In the wake of last Wednesday’s earthquakes in Venezuela, Bishop Parkes has approved a donation from our diocesan Disaster Relief Fund to the Diocese of La Guaira, where the epicenter of the earthquake was located and where the greatest damage took place. As needed, additional monies from the fund may be sent, as the damage continues to be assessed. If you wish to make donations toward relief efforts for the people of Venezuela, you are welcome to donate through one of the following methods:

Diocese of Saint Petersburg Disaster Relief Fund: https://www.dosp.org/disaster-relief-fund/ (The link includes instructions for both mail-in and online donations)

Catholic Relief Services: https://www.crs.org/ (Funds are securely transmitted from Catholic Relief Services to Caritas Venezuela, the international version of Catholic Relief Services)

To read Pope Leo’s remarks concerning the recent disaster, please go to  https://www.osvnews.com/pope-leo-xiv-calls-for-solidarity-prayers-after-deadly-venezuela-quakes/.

Let us unite our prayers for our sisters and brothers in Venezuela.

Reflection by: Fr. Alberto Bueno, T.O.R.

Who is God and how does God manifests Godself to us? In today’s first reading, the Book of Wisdom paints a picture of God that is most compelling. God is omnipotent, but God has the “care of all (creation).” God’s might is the source of justice, yet God is lenient to all. Yet, “though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us.” God’s teaching of God’s people is that “those who are just must be kind.” As the first verse of today’s psalm says, “You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.” (Psalm 86:5) even Jesus’ first parable in today’s Gospel tells us the same. The parable of the wheat and the weeds. The owner of the wheat field, who represents God, is patient, waiting for the harvest time to separate the wheat from the weeds so that none of the good wheat may be lost but, rather, saved. What a marvelous God we have! Not only is God patient, lenient, merciful, and patient, but the Lord also sends the Spirit, as Paul writes in today’s passage from his Letter to the Romans, “the Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness,” to accompany and aid us in all things. If we are to imitate Christ, who is a mirror of the Father, then we too must be like Jesus, and the Father, with ourselves and with each other. Let Love, the sum of all that God is, be the source of all our words, thoughts, and actions in our lives. That in this way we may be a mirror of Christ, and the Father, through the work of the Spirit to all we meet, making present God’s kingdom in our world.

¿Quién es Dios y cómo se nos manifiesta? En la primera lectura de hoy, el Libro de la Sabiduría nos presenta una imagen de Dios sumamente cautivadora. Dios es omnipotente, pero Dios “cuida de todas las cosas.” El poder de Dios es la fuente de la justicia; sin embargo, Dios es indulgente con todos. Aún, “siendo tú el dueño de la fuerza, juzgas con misericordia y nos gobiernas con delicadeza.” La enseñanza de Dios al pueblo de Dios es que, “el justo debe ser humano (misericordioso).” Como dice el primer verso del salmo de hoy, “Tú, Señor, eres bueno y clemente, rico en misericordia con los que te invocan.” (Salmo 85, 5) incluso la primera parábola de Jesús en el Evangelio de hoy nos dice lo mismo. La parábola del trigo y la cizaña. El dueño del campo de trigo, que representa a Dios, es paciente y espera el tiempo de la cosecha para separar el trigo de la cizaña, de modo que no se pierda nada del buen trigo, sino que, por el contrario, se salve. ¡Qué Dios tan maravilloso tenemos! Dios no solo es paciente, indulgente y misericordioso, sino que el Señor también envía el Espíritu, tal como escribe Pablo en el pasaje de hoy de su Carta a los Romanos, “El Espíritu nos ayuda en nuestra debilidad,” para acompañarnos y ayudarnos en todo. Si hemos de imitar a Cristo, que es espejo del Padre, entonces nosotros también debemos ser como Jesús y como el Padre, tanto con nosotros mismos como los unos con los otros. Que el Amor, la suma de todo lo que Dios es, sea la fuente de todas nuestras palabras, pensamientos y acciones en nuestras vidas. Para que, de este modo, seamos un reflejo de Cristo y del Padre —mediante la obra del Espíritu— ante todos aquellos con quienes nos encontremos, haciendo presente el Reino de Dios en nuestro mundo.

