May 1, 2026
Greetings in Christ,
This evening, our parish community will come together to celebrate our annual Gala! It is a beautiful moment to thank God for all His blessings upon our church and school, as well as to build friendships and have a little fun!
The theme for our Gala is
Prince of Peace. This year, our fund-a-need will focus on improving security for our church and school. Through the generosity of our community, our goal is to improve the safety of our church and school!
Gala Silent Auction: Explore an exciting lineup of one-of-a-kind items, unforgettable experiences, and exclusive packages—all in support of the mission of St. Therese.
Featured highlights include:- Premium sports experiences, including a Minnesota Twins game in the exclusive Champions Club with five friends and Fr. Andrie!
- The Stations of the Cross from our own Chapel!
- The Ultimate Fan Squad experience with Fr. Andrie and Mr. Groebner!
- Fishing, golfing, Irish dancing and other adventures!
- Gift cards, bourbons, and whiskeys…oh my!
- And SO much more...
We’re also grateful for a generous donor who is once again sponsoring our
Child Tuition Raffle. Even if you don’t currently have a child in the school, you can participate—and if you win, you may choose to gift the tuition to a family in need. It’s a meaningful way to make a lasting impact.
Don’t wait—
start bidding today (bidding ends 8 pm Friday) and be part of something special!
Fund-A-Need: Whether or not you can join us this evening, consider donating to our Fund-A-Need. Help to improve the security needs of our campus! Your donation will help with automatic locking doors, riot-proof glass, and emergency police buttons in the event of a campus lockdown. Every gift helps improve security for our campus. Donate today and make a lasting impact!
First Communicants: We will celebrate first Holy Communion at all Masses this weekend! Please pray for the 57 children who will be receiving their first Holy Communion! It is a very special day for them, their families, and our parish. We’re excited to welcome their family members and friends.
We also share the happy news that the scaffolding has come down—just in time! Thank you for your patience and understanding these past weeks. We’re grateful that the church will be looking its best as we welcome our children and their families for this beautiful moment of grace.
Our two beautiful statues, the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary: We are delighted to share that our statues will be installed in the courtyard this Wednesday, May 6, sometime between 9:00 am and 12 noon. If you’d like to witness this special and fun moment, you are invited to come and watch from inside the church. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the generous donors who made this possible. May these statues inspire prayer, peace, and devotion for all who see and visit our courtyard.
Shroud of Turin: Continued attention is being given to the Shroud of Turin with more interviews and recent research that points to the authenticity of the Shroud. Raymond Arroyo released an interview this week with Fr. Andrew Dalton and Dr. Bill Lauto on fascinating facts about the Shroud. It is a great interview with two leading experts on the most studied artifact in the world. It is well worth your time to watch!
Sunday 5:00 pm Mass: We will have our weekly 5:00 pm Mass this Sunday, May 3. We are blessed to have Teresa Shackelford with her beautiful singing voice and musical gifts with us at this liturgy.
STS Middle School Musical: Our Middle School will offer Shrek the Musical, Jr. this year for its annual play! Shrek is a comedy about a solitary, cynical ogre whose swamp is invaded by banished fairy tale creatures. The satirical fairy tale reminds us that beauty comes from within and that true love transcends physical appearance. Our Middle Schoolers always do a great job sharing their talents with our beloved community. If you have never been to a Middle School play, please come! Here is the link to order tickets:
Save the Date: A Healing Mass will be offered once again at St. Therese on Wednesday, June 10, at 5:15 pm. This will be a grace‑filled time for our parish, and we look forward to gathering in prayer and hope. More details will be shared soon.
Update Your Membership Information: Does our Church database have your family's membership record correct? Do you want your record published? Here is your chance to update your record for our Guide Book & Directory.
It is time for us to update our database with any changes, additions, or deletions that may have occurred in your family. Have you changed your phone number? Do you no longer have a landline? Have you moved? Are you preparing to move soon? Please call Geri in the church office to update your record in our database.
Job Openings: We are looking to fill two very important positions at St. Therese with Liz’s upcoming retirement and Joe’s move to Campus Minister at Holy Family Catholic High School next year. If you are interested or know someone who would be qualified for either of these two positions, please encourage them to apply. Below are the job postings for Director of Faith Formation and Middle School Youth Minister. Please pray that we can fill these positions with great disciples of Christ!
Young Adult Prayer and Listening Event on Tuesday: On May 5, 6:30-9 pm, hosted at the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Archbishop Hebda invites young adults to pray, listen, and share as the archdiocese discerns next steps to support local young adult ministry. The evening will begin with music,
lectio divina, and a few words from the archbishop. Find more information
here.
Millions of Monicas, A Ministry of Hope and Intercession:
Have your children, grandchildren, or godchildren stepped away from the Church or no longer practice their Catholic faith? You are not alone. Millions of Monicas is a nationwide, beautifully structured ministry that brings women together to pray intentionally for their loved ones who have wandered from the faith.
We are discerning the possibility of offering this prayerful ministry here at St. Therese Parish, and we invite you to be part of this hopeful beginning. If you are interested, please contact Geri Korman in the parish office to explore how we might bring this ministry to life in our community.
This ministry is designed for women—mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, and all spiritual mothers—who carry the deep desire to intercede for their families. Inspired by the steadfast faith of St. Monica, participants gather for guided prayer, including the Rosary, offering one another encouragement, solidarity, and hope. Together, they pray for the return, protection, and spiritual flourishing of their children and loved ones.
