The May 2025 Family of the Month is The Maricich Family!

How long have you been a Parishioner at St. Monica’s? We became parishioners at the end of 2005 until we moved back East in 2008. After moving back and deciding on a high school for our eldest we re-joined as parishioners in 2021.

What is it about St. Monica’s that keeps you coming back each Sunday? We love the community at St. Monica's! After being away from the parish for 13 years, there were several parishioners that welcomed us back, even remembering our names. We value the time we spend together with our friends and family in this community, both during the Mass and visiting after. 

Tell us a little about your family. How many kids do you have, their names, where they attend school? Gabe and Marisa will celebrate 20 years of marriage in the fall. Our family is blessed to be a part of St. Monica's School where they love their teachers and friends, and this year we have all six of our kids enrolled from pre-K through high school! Filomena is in pre-K, Luka is in 1st grade, Anthony is in 4th grade, Lily is in 7th grade, Petar is in 9th grade, and Matteo is in 12th grade. We are so thankful for the dedication and compassion of the teachers and the classical Catholic curriculum that is taught here!

Are you or your family involved in the Parish or school? And if so, how? Between all 8 of us we definitely dip into several of the ministries at the parish and the school: Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, CYO sports (even the adult softball team), Walking with Purpose women's bible study, Vacation Bible School, Altar Serving, School Mass Choir, Coffee and Donuts, Monica's Table, student leadership roles, volunteering for school events, I think that might be it ;) 

Can you tell us one thing your whole family loves doing when you have time? Anything that involves sunshine! We enjoy being outdoors and playing backyard wiffle ball games, frisbee, spike ball, and swimming. 

What things do you do as a family to keep Christ in your home? Over the years we have gradually built our Domestic Church and added things when we could. We do nightly prayers as a family, regularly celebrate solemnities and saint's feast days, and talk about the seasons of the liturgical year. Our feast day food traditions are always a favorite that the kids look forward to year after year, like our Mary cake on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and homemade pretzels during Lent. 

Thank you Maricich family for being part of our parish community!

The April 2025 Family of the Month is The Cooper Family!

How long have you been a Parishioner at St. Monica’s? Fifteen years. We joined St Monica when we moved back to the area in 2010, after a stint away for school, the military, and early career jobs. All four of our children were baptized here by Deacon Frank, and two of the four have been through first communion here, with two more to come.

What is it about St. Monica’s that keeps you coming back each Sunday? The wonderful community, which has been a deeply meaningful part of our lives. We appreciate the breadth and volume of opportunities to grow in faith, and lately we've been particularly appreciative of the three regular priests, all very engaging and effective, who each bring a different background and approach to their liturgies and homilies.

Tell us a little about your family. How many kids do you have, their names, where they attend school? We have four children and are confident most parishioners have heard one or more of them during Mass at some point! Josh is 12, Sam is 10, Naomi is 7, and Hannah is 5. Josh attends Islander Middle School, and the other three are at Island Park.

Are you or your family involved in the Parish or school? And if so, how? We weren't very formally involved but were motivated by Father Nagel's gentle encouragement during a few homilies and became communion servers. We've also volunteered for small roles here and there at Lenten soup suppers and coffee & donuts, and Lisa participated in the women's Bible study. Fr. Nagel's promises about the rewards of service came true, and we look forward to remaining involved.

Can you tell us one thing your whole family loves doing when you have time? All four children are involved in sports, which consumes much time. We also enjoy hiking, fishing, and other outdoor activities, as well as hosting big meals for extended family and watching Seattle's sports teams.

What things do you do as a family to keep Christ in your home? Not as much as we should. We try to be consistent with small things--grace before every meal, prayers with each child before bed, occasional confessions, and attending Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation. The last sometimes feels like a challenge with sports and other activities, but it's led to fun experiences attending Mass in new churches at out-of-town sports tournaments or on vacation.

The March 2025 Family of the Month is The Brooks Family!

How long have you been a Parishioner at St. Monica’s? We have been privileged to be a part of the St. Monica community for more than 30 years.

What is it about St. Monica’s that keeps you coming back each Sunday? St. Monica’s is a wonderful community to be a part of. The graces of daily Mass, attended alongside so many holy parishioners, and celebrated by reverent priests and deacons, has been an immeasurable gift to us all.

