St. Stephen Catholic Church

St. Stephen Penance Service - Monday , March 20th at 6:00 p.m. 

Holy Thursday - Washing of the Feet  - 7:00 p.m.
Good Friday - Stations of the Cross - 3:00 p.m.
Good Friday - The Passion of the Lord - 7:00 p.m.
Holy Saturday - Easter Vigil - 8:30 p.m.
Easter Sunday - Masses at 8:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m.  & 1:00 p.m. (Spanish)
 

Friday nights during Lent Mass at 5:30 p.m. followed by The Stations of The Cross at 6 p.m.  The Knight of Columbus 6099 will be having Fish Fry from 5 - 7 p.m. in the small hall each week.  All are welcome!

St. Stephen will have it's Annual Easter Egg Hunt following the 11:00 a.m. Mass in the field.  

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. 
 
The norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal.  Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids are allowed, including milk and fruit juices. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection.
 
The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.
 
NOTE #1:  Those that are excused from fast and abstinence outside the age limits include the physically or mentally ill - including individuals suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes. Also excluded are pregnant or nursing women.
 
NOTE #2:  During the Lenten season, certain feasts occur which the liturgy or local custom traditionally exempts from the Lenten spirit of penance.  This year, the Memorial of Saint Patrick falls on Friday, March 17.  It is well known that Saint Patrick’s Day is a day of convivial celebration for many American Catholics. Therefore, Bishop Stika has issued a dispensation decree stating: “On Friday, March 17, 2023, all Catholics of the Diocese of Knoxville, by my authority, are dispensed from the abstinence obligation (can. 87 §1).  It is not required that anyone make use of this dispensation.  Those who do wish to make use of it are encouraged to abstain from meat on some other day as part of their penitential practices and to engage in some additional act of prayer, service to the poor or almsgiving.”
 
NOTE #3:  The Easter Vigil, by its very nature, "ought to take place at night" (Missale Romanum, "Rubrics for the Easter Vigil" (EV, no. 3).  It is not to begin before nightfall and should end before daybreak on Easter Sunday.  With that said, within the Diocese of Knoxville, the Easter Vigil celebration should not begin before 8:30pm.
 

St. Stephen Catholic Church is seeking a
New Choir Coordinator
We have put together a search committee to help us with this process.  If you are interested in applying for thisposition, please send a cover letter and a resumé to bookkeeper@ststephenchatt.org or drop this by the office during working hours to Mark Vallée.  The job description and details will be distributed to those who are interested.  You will be called in for interviews from the search committee as soon as we get your information.