The Pilgrim Mother Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe has arrived in the Archdiocese: As we prepare for the 500th anniversary of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s apparition to Saint Juan Diego, a three‑dimensional representation of the tilma is traveling across the United States. We are blessed that this sacred image is making a special stop in our Archdiocese.
Now through May 10, it will be located at Incarnation / Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Minneapolis.
This visit is a beautiful opportunity for prayer, reflection, and devotion as we draw closer to this historic anniversary. All are warmly invited to come and spend time in prayer before the image during its stay.
Annual Family Rosary Procession in St. Paul: This Sunday, May 3, at 2 pm (Procession line-up at 1:30 pm). The procession is from Kellogg and John Ireland to the
Cathedral of Saint Paul, St. Paul.As a public witness to our Catholic faith during May, dedicated to our Blessed Mother Mary, come with family and friends to the annual Archdiocesan Family Rosary Procession. Due to road construction, the route will be significantly shorter this year as the line-up begins on John Ireland and Kellogg at 1:30 pm. First Communicants are invited to wear their First Communion attire. Those who cannot walk the procession route may go directly to the Cathedral to pray the Rosary with those who are in procession.
Pillars Program: The Catechetical Institute will be offering classes starting this September. This two-year Pillars Program will be offered live at St. Bartholomew in Wayzata and simultaneously live-streamed to multiple satellite locations.
Applications are now being accepted.
The Archbishop Fulton Sheen Class
CI Host Site (In-person)- St. Batholomew, Wayzata, MN
Satellite Sites in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis - St. Dominic, Northfield, MN
- St. Francis Xavier, Buffalo, MN
- St. Peter, Forest Lake, MN
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen... pray for us!
Christ the King Silent Retreat: Fr. Zachary Ochsenbaur and I will be leading a special retreat at Christ the King Retreat House from June 5th through the 7th. This retreat will be with parishioners at All Saints in Lakeville. The guided silent retreat will include inspiring talks, daily Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, communal and personal prayer, spiritual direction, and time for quiet reflection. If you have never taken a retreat before, this will be an ideal way to take one! The cost will be $385 per person. Please check out the links below to register on our website for more details.
Vacation Bible School: Registration is open for St. Therese's Vacation Bible School (VBS) for both campers and volunteers. Please register prior to June 13. Register here:
https://www.st-therese.org/vbs
- Empty coffee cans with a lid (plastic or metal), any size, are needed for a VBS craft project. Please drop your container off in the large black bin located in the main church entrance.
Youth Ministry Scholarship Fund: We are raising money for our Youth Ministry Scholarship Fund. Through this fund, St. Therese Youth Discipleship Ministry is able to provide life-changing opportunities to our middle and high schoolers. This fund provides full & partial scholarships to our youth so that they are able to afford camps, retreats, conferences, and other powerful ministry events. The fund is also used to cover expenses such as transportation, food, and chaperone fees that are necessary for us to take part in these events. You can donate to the fund at our table after Mass this weekend, or
at this link.
The May focus for Reclaiming Sundays is Community: Karla Gergen, wife, mother, and principal of Saint Helena Catholic School in Minneapolis, invites us to be present to others through real relationships in order to receive the joy and the rest God has given us in the Sabbath.
Adoration in our Little Flower Chapel:
Currently, we are seeking a bit more assistance during the following times:
Tuesday, 3–4 pm
Wednesday, 12–1 pm
Please join us as we recite the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy every Thursday at 3 pm in the Chapel.
For more information, call Geri at 952-473-4422 or Marilyn Olson at 952-474-4344.
Greece Pilgrimage - There are still two cabins left for a short amount of time: We will be taking a pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Paul on a 9-night Cruise plus 4 nights in Athens. The pilgrimage that will take place from September 14 to 28, 2026, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
We will follow in the footsteps of Saint Paul through Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Thessaloniki, and Philippi! The 9-night cruise will sail through the breathtaking Greek Isles, giving you the opportunity to visit ancient temples and idyllic seaside villages in six ports of call: Rhodes, Ephesus, Santorini, Mykonos, Philippi, and Thessaloniki. Check out this updated link:
Job Openings at St. Therese School:- School Office and Database Manager
- 3rd Grade Elementary Teacher
- Middle School Math Teacher/Technology Support
Contact Adam Groebner,
agroebner@st-therese.org, for more information.
Job Openings at St. Therese Early Learning Center:- Pre-School After-School/Evening Aides (10-15 hrs./wk.)
- Toddler Teacher, full-time
Contact Emily Rohla at
erohla@st-therese.org for more information.
Estate Planning: A reminder that we have a Little Flower Legacy Society at St. Therese to encourage planned and estate gifts to our parish, our school, or one of our endowment funds. Please include St. Therese as a beneficiary in your estate planning! It is an opportunity to give back to our beloved parish and ensure that our parish remains financially viable for generations to come!
Flocknote:You can receive my daily Mass reflections sent right to your
phone! To sign up, just text the word “ANDRIE” to 84-576 to follow the link.
Stewardship:Thank you to everyone who continues to support St. Therese! I invite you to continue supporting our beloved parish as it helps us to serve you and remain connected with you! This can be done in the following ways:
- Click the donation button on our main parish website. You can contribute as a guest or log in if you have previously created a profile. You can choose the frequency of your gift (one-time, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually).
- Bring or mail your stewardship envelope to our parish office.
- Consider transferring a stock “gift” to St. Therese. It’s a tax-free donation.
As always, be assured of my gratitude for your generosity and prayers to St. Therese. Be assured of my prayers for you as well!
Blessings,
Fr. Andrie