This year, St. Mary Parish celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Karol Wojtyla—St. Pope John Paul II—the Pope of the Family.
Visit this page for special resources to help you learn more about and foster a devotion to this beloved saint.
What’s Happening?
Prepare for the Consecration to Mary
Since September’s Marian Weekend, we have traveled with Mary through this beautiful Jubilee Year of St. John Paul II. Given his great devotion to Our Lady, it is fitting that we conclude our celebration of this great pope and saint with a consecration of our parish to Mary on Sunday, May 30.
To help prepare for this moment, we will send out each week a prayer and set of readings for each day of that week, which we have entitled “Easter Journey with Mary.” The link to the first week is below. These daily devotions are designed to help families and individuals prepare their hearts to make a deeper commitment to Jesus through His mother, following the example of St. John Paul II. These devotions will also be available on our website and on our Facebook page.
May God bless you as you make this Easter Journey with Mary!
Monthly Words
A monthly brochure and preaching on a key topic enlightened by St. John Paul II: Work, Love, Suffering, Family, Life, Mercy, Mary, Holy Spirit.
“Fill the Earth and Subdue It” (September)
…Another complementary element of work is how it transforms us into the likeness of God (Gn 1:27), it sanctifies us. Through work you transform and are transformed.
“Love—a Gift and a Task”
October
The beauty manifested in the sexual difference does not leave us indifferent. It is like an arrow that wounds our heart.
Suffering
November
Suffering is present in the world in order to release love, in order to give birth to works of love towards neighbors, in order to transform the whole of human civilization into a “civilization of love.”
God created family as the place to love and to be loved for our own sake, where we learn to be human. There we also receive the capacity to know Himself.
“Choose Life”
January
Life on earth is not an ultimate, but a penultimate reality. It is, and remains, a sacred reality.
“Mercy”
February
The Father’s mercy does not stop at compassion, not even at alleviating evils, but goes so far as to regenerate the dignity of the one who lost it.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Adoratio with St. John Paul II
Every Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the church, going deeper in the teachings of St. John Paul II. Each week of the month has a particular focus. See the booklet from past events below.
Letter to Families (1994)
Oct. 1: “Family: The Way of the Church”
Nov. 5: “Created to Love”
Dec. 3: “The Marital Covenant—Communion and Community”
Jan. 7: “The Sincere Gift of Self”
Feb. 4: “The Bridegroom is With You”
Mar.4: “The Genealogy of the Person”
Mar. 8: “True Love”
Letter to the Youth (1985)
Oct. 8: “Encountering Christ and Asking the Great Questions”
Nov. 12: “The Great Question, the Real Question”
Jan. 14: “Follow Me”
Feb. 11: “My Vocation: a Dialog With God”
Mar. 11: “Inheritance”
May 13: “You are Strong—With Mary”
Letter to Women (1995)
Sept. 17: “Gratitude for Being a Woman”
Oct. 15: “Gratitude for Being a Woman (cont.)”
Nov. 19: “The Principle of Help”
Dec. 17: “The Feminine Genius”
Jan. 21: “The Feminine Genius (cont.)
Feb. 18: “The Feminine Genius as a Service of Love”
Apr. 22: “Awareness of a Mission”
Marian Masses
Every Saturday at 8:15 am. We will journey with the encyclical Redemptoris Mater. Watch or read the homilies below.
Sept. 19: Mother of the Redeemer
Sept. 26: Mother of the Savior
Oct. 3: Mary, Full of Grace
Oct. 10: Chosen Daughter of Israel
Oct. 17: Virginity and Motherhood
Oct. 24: Mary’s Faith
Oct. 31: Pilgrimage of Faith
Nov. 7: Mary, the New Eve
Nov. 14: Mary, Pillar of Faith
Nov 21: Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Putting God First
Nov. 28: Mary, Mother of Divine Hope
Dec. 5: Mary, Temple of the Lord
Dec. 12: Coming soon.
Dec. 19: Mary, Cause of Our Joy
Jan. 9: Epiphany Through the Eyes of Mary
Jan. 16: Our Lady of Nazareth
Jan. 23: Our Lady of Divine Providence
Jan 30: Mary, Help of Christians
Feb. 6: Our Lady of Nazareth
Feb. 13: Our Lady of Cana
Feb. 20: Holy Mary, Disciple of the Lord
Feb. 27: Mary at the Foot of the Cross
Mar. 6: Mary at the Foot of the Cross, Part 2
Mar. 27: Our Lady of Sorrows
Apr. 10: Mary’s Joy
Apr. 17: Mary and the Resurrection
May 8: Our Lady of the Upper Room
May 22: Mary, Image & Mother of the Church
May 29: Our Mother & Teacher in the Spirit
Theology of the Body Reading Groups
Discover the beauty of human love according to St. John Paul II. Interested? Contact us at tob@stmarylittleton.org.
Wojtyla Hikers
Join us for a monthly hike, following in the steps of St. John Paul II. Contact us at wojtylahikers@stmarylittleton.org.
Milestones Along the Journey
- Sept. 11–13: Marian Weekend, Promise to Mary
- Oct. 22: Feast Day of St. John Paul II
- Apr. 11: Divine Mercy Sunday
- May 10–19: Pilgrimage to Poland
- May 18: Celebration of St. John Paul II
- May 30: Consecration of the parish to Mary
“Up, to the source!” We are celebrating the centenary of the birth of Saint John Paul II. The holy Pope was always able to perceive hope amid the difficulties of history. He speaks to us of this hope in his poem Roman Triptych:
If you want to find the source, you have to go up, against the current… Where are you, source? Where are you, source?… tell me the secret of your beginning!… Allow me to wet my lips in spring water, to feel its freshness, reviving freshness.
And what is this source? John Paul II discovered in the life of every man a primary and continuous source of renewal: the love of the Creator. It is a spring that does not stop flowing even when we want to dry it up with our sin, and therefore it restores us with its mercy. And it is a spring of love which allows us to love at the same time, making us a source of love and life for our brothers and sisters. Christ came into the world to reveal to us the depth and freshness of this love of the Father, the origin from which everything comes, and to teach us how to respond to this love. Here is the key to the jubilee: to recognize, with St. John Paul II, the source of the love of the Creator that flows in your family, in your work, in your parish. And then we understand what it means: “do not be afraid!” That is, do not be afraid to open your heart to this source, to let yourself be enlivened and transformed by it, to bear fruit according to its measure.
– Fr. José Granados, Superior General, DCJM
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