Tell us a little about your family. How many kids do you have, their names, where they attend school? We have 6 grown children, who were all home educated until college. This gave us the flexibility to attend daily Mass year-round throughout their childhoods and teen years. Rachel’s (David) family now lives in SLC, Utah. Sarah’s (Greg) family is in Olympia. Tony works for St. Monica as the PA for Communications. Magdalena is also still local and an active member of the parish. Tim lives in Santa Barbara, CA, and Anna is currently also in SoCal. We feel incredibly blessed that all our children and grandchildren practice our Catholic faith.

Are you or your family involved in the Parish or school? And if so, how? While some of our children have moved away from this area, many of us have been catechists or assistant catechists in the past, and our sons were blessed to serve as altar servers for many years. Currently we are involved with FON, altar linens, altar flowers, bible study, videography, and grounds maintenance.

Can you tell us one thing your whole family loves doing when you have time? We all enjoy the mystery genre, hiking (especially in National Parks), and puzzles of all sorts.

What things do you do as a family to keep Christ in your home? We try to celebrate the liturgical year with various traditions, such as Advent wreath, Jesse tree, yearly house blessing, novenas, daily rosary, singing before meals during Advent and Lent, and special feast day/solemnity celebrations, etc. These help us keep the domestic church alive in our homes. 

The February 2025 Family of the Month is The Dobak Family!

How long have you been a Parishioner at St. Monica’s? We joined the church as a family in 2022. 

What is it about St. Monica’s that keeps you coming back each Sunday? We have appreciated so much the great community of the church. We have volunteered to further our connection with the community. The music, Father Nagel, and Father Joseph are such a value to our experience with the church as well. 

Tell us a little about your family. How many kids do you have, their names, where they attend school? Robert works as an IT Database Engineer for REI and moonlights with real estate investments. Deanna has been a stay- at-home mom educating their 2 children, helping with property management, and recently has begun working as a substitute for the Renton School District. Raiden has been working as an automotive technician while going to RTC in the automotive program and anticipates completing this program within the year. Sierra has recently begun taking piano and guitar lessons and has started High School at Hazen High School. She enjoys writing music. 

Are you or your family involved in the Parish or school? And if so, how? Deanna and Sierra had been enjoying volunteering with Friends of the Needy prior to the beginning of the school year. Robert has become a Knight with the Knights of Columbus. Robert and Deanna have volunteered in various capacities as EMHC and Hospitality Ministers. 

Can you tell us one thing your whole family loves doing when you have time? The family is involved with the Scholastic Action Shooting Program at Renton Fish and Game, where Robert is a coach for the team and both kids compete at the National level. Deanna enjoys cheering them on and volunteering at the different fundraisers. We also enjoy hiking, having family and friend game nights, exploring forest areas, hotsprings, and swimming.

As an active family what do you do to keep Christ in your life when schedules are challenging? We have found it helpful when traveling for sporting events to include other families on the team by offering up the mass schedule for where we will be attending and ask if anyone would like to join us. Several people on our team are members of the catholic church as well and we found that if one of us said we were going to mass we all would join in and then go to breakfast after. This has created a deeper community within our sporting events also. When we travel for family outings or property management business we enjoy finding the local churches to experience those communities.

The January 2025 Family of the Month is The Briggs Family!

How long have you been a parishioner at St. Monica’s? We have been parishioners since 2013.

What is it about St. Monica’s that keeps you coming back each week? We appreciate the traditional liturgy and that it is close enough to our home that we can be there often. 

Tell us a little about your family. How many kids do you have, their names, where they attend school? We have lived in South Seattle for 18 years. Our kids are Raina (18), Peter (15), Molly (12), David (9), and Ellen (6), plus the five we won't meet this side of heaven. The children are homeschooled until high school (so far!), when they attend St Monica Academy, our parish's high school. Raina finished high school in 2024 and now attends University of Dallas, a classical Catholic school in Texas.

Are you or your family involved in the Parish or school ? And if so, how? Yes. We help run the choir on Sunday mornings, help with donut prep, run the live stream several times a week, and our older son frequently serves on the altar. We also make sandwiches for Nightwatch, attend Tuesday evening Bible study, volunteer with high school youth group, maintain the church sound system, and many one-time events. We like to help where we can!

