Pentecost XXIII
Here are some photos from an Early Fall Sunday:
The Sun Rises above our Lady and Child.
Our Lourdes Grotto
Our outdoor Fatima Shrine
Our cloister garden, with its waning blooms.
Our Rosary Shrine for October
Food being sold at our Fall Bake Sale
Socializing After Mass
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Daily Sermons
October 18 – Fr. Lehtoranta – St. Luke and Fidelity to God
October 19 – Fr. McGuire – Patience of St. Peter of Alcantara
October 20 – Fr. Lehtoranta – Mother Most Admirable
October 21 – Fr. Lehtoranta – The Famine of Our Times
October 22 – Fr. McGuire – Our Lady, Blessed Sacrament & Us
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✠ The Bishop’s Corner ✠
Forty Hours happily falls for us this year on Mission Sunday. We are all called to be Theresian missionaries, missionaries by constant daily prayer and conscious little sacrifices, as well as by more obvious means. May the Patroness of the Missions bless the final hours of this our Forty Hours prayer, and render each hour fruitful for souls.
May this year’s Devotion stir up your own. Persistence in prayer may mean getting what we ask for, but these things are hidden in the designs of God’s Providence. But never forget, dear beleaguered Catholic and “stay at home” missionaries, that our persistence in prayer keeps us in touch with God, focused on the things worth praying for, and ready to receive with gratitude what God gives.
“Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini, our help is in the name of the Lord,” as we so often say. How often the Divine Assistance surpasses our lowly desires. God is never outdone in generosity, and knows our needs better than we.
And what peace, what power is to be found in this Eucharistic prayer before the Blessed Sacrament Exposed. Thank you for all of the praying you’ve been doing this weekend, and for all of the help so that others may pray, and be prayed for. Thank you for all of your prayers all month.
It is Mission Sunday, but our focus these days is surely on our own country, itself mission territory once again. May God have mercy on us, and the electorate have mercy on our poor unborn babies. It’s been a pretty filthy election campaign, which should make us turn with yet more insistence to Mary Immaculate, our country’s patroness.
Fr. McGuire is feeling better now. Fr. Lehtoranta and I both had bad colds (on top of allergies!) last week. Fr. Cekada continues to feel quite energetic. The indefatigable Fr. McKenna gave a nice report on his latest travels to Spokane and North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin…! He visits Quito, Ecuador again this week. We’re glad he landed for a few days home with us for Forty Hours.
Sr. Jeanne Marie’s knee surgery was postponed until All Saints Day, a good date for an operation. One of the novices, Sr. Perpetua Marie, left the convent last Sunday, having determined that Religious life was not her vocation. Although we were sad to see her go, this is exactly the purpose of the novitiate, to determine if there is a vocation. Miss Theresa Schroepfer goes with our blessings, and many prayers for her future!
Fr. Siordia, down Mexico way, was recently in danger of losing his church to the Novus Ordo, due to conflicting legal claims with the Archdiocese. The people of the town of Cocoyoc now have a period of grace in which to pursue in a kind of democratic process, their claims, as they do not want the Novus Ordo. Prayers, please. The church was built a long time ago (perhaps 200 years), and enshrines a miraculous image of Our Lord of the Expiration.
Fr. Roger, in far off France, is having surgery Tuesday. Fr. Nkamuke reports a busy but fruitful apostolate and is grateful for your help, especially in view of rising food prices. He could use some help in the way of another priest, but it seems a far off goal. Pray for vocations.
Word is that they’re keeping Brendan busy down at the seminary, and Thomas as well. We pray for them daily, as well as for our sick and all of your intentions.
Yours in the Little Flower,
–Bp. Dolan