Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,
Blessings to you all this day! I hope everyone enjoyed a great Labor Day Weekend! I was thankful to get in a visit to the farm for my day off. Following our family Labor Day tradition, we had a few projects we worked on—it was beautiful weather and great to get in a visit with my folks! This week, we’ll continue working through Msgr. Gray’s book study on Treasure in Clay.
Treasure in Clay: The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen…Chapter 3
Msgr. Gray asks us in this chapter to “Reflect on how Sheen heard the Lord’s voice, like the biblical story of Samuel” [1 Samuel 3]. Did you know that “Sheen gave up a full scholarship to enter seminary?” Msgr. Gray then asks us to “Reflect on what the Lord has asked you to give up for your vocation. Describe the three stages in discovering a vocation using the biblical call of Isaiah [Isaiah 6]. Have you ever encouraged someone to become a priest? What happened?”
Answers: Samuel heard the voice of God in its persistence, calmness, and peace of soul, even if he didn’t recognize the voice at first. This was the voice that told Sheen to give up his university scholarship to go to seminary, because that was what God wanted him to do, not what Sheen wanted to do. The call of Isaiah was first an experience of God’s holiness, second of our unworthiness, and third of our response after God has blotted out our sins.
Personally, I love to reflect on vocation and what it means to follow God’s will. For me as a priest, these past 23+ years have been joy-filled, inspiring, and challenging in ways that have helped me grow. I think often of that moment of prayer when I felt certain that Jesus was asking me to help take care of His people as a priest. I slept so well..
Dear St. Philomena Parish Family, Blessings to you all this day! I hope everyone enjoyed a great Labor Day Weekend! I was thankful to get in a visit to the farm for my day off.... Read More
Dear St. Philomena Parish Family, One of my favorite greetings is hearing Archbishop Sheen say in that deep voice, “Peace be to you.” Many years ago when I was a seminarian, someone gave me a... Read More
BEATIFICATION DETAILS OF ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN “With great joy and deep gratitude to God, I am pleased to announce the Mass for the Beatification of the Venerable Servant of God, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen,... Read More
Diocese of Peoria Consecration As part of the ongoing celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Diocese of Peoria, and after much prayer and reflection, we are consecrating our diocese to the Sacred Heart of... Read More
Dear. St. Philomena Parish Family, Blessings this day! As you are reading this, we are now well into the school year—another great year of growth and learning for our young people is now under way!... Read More
St. Philomena Parish is a Catholic Church with a parochial elementary grade school in an established family neighborhood in the heart of Peoria, IL.
Our mission is to proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ through worship, sacraments, education and community life. Each parishioner is invited to understand, embrace, and communicate the truth of Catholic Christianity to our culture.
Monday-Friday: 7:00 a.m.
Monday-Saturday: 8:00 a.m.
Saturday Vigil Mass: 4:30 p.m.
Sunday: 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 7:30 p.m.
7:00 a.m., 8:00 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday: 5 p.m.
Thursday: 8:30 a.m.
Saturday: 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
