MAKE is a call to action — rooted in Catechesis, Evangelization, and Faith into action — to follow Jesus’ Great Commission: Go and make disciples. It’s time to live our faith boldly. Together, let’s make disciples — starting now!
Click here to read Bishop Hick’s Letter
“Having fallen in love with Jesus, we are impelled by a sense of mission to share His unfathomable love with everyone we meet and to serve others. He now sends us to put our faith into action.
See below picture for a list of our volunteering opportunities along with our gathering events. All High School Teams are welcome to the CONSUMED youth gatherings!
Do you want to light a fire in your spiritual life? The best way to do that is through Eucharistic Adoration. St. Raphael has Eucharistic Adoration every Thursday from the end of 8:45 Mass until 7:00pm in the chapel. Please consider lighting your spiritual life on fire by spending an hour with the Lord in front of the Blessed Sacrament. As a nudge to your commitment, please consider signing up for a specific hour every week. We have a need for more adorers throughout the day, and in particular at 3:00. Open your heart to the Lord.
If you would like to donate and forgot your envelope, we have several options.
Most importantly, thank you for continued support and generosity!
Two young priests in the Diocese of Joliet answered God’s call – and now they are bringing countless hearts back to Him. Recognize one of them? It’s our very own Father Alex! Thank you for your faithful support of the Catholic Ministries Annual Appeal.
On September 28, the Very Reverend Christopher Lankford was installed as the seventh pastor of St. Raphael during a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Hicks. May God bless you, Fr. Chris — St. Raphael is truly blessed to have you guide our parish and lead our souls to heaven.
Click below and watch our Installation Mass highlight video.
If you answered “yes” to that question, you were probably sitting under the music balcony or on the south side of the church. Yes, we have been having significant difficulty with the tower speaker on the north side of the church. In Fr. Chris’ desire to communicate well and be transparent, we would like to give you a brief update on this situation.
On June 8th we began to have static and a significant loss of sound from that tower speaker. The sound company came out on June 10th and couldn’t get the speaker to repeat the failure. They did make an “adjustment” and felt all was in good working order.
On June 14th the same problem occurred. The sound company came back on the 16th and found a failure in one section (out of four) of that same tower. However, the failure in that section impacts the sound of the whole tower. Again, they made an adjustment and sent us a proposal to fix the one section or replace the entire tower. The recommendation to replace is based on the fact that the speakers are about 16 years old and have a life expectancy of about 10 years.
This brings up the question “should we replace both speakers at the same time?”
We have been going through the process of determining the best course of action while being good stewards of the resources available. If we choose to simply fix this section, we could end up doing that up to seven more times. If we replace only one side, we are likely going to need to replace the other side very soon? To be frank, the cost of replacement is significant, and deserves thoughtful consideration.
Our current sound company has set up a temporary solution for the north side of the church. It is not perfect, but it will improve the sound significantly for the sections on the north side while a more permanent solution can be determined and installed.
We are seeking input from additional sound professionals and vendors. We want to maximize the sound quality throughout the church at a reasonable cost. As more information becomes available, we will communicate that to you. We apologize for this inconvenience and the difficulty it causes in prayerful participation. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Click on the most recent date to view our bulletin. This is a digital copy. This includes are variety of information and announcements. You will read about what is going on in our youth and adult mysteries as well.
