patrick's or St. Anne's Mugs
$10 Each or Three for $20
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LINKS TO CATHOLIC WEBSITES
CLICK ON PICTURE TO ACCESS SITE
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