Pentecost XXI

This school year, as time permits, we will be publishing daily sermons from the previous week. Check back daily for additional sermons:

Oct. 15, 2012: St. Teresa of Ávila by Fr. Lehtoranta
Oct. 16, 2012: St. Gerard Majella by Fr. Lehtoranta
Oct. 17, 2012: St. Margaret Mary by Fr. Lehtoranta
Oct. 18, 2012: St. Luke by Fr. Lehtoranta
Oct. 19, 2012: St. Peter of Alcantara by Fr. Lehtoranta

A Note from Fr. McGuire
Dear Parishioners,
As you probably read in last week’s Bishop’s Corner, I have discovered a new hidden talent – mouse slaying! (We seem to be having a little war against mice in the priests’ office area of the church.) In just two days’ time I was able to rid the church of three mice. I wonder if I will earn the name “Tres” just like the legendary Christero, “Quatorce” who earned his nickname by killing 14 of the Federales in the Christero War in Mexico. I doubt it! In any case, Dale Moore fell into a close second place when he killed his second mouse. Fr. Lehtoranta just spotted another mouse – this one was nice and plump, and seems to have been enjoying some good meals. Those silly cats, Caravaggio and Puccini, have not been doing their duty of catching the mice. However, I did find Puccini one night walking on the roof of the new addition to the cloister. Could it be that he has finally joined our war against mice and was watching from the “high ground?” We shall see!

Well, there are more important things to talk about than the catching of mice. We are a church, after all. Two Fridays ago we had the funeral Mass for †Joan Weigand. Everything from the serving to the singing went well. Please do not forget to pray for Joan’s soul. It so often happens that we forget to pray for the dead. May it never be said that the parishioners at St. Gertrude the Great ever forgot their duty to the deceased! The funeral directors were quite impressed with our church. I noticed them looking at the different pictures of the saints which are hung all along the walls in the hallway.

The Fatima Rosary Procession must have been quite a sight to behold, both from Heaven and from the passersby on the street. Certainly, Heaven must have been pleased with so many souls in attendance reciting the Psalter of Mary. A new couple, along with their two young children, joined us for the procession. They heard about it in the newspaper.

The Knights of the Sacred Heart started up again this past Monday. Our numbers are up some this year, but we are always hoping for a few more. It is a great opportunity for boys to spend time with a priest, some good Catholic dads, and peers; and to get some exercise – both of the body and of the soul. Parents, have your boys join the ranks of the Knights! (There won’t be any mouse slaying – I promise!)

As you can see, we have an addition to our churchyard. Our Lady of Fatima and the three little children are beautifully enshrined near the scene of the Crucifixion. Make a visit sometime, Rosary in hand, to this and our other outdoor shrines.

Oftentimes, it is easy for Catholics to forget that the Church extends far beyond the four walls of their home parish, but it does. Mission Sunday, which we commemorate today, reminds us of this fact. Bishop Dolan has told you about the missions in Mexico and France. We also have quite a few right here in the Midwest: St. Benedict Mission in Indianapolis; St. Clare in Chillicothe, Ohio; St. Isidore the Farmer in Saybrook, Illinois; St. Joseph in Chadwick, Illinois; St. Teresa of Avila in Grand Forks, North Dakota. We even have a mission in Duluth, Minnesota. Fr. Lehtoranta also offers Mass in Kentucky for a Catholic couple. These souls do not have the privilege of having a beautiful church as you do. They do not have the grace of daily access to the Mass and the Sacraments as you do. They do, however, have the same Mass as you do. Pray for these people. They long to have what you do have. While you pray for them, thank God for giving you what He has so generously given for your salvation.

On this Mission Sunday, may I ask your prayers for all of the different missions and chapels that we clergy here at St. Gertrude’s take care of? May St. Francis Xavier and the Little Flower, as well as all missionary saints, watch over our missions!

May God bless you and Mary keep you,
–Father McGuire