Christmas Mass Survey:
Please log on to our Facebook page and complete our 2020 Christmas Mass Time Survey! This will help us to track (and pass on to you) which Christmas Masses are expected to be at capacity and aid in your celebration planning. Click Here
Volunteers Needed:
Reminder that we need volunteers tomorrow, Wednesday, November 25 at 1pm to set up the Activity Center for Thanksgiving day Mass. Your generous support is greatly appreciated!
“John Paul Two, We Love You!”Today is the feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux, popularly known as “The Little Flower.” Pope Saint Pius X called her, “the greatest Saint of modern times.” Her reminiscences of her childhood and her reflections regarding her own spiritual journey were recorded in a notebook she called The Story of A Soul. Commanded by her sister Pauline, the Mother Superior of the Carmelite convent she entered when only fifteen years old, Therese provides an outline of what she terms “the little way’ of love. Soldiers carried copies of her spiritual diary with them into battle during the most devasting war the world had ever known in Europe from 1914 to 1918. Her universal appeal and “little way” prepared Pope Pius XI to canonize her in 1925.
This short film by Bishop Robert Barron, gives an introduction to Therese’s immense contribution to the life of the Church and her insights in being a disciple of Jesus. Enjoy this moment as we celebrate her feast!
Today, September 29, marks the feast of the Archangels Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. During these often troubled and difficult days, here’s a reminder for us all, from a saint of our own time:
“May prayer strengthen us for the spiritual battle that the Letter to the Ephesians speaks of: “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10).
The Book of Revelation refers to this same battle, recalling before our eyes the image of Saint Michael the Archangel (cf. Revelation 12:7).
Pope Leo XIII certainly had this picture in mind when, at the end of the last century, he brought in, throughout the Church, a special prayer to St Michael:
‘Saint Michael the Archangel defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.‘
Although this prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world.”
—St. John Paul II, Regina Caeli, April 24, 1994
Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy September 24th, 2020
A Day of Prayer and Penance in the Diocese of Columbus
Bishop Brennan invites us to join him in a day of prayer and penance on Thursday, September 24th the feast of Our Lady of Mercy. Let us this day, join our prayers in solidarity for our wounded and troubled world, with those of our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Mercy who gathers us together under her mantle and brings us to Jesus.
Mary under the title of “Our Lady of Mercy”
Devotion to Our Lady dates back to the second century after Christ, and it developed widely during the Middle Ages. Mary is venerated as the Mother of God, Queen and Mother of countries, nations, cities, religious orders, religious and secular organizations, and as the Mother of every human being. The devotion to the mercy of Mary first developed in the East, and was then adopted by the Church in the West, which gradually developed the devotion, deepened it and gave it its own form visible in the areas of devotion and iconography. In the late eighteenth and nineteenth century, the idea of Mater Misericordiae began to dawn and it can be seen most clearly through the theological reflection in St. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical “Dives in Misericordiae”. (Taken from https://www.saint-faustina.org/in-the-church/)
Take some time on Thursday, September 24th to pray the Rosary or Chaplet of Our Lady of Mercy for the healing of our communities. Make an act of Penance by meditating on the Passion of Christ, denying yourself some treat or privilege, holding your tongue, offering a compliment, etc.
More information can be found at https://www.actsxxix.org/national-day-prayer-fasting
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