Can you tell us one thing your whole family loves doing when you have time? We are blessed to have lots of time together. When we aren't working or learning together, we enjoy playing board games and reading books aloud.

What things do you do as a family to keep Christ in your home? We take the approach that prayer does not have to be formal to be efficacious. In that spirit of imperfection, we pray throughout the day and try to decorate according to the liturgical season. For example, we read about the saints, pray before meals, pray the rosary, pray for others and for each other, and attend Mass as often as our schedules allow. Our homeschool materials are cultivated to include biblical history and the history of the church so we can all appreciate the context of scripture more fully.

The December 2024 Family of the Month is The Monahan Family!

How long have you been a Parishioner at St. Monica’s? 15 years, we joined in 2009 when we moved to Mercer Island from Renton.

What is it about St. Monica’s that keeps you coming back each Sunday? We enjoy the warm community and chatting with families. We also love our priests, deacons and listening to the homilies.

Tell us a little about your family. How many kids do you have, their names, where they attend school? John is a software developer and Carla is a CPA.  We have 3 kids, Lauren is a sophomore at the Univ. of South Carolina, Caitlin is a freshman at the Univ. of Portland and plays on the basketball team and Colin is a junior at MIHS.

Are you or your family involved in the Parish or school? And if so, how? We are involved in the Parish. John drives for FON, John and Carla are Hospitality and Eucharistic ministers and Colin is an altar server.

Can you tell us one thing your whole family loves doing when you have time? Road trips and anything outdoors.

The November 2024 Family of the Month is The Mackie Family!

How long have you been a Parishioner at St. Monica’s? We’ve been parishioners since September 2022, the year our oldest daughter started sixth grade at St. Monica Catholic School.

What is it about St. Monica’s that keeps you coming back each Sunday? We love our pastor and priests, the deacons, the homilies, as well as the music. We also appreciate the chance to catch up with friends from the Church and School.

Tell us a little about your family. How many kids do you have, their names, where they attend school? Steph and Jeff are both attorneys. We have three children (Vivienne 13yo, Winston 11yo, and Cecily 7yo). All three attend St. Monica Catholic School.

Are you or your family involved in the Parish or school? And if so, how? Jeff is a Knight of Columbus, a lector, as well as a member of the School Commission. Steph volunteers for the Dessert Dash at the school auction. 

Can you tell us one thing your whole family loves doing when you have time? Skiing, watching movies, and just hanging out together.

The October 2024 Family of the Month is The An Family!

We wanted to use this opportunity to share a reflection from Ryan An on being able to attend the National Eucharistic Congress which took place this past July in Indianapolis, Indiana:

“Our family had one of the greatest graces to be at the first National Eucharistic Congress in 83 years, taking place at Indianapolis with a gathering of more than 60,000 Catholics, thousands of priests, and hundreds of Bishops. On the flight over, there were priests, nuns, and even Bishop Frank Schuster! However, that was nothing compared to the relic of Blessed Carlos Acutis, traveling with us on the same plane! I like to call that a very “Holy Flight!” On a typical day at the congress, three masses are offered in the morning and the afternoon with the main one at the Lucas Oil Stadium. Just the procession in and out itself took a whole hour. Over 10,000 Catholics received Jesus in the Eucharist together in the morning. During the course of the day, we got to listen to a variety of talks from speakers that you might know from radios, podcasts, and homilies. There were also many booths and stands of famous Catholic shows and networks that you might listen to in your car, along with exhibits, relics, and more than you could see! However, the party had only just begun in the evening. Everyone gathered at the stadium again for music, motivational talks, and adoration. You could literally sense the Holy Spirit speaking through the mouth of them, and the presence of God in our midst. Everything came to a close with the possession of nuns, seminarians, priests, bishops, followed by thousands of Catholics. It was one hopeful sight to see. The closing mass was celebrated by your eminence Cardinal Lius Antonio Tagle, centering his homily on the Eucharist as a gift from God. As the lead host of this congress, Bishop Andrew Cozzens suggested that the next Eucharistic Congress should take place in the year 2033. Exactly 2000 years from the time of Jesus. So brothers and sisters, we tell you to BE THERE! Vivat Jesus!” -Ryan An