The Bishop’s Note
Today is Mission Sunday. The penultimate Sunday of October was chosen by Pope Pius XI in 1926 as a special day to pray for the missions. In fact, each priest must say the collect for the Propagation of the Faith in today’s Mass. The Church is, by its very nature, missionary. Christ said to the Apostles, “Going therefore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you….” So the Church has done all through the centuries, beginning with the Apostles and extending to the present day; and so the Church will do until the end of the world. Pray that the Faith be spread far and near!
In order for this mission to be carried out the Church needs young men who are willing to give up a career and a life in the world. However, materialism has taken such a hold on
souls that there are few who are willing to make that sacrifice. It is necessary, there-fore, that parents be especially careful in the upbringing of their children, keeping them out of the public school system and raising them where there is Mass and the true sacraments. It is necessary to remove from the home all that can harm the faith or the spiritual life of the children, and to cultivate everything Catholic. Daily prayer and frequent reception of the sacraments is a must—all the more so in our present situation. Young men ought to think and meditate upon the true meaning of this life, the needs of souls all over the world, and the glory of the Church which Our Lord has founded, and which is being persecuted from every side. They ought to read the lives of the great missionaries who left everything to bring the Faith to distant countries. There is no greater calling than to be a priest of God. Pray, too, for more vocations.
Attached, you will see pictures from Fr. Arnoldo Villegas’ chapel in Tijuana, Mexico, where he and his parishioners just celebrated their patronal feast on the feast of the Holy Rosary. I will be visiting Fr. Villegas’ chapels in Tijuana and Mexicali later in November.
You will also see a parish photo taken at Sacred Heart Church in Lawrence, MA, where I just administered the Sacrament of Confirmation and had a nice visit with Fr. Richards (Company of Jesus and Mary), Brother Gerard (third Order Dominican), and Brother Jerome (Company of Jesus and Mary). This week-end, I am administering Confirmations at Our Lady of the Rosary in Connecticut, and a mission chapel in New Jersey, where Fr. Rodriguez (Company of Jesus and Mary) is pastor.
Friday begins our annual Forty Hours Devotion, a time of great grace for our parish as a whole and for each soul in particular. Come lay your troubles at the feet of Our Lord or, as the Psalm says, “Cast thy care upon the Lord and He will sustain thee.”
– Bishop McGuire