St. Jude The Apostle Catholic Church

Greetings in Christ Who chose Judas Thaddeus to be His Apostle!

How wondrously Our Lord and God is blessing us at St. Jude the Apostle!

Because our weekend and holy day Masses are consistently at full capacity and due to a continually increasing demographic in our particular area, I shared with our parishioners the immediate necessity of discerning a church expansion in our aspiration of warmly welcoming and properly and comfortably accommodating the over 1600 Faithful who participate in our Sacred Liturgies each weekend. These numbers only increase on Holy Days and in the Summer, and the population in our general area is steadily growing, thanks be to God.

What a true blessing for our parish family, as we are experiencing the Fruit of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of our beloved patron St. Jude the Apostle!

As we communicate our aspirations with our parish family through surveys and interviews, please take the time to consult the homily I preached for the Gospel (Mark 1:40-45) on the Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time on February 10-11,. 2024, where I introduced the pressing concerns of why we are seeking your input and insights on our hopes to expand.

Also, you’ll find the Church Expansion Floor Plan as well as the design for the stained glass window of St. Jude the Apostle, which will replace the existing glass panes in the choir loft and which will be visible not only as we enter and exit the church but also as we and all visitors cross the bridge traveling south on Coastal Highway / Route 1. It will be a sign of warm welcome and, more importantly, of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ as our parish patron St. Jude himself did on his apostolic mission.

As we discern, please join us in prayer by praying the pray below daily.

God love you! I do.

Joyfully in Christ,

Fr. Lewis

Heavenly Father, Source of all that is,

Your Son has planted the seed of His Gospel Truth

in the hearts of our parish family of St. Jude the Apostle.

It is Your Divine Will that this seed

should sprout and grow and produce a hundredfold.

As hundredfolds more faithful become part of our parish family,

we seek Your Wisdom as we discern our church expansion by

extending our arms and expanding our hearts,

as Your Son Jesus Christ does.

Move our hearts to be as generous as Yours;

touch our minds with the power of Your Spirit;

free us from our fears and anxieties;

remove all obstacles from our holy hopes and desires;

and open wide our arms

so Your children might find the warmest welcome

from our extended arms and expanded hearts

and know their parish home is with us.

What You have begun, O Lord,

may You bring to a fruitful completion.

Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.