Dear Friends,

There are two important spiritual milestones this week. The first is Friday November 5th, the day we begin our 33-day preparation to either make or renew our consecration to Mary (on December 8th). If you have already made the consecration, I encourage you to go through the “retreat” again and renew your consecration. I have been doing so for the past 15 years and I can attest that each year I discover something new or experience the presence and love of Our Blessed Mother in a new way. The book we will be using is 33 Days to Morning Glory, by Fr Michael Gaitley. As of this writing, we still have some free copies of the book available in the parish office. You can also purchase the book from your favorite bookstore or even watch Fr Gaitley’s videos that are available on Formed.org. I am hoping to see a large group of you making the consecration at the close of Mass on December 8th.

To Our Married Couples:

If you are a married couple of child-bearing years, I want to share with you the best-kept secret in the Church—Natural Family Planning. This method of spacing your children is 100% natural and up to 99% effective as a family planning method. Many couples misunderstand the nature of NFP, equating it with the legendary “rhythm method.” Others have doubts about its effectiveness or even just how difficult it is to learn. We will discuss all of these concerns and more, including some of the many ways in which NFP benefits a couple’s relationship--such as the nearly non-existent divorce rate among NFP-practicing couples. A private benefactor has even agreed to underwrite most of the cost of tuition, thus removing even the financial deterrent.

Dear Friends,

On Wednesday, October 6th over 60 people gathered for our Community Forum. The purpose was to elicit from a broad spectrum of parishioners their views on what they liked about OLMC and what they thought our parish needs in order to strengthen our mission.

Everyone who spoke expressed their love and commitment to OLMC, which was very moving and affirming for all present. As for what our parish needs, some of the items mentioned, in no particular order, include:

Dear Friends,

This is the second Sunday of Pro-life Month in which we will be dedicating our homilies to some of the pressing issues facing us today. Last week we spoke about abortion and this week will be focused on racism. In the next three weeks we will talk about contraception, euthanasia and end-of-life issues and finally, the dangers facing families today.

These are controversial topics and not easily preached to an assembly that includes many under-aged children. All of us priests are aware of that and will do our best to be attentive to these challenges, but we all agree it is important for Catholics to hear Church teaching clearly proclaimed by their shepherds.

Dear Friends,

This is the first Sunday of October, the month where we especially recognize the God-given dignity of each human person and the blessing of the gift of life. All priests (and deacons) are encouraged to focus their homilies on topics related to life. We plan to use the 5 Sundays of October to preach about abortion, racism, the attack on the family, Euthanasia and end-of-life issues and contraception/IVF. These are not cheery topics, but the Church, in her role as Prophet, cannot shy away from the “hard sayings” if Catholics are to remain credible witnesses and signs of contradiction to the popular culture. Please pray for us that we can speak the truth in charity.

Dear Friends,

Over the past year and one-half, our parish has curtailed a lot of the ministries and activities that make up the life and culture of OLMC. While we are not completely past the pandemic, now is the time to begin asking what are the priorities of our parish and how we should go about implementing them?

Some of our pressing pastoral needs are readily evident. They would include:

Dear Friends,

For those of you who were not at our parish this weekend or didn’t quite get the announcement that we priests made at the beginning of our homilies, two of our Sisters discovered three hosts discarded among one of the pews. I am sure that you can imagine our deep sadness. To make it very difficult for someone to do that again, I want to ask everyone who receives the Holy Eucharist on the hand to please take one step to the side and consume the host in the presence of the Minister. Thank you for helping us to do what we can to prevent another desecration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Dear Friends,

Throughout His ministry, Jesus emphasized the importance of unity and good will among disciples. His last major teaching to them, the night before He was crucified, He prayed to the Father that “they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you”.

Dear Friends,

I know that many of you will be taking advantage of the holiday weekend to get somewhere cooler. For you that will be traveling, I hope it is a refreshing time.

A few people have commented on the gold chalice that I have been using lately when I celebrate Mass. It is not new. In fact, I found it tucked away in the back of our sacristy closet, tarnished and scratched. The inscription on the bottom of the chalice had the name of the donor family and was dated 1958.