Saint Luke Roman Catholic Church

5235 South Avenue – Boardman, Ohio – 44512 | (330) 782-9783 | maryann02@zoominternet.net

Click here for letter from the Bishop 3/22/2019

Parish Mission Statement

We are members of Saint Luke Parish, a Roman Catholic Community of Faith within the Diocese of Youngstown. We are deeply rooted in both Scripture and tradition.

Born in Baptism and sustained by the celebration of the Eucharist, we embrace our life in Christ through prayer and sacrament, service and outreach, proclamation of the Word and formation in faith. Guided by the Holy Spirit and motivated by our love of God and of all people, we are both a sign and an instrument of the Kingdom of Promise.

Our unique blessing and gift is that we are a parish family which creates a warm and welcoming worship environment and participates fully in the planning and celebration of the Liturgy.

Saint Luke Stewardship Prayer

Heavenly Father, life is your gift to us. You call us to live our lives in service to others.

Guide us as we choose each day to show your presence to all those we meet.

Give us the courage to do whatever we can, with whatever we have, to bring your love to our community, and the world.

Celebrating the Eucharist

Saturday Mass at 4:30pm
Sunday Mass at 10:00am
Monday and Thursday Communion Service at 8:00am
Tuesday and Friday Mass at 8:00am
Wednesday no services
Holy Days, please consult the bulletin

Traveling Catholics

St. Luke Parish welcomes Catholics who are traveling through our area. The link below lists churches and mass times to aid Catholics on travel.

CatholicMassTime.org

St. Luke Parish Video

Click here to view a video tribute to Saint Luke Church
(Video lasts approximately 1 hour)

Stewardship Reflection for
March 24, 2019

Third Sunday of Lent

Today’s readings capture the essence of God’s Lenten message to us, His people, offering words of compassion and mercy as well as warning of the need to repent and make the most of the gift of time He has given us.

The First Reading, from Exodus, recounts Moses’ first encounter with the living God who provides reassurance of His nearness to the people in their suffering and tells of His desire to deliver them from slavery into freedom and fullness of life. He tells Moses, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore, I have come down to rescue them… and lead them… into a land flowing with milk and honey.” This compassionate God goes even farther, revealing His name to the people as a sign of intimacy with them and telling them, “This is my name forever; thus am I to be remembered through all generations.”

Our Second Reading, from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, reminds us that God, though full of mercy and compassion, is also just, and that there will be consequences for our behavior. He admonishes us, “whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.”

Today’s Gospel passage includes the familiar parable of the unfruitful fig tree. It is preceded by an interesting dialogue between Jesus and some people reporting the news of the day, asking for His “take” on the matter. They tell Jesus about a bloody massacre that some Galileans had suffered at the hands of Pilate. They expected Him to confirm their view that the Galileans had done something to deserve such a death. But Jesus defies their expectation, telling them that the people who died such an awful death were no more sinful than they themselves are. He goes on to say the same of another recent event in which a group of people had been killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them. They, too, Jesus says, were no more sinful than anyone else. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when tragedy struck.

The point He is making is that life is precious and the gift of time on this earth is just that — a gift. None of us knows how much time will be granted to us, so it is urgent that we use this gift intentionally to glorify God and serve our neighbor.

Jesus offers the parable of the fig tree to further illustrate this truth. The owner of the orchard came searching for fruit on a fig tree he had had planted in his orchard. Finding no fruit on the tree after three years, he told the gardener to cut it down. But the gardener intercedes and asks for one more year to cultivate and fertilize the tree in hopes it would bear fruit in the future. The fig tree was not dying; it simply wasn’t doing much of anything at all. Can this be said of us and our lives as well?

The season of Lent is a time to reflect carefully on the way we spend our time. Do we give first priority to God, tending to our spiritual growth and sacramental life with diligence? Do we give next priority to our loved ones, focusing intentionally on them each day without distractions from phones, screens or thoughts of work? If not, now is the moment to repent of our waste of time or of misplaced priorities on our use of time. God is merciful but just. Let’s turn to Him and ask Him to make our lives fruitful while we still have time to do so.