Below you will find the useful information regarding various practices and topics:
Our church provides Holy Communion to parishioners who are homebound or unable to attend Mass. For more information or to schedule a visit, please call St. John the Baptist Pastoral Center Office at 724.775.3940 ext. 3.
If you know of a family member or a neighbor who is in a local nursing home or hospital and would like a church visit, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, receive Holy Communion or the Anointing of the Sick, please call the Pastoral Center Office at 724.775.3940 ext. 3 to let a clergy/staff member know. Due to HIPPA Laws, churches are almost never notified by the healthcare facility.
PLEASE NOTE: The quickest and most efficient way to ensure that your hospitalized loved ones are anointed in the case of an emergency is to ask the nurse to page the CATHOLIC CHAPLAIN ON CALL. There is a priest on duty 24/7 for Heritage Valley Beaver. (Our priests cover Thursdays and Fridays.) Calls to the Pastoral Center Office or notes left in the church sacristy may not be responded to in a timely fashion due to unavailability or oversight. Calls to the Catholic chaplain answering service receive IMMEDIATE RESPONSE. Also, please ensure your family member is listed in the hospital records as Catholic. If the person is not, there is no way of knowing the patient's religious affiliation and so are not seen when Fr. Regis kindly visits the hospital almost daily, or when the other priests are there. Thank you in advance for seeing to the sacramental needs of the hospitalized.
Please note that all articles and information for the St. John the Baptist section of the bulletin must be received by the Pastoral Center Office by 12noon on Thursday so that it may be considered for publication in the bulletin to be printed for distribution at the weekend Masses that occur after the upcoming weekend.
Announcements for Sunday Mass must be received in the Pastoral Center Office by no later than 12noon on Thursday in order to be considered for presentation at the weekend Masses.
The scheduling of Masses for 2021 has begun. All Mass intentions can be scheduled by calling the Parish Office at 724.775.3940 ext. 3. The current Mass stipend is $10 per Mass. You may either mail (check/money order only; no cash) to: St. John the Baptist Pastoral Center, 1501 Virginia Avenue, Monaca, PA 15061; or submit the stipend by placing it in the collection basket in an envelope clearly marked 'Mass Stipend' along with your name and phone number on slip of paper placed inside. Your intention will not be recorded in the Mass Book until the stipend is received. Please note that messages left on the answering service or emails to the office regarding Mass intention requests will not be returned/addressed. No exceptions!
Each registered family is entitled to two Masses. You may either have one Sunday/Holy Day plus one weekday or you may have two Weekday Masses. Please be aware that as we begin the process of merging our parish grouping into one parish in July 2021, there may be the possibility that your Mass intention(s) could move to another worship site within our grouping. The day and date would remain the same; only the Mass would be offered at a different church location. Intentions for the Sanctuary and Marian Shrine Candles will also be accepted.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding.
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Anyone wanting to carry up the offertory gifts at a Mass celebrated for the intention of a family member or friend, please speak with one of the ushers about it prior to the start of Mass. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
As has been the practice for many years, parish offering envelopes deposited in the collection basket in any Catholic Church in the Diocese of Pittsburgh are returned to the parish named on the envelope. St. John the Baptist envelopes deposited in the collection at Our Lady of Fatima, St. Frances Cabrini or St. Titus (or any other local Catholic church) are returned to St. John the Baptist to be included in the following week's offertory figures. Thank you in advance for supporting your parish, no matter where you may need to worship on a given weekend.
To eliminate errors on contribution statements, please make sure to mark your parish donation envelope with the amount it contains. Approximately one-third of the envelopes received each week are not marked. By marking your envelope with the amount, you will assist the volunteer money counters in their task as well as better ensure the correct posting of your contribution. Thank you in advance for your co-operation.
— Dave Deiter, Business Manager of St. Titus Parish and St. John the Baptist
In order to reduce expenses, the mailing offertory envelopes has been stopped for members who have not made use of them in the last three years. These members will remain on our parish census but will not be mailed envelope packets, eliminating production and mailing expense. Anyone who wishes to resume receiving envelopes in support of the Faith Community of St. John the Baptist, please contact the Pastoral Center Office at 724.775.3940 ext. 3, and your offertory envelope packet delivery will be immediately reinstate.
