Welcome to the parishes of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Columban! Founded in 1905 the church has been our faith home for more than 100 years and is a testament to the faith of the proud, resilient and independent people who first settled in our area.
Please explore our website for information about the Catholic faith, parish events, our publications, and much more! We encourage visitors and new parishioners to become involved in our parish community and the many events and programs we offer to grow in faith.
Mission Statement
Mission Statement of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish
Love God. Love our neighbor. Seek the lost. Make disciples.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)
“For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). |
St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Columban
We are blessed with amazing patrons at St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Columban parishes.
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was an Itali
an Dominican friar and a Catholic priest. His “introduction” to our faith is a five-volume work entitled Summa Theologica. He is a doctor of the Church and famous for his brilliant writings in philosophy and theology. It has been said that he would dictate up to five different works at the same time with his scribes! At the end of his life, Jesus appeared to Thomas and said, “Well have you written of me, Thomas, what shall be your reward?” Famously, Thomas replied, “Only you, Lord.” The feast day for St. Thomas Aquinas and our parish is January 28th. He is the patron saint of Catholic schools, colleges, schools and students.
St. Columban (559-615) had a heart for monasticism and missionary work. After fleeing Ireland to avoid temptations of lust, Columban entered a cloistered monastery and eventually worked with his companions throughout Europe to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. He was known for his discipline, especially in his rule of life and spiritual practices. His personal holiness, toughness, witness to marriage and fidelity to the pope continue to inspire us today. The feast day for St. Columban and our parish is November 23rd.
Mass Times
St. Thomas
- Saturday- 5:00 pm
- Sunday- 10:30 am
- Monday- 8:30 am
- Tuesday- 8:30 am
- Wednesday- 8:30 am & 3:30 pm (Falls Care Center every other week)
- Thursday- 8:30 am & 1:00 pm (Littlefork Care Center same week as Falls Care Center)
- Friday- NO MASS
St. Columban in Littlefork
- Sunday- 8:30 am
Confessions
4:00pm on Saturday at St. Thomas and 30 minutes before every Mass
Office Hours
Friday: 8 am - 1 pm
Staff
- Fr. Ben Hadrich, Pastor
- Fran Zaren, Deacon
- Les Hendrickson, Parish Secretary
- Patty Crane, Bookkeeper
- Sabrina Etienne, Coordinator of Faith Formation
Online Stewardship
Mass Readings
Weekly reading
Readings for the week of January 20, 2019
- Sunday: Is 62:1-5 / Ps 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10 [3] / 1 Cor 12:4-11 / Jn 2:1-11
- Monday: Heb 5:1-10 / Ps 110:1, 2, 3, 4 [4b] / Mk 2:18-22
- Tuesday: Heb 6:10-20 / Ps 111:1-2, 4-5, 9 and 10c [5] / Mk 2:23-28
- Wednesday: Heb 7:1-3, 15-17 / Ps 110:1, 2, 3, 4 [4b] / Mk 3:1-6
- Thursday: Heb 7:25—8:6 / Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17 [8a and 9a] / Mk 3:7-12
- Friday: Acts 22:3-16 or Acts 9:1-22 / Ps 117:1bc, 2 [Mk 16:15] / Mk 16:15-18
- Saturday: 2 Tm 1:1-8 or Ti 1:1-5 / Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10 [3] / Mk 3:20-21
- Next Sunday: Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 / Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15 [cf. Jn 6:63c] / 1 Cor 12:12-30 or 1 Cor 12:12-14, 27 / Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21
- Sunday: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Monday: St. Agnes, Virgin & Martyr; Martin Luther King Day
- Tuesday: Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children
- Wednesday: St. Vincent, Deacon & Martyr; St. Marianne Cope, Virgin
- Thursday: St. Francis de Sales, Bishop & Doctor of the Church
- Friday: The Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle
- Saturday: Sts. Timothy and Titus, Bishops
- Next Sunday: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Ben's Biblical Blog
Fr. Ben's Podcasts
Jesus suffered, we suffer; Jesus had a mission, we have a mission: Wednesday, January 15th, 2019
01/16/19 7:12 pm
Jesus: "lower than angels" in Hebrew, and Jesus destroying evil angels in Mark: Tuesday, January 14th, 2019
01/16/19 7:09 pm
Beginning of the Letter to the Hebrews and the beginning of the Gospel according to Mark: Monday, January 14th, 2019 (Beginning the Ordinary Season)
01/16/19 7:05 pm
Eucharistic Adoration
Click here to listen to Fr. Drew Braun 40 Hour Devotion Talk:
http://bhadrich.podbean.com/e/the-power-of-eucharistic-adoration-fr-drew-brauns-talk-at-40-hour-devotion/
Click here to listen to the Theology of the Body talk by Kevin Pelon:
http://bhadrich.podbean.com/e/kevin-pilons-40-hours-theology-of-the-body-talk/
Donut Sunday
Everyone loves Donut Sunday!
Held every Sunday in the gathering space after the 10:30am Mass
Please stay and linger after Mass to visit with friends, meet new parishioners, and of course,
enjoy a delicious fresh baked donut!
Volunteer now for your chance to be the most popular person at Mass on Sunday.
It's a great way to serve others.
There are no donuts to buy and everything is provided.
It's easy and fun, even children can help
Volunteer as an individual, couple, with a few friends or as a family.
Sign up here
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or call the parish office at 283-3293
or email
Volunteer at St. Thomas
We are welcoming parish and encourage all members to become active in a ministry or volunteer in an area where your gifts and talents will best serve the church.
The following is our list of ministries we currently have available for all to join. If you are interested in learning more about a specific ministry please contact the parish office for further information.
Altar Server
Sacristan
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
Funeral Lunch Committee
Homebound Ministry
Faith Formation (Children and Adult)
Tabernacle Society
Welcome Ministry
Usher
Music Ministry
Lector
Knights of Columbus
Catholic Daughters
Diocese News
Betsy Kneepkens: Which children are really ‘sheltered’? Those who don’t know about Jesus
12/19/18 12:54 am
Some have suggested that my husband and I have sheltered our children.
I cannot deny the fact that we intentionally made decisions to shield our kids from potentially harmful situations or incidents that would negatively impact the foundation we were trying to provide them. I am not just talking physical circumstances but emotional, intellectual, and spiritual, as well. We worked hard not to expose them too early to specific experiences where the visual scenes would forever plague their memory. Often — I mean very often — my children did not participate in activities that were commonplace for other children.
Read MoreFather Richard Kunst: Inviting ‘Christmas and Easter Catholics’ back to Mass should be our main goal
12/19/18 12:51 am
I like to bring humor into classes I teach and homilies that I preach, because I think humor is a good way to get through to people about the importance of faith.
As I look back on my ministry I remember many times when certain points of humor were particularly well received; one was several years ago, right before Mass started at my parish of St. Joseph’s in Gnesen (the prettiest parish in the Diocese of Duluth, if you ask me). St. Joseph’s is a small, rural parish, so there tend to be other critters in the area besides humans. It was during Advent when someone inadvertently allowed two dogs to sneak in the door. They were good-sized dogs, and they ran up and down the aisle of the small church, which caused a bit of a stir with the parishioners. After the dogs were finally corralled and let out, I told the congregation that I can tell Christmas is getting near, because I hadn’t seen those two dogs since Easter.
Read MoreFather Ryan Moravitz: The story of Mallory Norrell and her family needs to be shared
12/12/18 2:42 am