On the Occasion of the Celebration of the 800^th Celebration of the Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi 1226-2026

Our dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this year we are celebrating the 800^th anniversary of the death, or transitus, of Saint Francis. The ministers General of the whole Franciscan family have called all Franciscans to celebrate what they have called the Easter of Francis of Assisi. Additionally, Pope Leo XIV has invoked a Jubilee Year, often referred to as a holy year, for all believers to share in this commemoration of Saint Francis entering into heaven. What a wonderful gift for the whole Church!

In contemporary society, we rarely think about death, not only because it reminds us that we are limited creatures, but also because it exposes the false security we get from believing that we are masters over time and life. Saint Francis, on the other hand, welcomed Sister Death with song in his Canticle of the Creatures, the Canticle of Brother Sun, because he understood that death is not the termination of everything but the end that allows us to enter into full communion with God. Indeed, life is a gift that must be given back: “Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves, that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally!” (Francis of Assisi, Letter to the Entire Order #29)

At the end of his days, Saint Francis contemplated his life and discovered the presence and action of the Lord everywhere. Thus, in his Testament he repeats, like a refrain: “The Lord gave me, Brother Francis… The Lord gave me such faith in churches… The Lord gave me, and gives me still, such faith… And after the Lord gave me some brothers, no one showed me what to do, but the Most High Himself revealed to me that I should live according to the pattern of the Holy Gospel” (Testament 1-14).

The celebration of the 800^th anniversary of the Easter of Saint Francis invites us to contemplate our lives, both personally and as Catholics, with the eyes of faith, and by doing so, perceive the divine presence and action in everything, even in the difficult and dramatic situations we have experienced or are experiencing now.

It is an opportunity to thank God for all the gifts he has bestowed on us, particularly (on this occasion) for the gift of Saint Francis of Assisi and his evangelical life, which has become a light to the world reflecting the greater Light who is Christ for the world, and which today still has the strength to call out to women and men of all cultures, both inside and outside the Catholic Church.

And finally, celebrating the passing of the Poverello (the little poor one) is an occasion to remember that we are all called to holiness, and that like Saint Francis, we are invited to reflect the beauty of the gospel, because “holiness is the most attractive face of the Church” (Pope Francis, Gaudete et exsultate 9).

So, in this spirit we welcome all those who come to Saint Patrick in South Tampa to share in the light of the faith of Saint Francis, to experience the rich blessings of this Jubilee and Eighth Centenary of his transitus from this life to life with God. May you be inspired to, as Francis told his brothers at the end of his life: “Let us begin, brothers, to serve the Lord God, for up until now we have done little or nothing.”

Yours in Christ and Saint Francis,

Fr. Salvator M. Stefula, TOR                                                                                                                             Fr. Alberto F. Bueno, TOR

Pope Leo XIV Declares Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi | Gulf Coast Catholic

https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/letters/2026/documents/20260107-lettera-morte-sf.html

https://www.centenarifrancescani.org/index.php/en

BINGO & DINNER

Tuesday

2026 Dates: July 14th, August 11th, September 8th, October 13th, November 10th, December 1st

2027 Dates: January 12th, February th, March 9th, April 13th, May 11th, June 8th, July 13th, August 10th, September 14th, October 12th, November 9th, December 14th

St. Patrick Catholic Church

Social Hall

Dinner served between 5:30pm- 6:30pm. 

Bingo will start at 6:30pm.

Cost: $25.00

Includes 9 pack of 13 sheets (26 games)

and 4 specials. MUST BE 18 TO PLAY.

TICKETS SOLD AT THE DOOR ONLY.

*Meals subject to Change