The hanging sanctuary lamp found above the entrance of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel as well as the tabernacle lamp standing next to the chapel's altar, burn in testament of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic. For those interested in having a candle placed for a special intention in either location, please contact the Pastoral Center Office at 724.775.3940 ext. 3 or download and complete a Chapel/Shrine Candle Request Form by clicking here. The requested donation per candle is $10 which helps defray costs and assists the parish.
Those wishing to have a candle placed in the Blessed Mother Shrine Candle Lamp in memory or honor of a loved one or for a special intention, please contact the Pastoral Center Office at 724.775.3940 ext. 3 or download and complete a Chapel/Shrine Candle Request Form by clicking here. To defray costs and assist our church in its mission, the requested donation per candle is $10.00.
The large votives, found in the multi-candle stands located in various places throughout the church, are replenished daily. (Container candles are no longer stocked in the sacristy.) Wooden tapers for lighting these tall votive candles can be found at each stand. The requested donation per candle is $3.00 (to cover parish cost). Please place your candle offering in the secure box mounted near the stand.
For those interested in having an engraved brick placed in acknowledgement or remembrance of a loved one on the parish grounds, Memorial Brick Request Forms are available at all entrances of the church as well as via download by clicking here. The price per brick is $25.
For safety and insurance purposes, do not place votive candles of any kind on the Blessed Mother Shrine Altar or the Blessed Sacrament Altar. A faulty candle container may result in a fire, or at the very least, damage to surfaces and linens. Thank you for your consideration.
Please note that all information to be posted to the bulletin boards installed at the doors of the church must be submitted to the Pastoral Center Office. Postings that have not been placed through the office will be removed. In addition, nothing is to be adhesive taped to the walls of the church. Thank you for your cooperation.
When at church, don't forget to browse the pamphlet rack located in the main entrance/vestibule. It is hoped you will find helpful and engaging materials on it. Is there a subject on which you would like information or do you have something you would like to see added? If you do, please contact the Pastoral Center Office (724.775.3940 ext. 3) to discuss the request. (Please note that all printed materials found in various places throughout the church must first be presented to the Pastoral Center Office. Any materials not cleared through the Pastoral Center Office will be removed.)
Please note that any weather-related cancellation of our Faith Formation Classes / CCD sessions as well as meetings and/or services will be broadcast on KDKA, WTAE, and WPXI.
Each month a Baptism Preparation Class is offered. Please see the bulletin or the STJB Happenings page for announcements pertaining to the class schedule. Contact the Pastoral Center Office at 724.775.3940 ext. 3 to register. Completion of this class is required before a baptism can be scheduled.
All are welcome to participate each Wednesday at 9:30AM in a weekly scripture discussion in the Faith Formation Center located in the St. John the Baptist Pastoral Center.
For glimpses into the parish's ongoing history — occasions, recent and past; moments, enriching and notable — take a look at the page on this website titled Recollections.
For news and events related to the parish, parish grouping, and the surrounding areas as well as information on other items of interest, pick up a copy of the current weekly MACH1 bulletin at church to take home. You can also visit the MACH1 Bulletin page for information on how to view the basic weekly edition of our MACH1 Parish Grouping Bulletin online or have the expanded edition conveniently delivered to your email inbox each week.
Remember to 'Like', 'Follow', and 'Share' our parish Facebook page at stjbparishmonaca
The Latin phrases of “Praeibis Ante Dominum” and “Parare Vias Ejus” in the banner displayed at the bottom of the St. John the Baptist homepage located within our MACH1 Parish Grouping website (as well as below) are the words of the archangel Gabriel spoken to Zechariah as found in Luke 1:76. They announce Zechariah's soon-to-be born son, who shall be known as John the Baptist. These inscriptions translated into English mean:
"...For you will go on before the Lord…to prepare His ways,..."
As members of the church that bears the name of St. John the Baptist as its patron, we are called to carry on his mission.