Today our first graders led our school mass. Did you know that even our youngest students lead our school mass?  They served today as lectors and gift bearers and did so as if they've done it their entire lives!  It is always so heartwarming to see even our youngest students fill such BIG roles at school mass!

Starting our day off with mass is always the set up for a GREAT day, but seeing our kids filled with pride in doing something amazing makes it even better!

 Our students, along with students across the Diocese of Kansas City St. Joseph, joined together in prayer for peace.  We created Peace Cranes, Doves, and Sunflowers and prayed for fighting to stop and peace to be brought to Ukraine.  Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine and our prayers are never ending.

Today our 4th and 5th grade students did a wonderful job leading us in the Stations of the Cross.  It was the perfect way to end our first week back after Spring Break.  

Do you know a student entering Kindergarten in the fall of 2022?  We are offering some new incentives for Kindergarten Enrollment, so this is the perfect opportunity to come learn more about St. Patrick School!

Our #1 tool for bringing new families into our school is word of mouth! Because of this, we are implementing some brand new Word of Mouth incentives for the 2022-2023 school year.

1. Families who are willing to pass out flyers in your neighborhood: Email Mrs. Orr at borr@stpatrickkc.com. We will send home some informational pamphlets. Once you have handed out flyers in your neighborhood, you will receive a $100 SCRIP Gift Certificate and a FREE St. Patrick Spirit Wear shirt for every child in your family!
2. Families who are willing to share our ads in your neighborhood groups like Facebook or Nextdoor: Email Mrs. Orr at borr@stpatrickkc.com. We will share the ad with you. Once you have shared the ads in your neighborhood groups, you will receive a $100 SCRIP Gift Certificate and a FREE St. Patrick Spirit Wear shirt for every child in your family!
3. Families who are willing to share flyers at dance class, gymnastics class, baseball practices, etc: Email Mrs. Orr at borr@stpatrickkc.com. We will send home some informational pamphlets. Once you have handed out flyers in your neighborhood, you will receive a $100 SCRIP Gift Certificate and a FREE St. Patrick Spirit Wear shirt for every child in your family!
4. Like, Share, and Comment on our Facebook Ads: Receive a $10 Scrip card every time you Like, Share, and Comment on one of our Social Media ads!

Today our 5th graders beautifully led school mass, along with our 4th grade choir, and our 8th grade cross bearer.  Father Matthew talked to us about how God gave us the ability to make choices each day, and it is up to us to make the choices that are mentally and physically healthy for us.  It is up to us to make the choice to do the right thing, be kind to each other, and to lift each other up rather than tear each other down.  

What choices will you make today?

TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022 
The Rev. Erin Davenport ’05, LSW, Director of Strategic Initiatives 

SCRIPTURE Psalm 146 1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! 2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long. 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. 4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. 5 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; 8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. 9 The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10 The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD!

DEVOTIONAL I spend a lot of my time reading the news on my phone or in some of my favorite magazines. As I read, I often wonder: where is the hope? I spend hours researching candidates for elections, reading up on policies, and educating myself so that I have a glimmer of understanding of what is or is not happening in the world around me. And I often wonder: where is the hope? I confess that at times, I find myself looking for hope in all the wrong places. I look for hope in politics, government, and social service organizations. I look for hope in my checking account, online shopping, and local stores. And yet this hymn reminds me that the hopes of this world perish when the person, place, or thing connected to them perishes. These hopes are temporal. The hope of the God of Jacob is eternal. This hope is not something I wander around looking for, but something that finds me. God’s hope is a hope that finds all of us. 

PRAYER Jesus, you are our hope. Thank you for reaching out to us with your hope this day and every day. Help us to see the hope that you provide us today. Amen. 

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?"
Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
​'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'

Moved with compassion the master of that servant 
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 
'Pay back what you owe."
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
Be he refused.
Instead he had him put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported thew hole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! 
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?'
Then in anger his mater handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
so will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Is there someone in your life with whom you need to reconcile?  During the lenten season, seek peace and forgiveness in your heart and mind. 

The incredibly popular Shakespeare Pizza fundraiser is back at St. Patrick School and kicks off today!  Forms are coming home with your child today, so be sure to check those backpacks! 

If you're in town on March 16, plan lunch dinner out at Pizza Ranch at 4801 North Oak Trafficway in KCMO.  The St. Patrick Fundraiser runs from 11am to 7pm.  Families and supporters HAVE TO MENTION “GROUPRAISE” for us to get 15% back for both carry-out and dine-in, so be sure to stop by and say, we are here to support St. Patrick's "Groupraise" to earn money for St. Patrick School!

Today, our 2nd and 3rd grade students beautifully led our school mass. It's always a source or pride for our teachers when their students get up in front of the whole church to serve as lectors.  If you've ever talked in front of a large crowd, you know it's no easy task!  Yet, every week, our students stand in front of everyone and read aloud bible verses with challenging vocabulary as if they've done it their whole lives....because, they have!  Well, maybe not their WHOLE lives, but at least since Kindergarten.  :)

​We are so proud of our students who volunteer for these roles each week!

Our 4th graders have only been practicing for a couple of months and since they only go to music class two days a week, that means they've only had 8-10 practices!  But today, they expertly performed as our choir and cantors during our school mass under the direction of Mrs. Tomes.  They sang beautifully and led our congregation like they've done it a million times!

This is one more thing I love about St. Patrick School!