Dear Beloved Parishioners,
A note from our Archbishop…
Hurricane Ian…
I, like you, am deeply saddened by the death and devastation that Hurricane Ian has caused, first in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and then in the southeastern part of the United States beginning in Florida. In addition to the loss of life, we have seen thousands of homes, businesses, and churches severely damaged or destroyed. This was in the wake of Hurricane Fiona, which caused havoc and devastation across Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean just days earlier. The impacts will be long lasting. I ask the Lord to carry those suffering in the aftermath.
To help provide immediate and long-term aid to those recovering from these disasters, I am asking our 178 parishes in 11 counties to participate in a second collection at all Masses the weekend of October 15th and 16th, 2022. The funds collected in this special appeal will become part of the Bishops Emergency Disaster Fund and will be used to support the efforts of Catholic Charities USA and/or Catholic Relief Services, the office relief agencies of the U.S. Catholic Church, to support the Church and humanitarian needs arising from this and any future disasters. We join other dioceses across the country in this response for support to help with water, food, shelter, and sanitation, along with long-term rebuilding and recovery efforts. The funds will be distributed where they are most needed.
The Archbishop goes on in his letter to indicate that he will be offering Mass and continuing to hold the people so affected by Hurricane Ian in his prayers, and invites us to do the same.
Note, make your checks out to St. Justin Martyr and put “Bishops Emergency Disaster Fund” in the memo line. And for those who give electronically, here is the link to the Faith Direct page for giving.
https://membership.faithdirect.net/givenow/MO884/49652
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By Popular demand, it’s BAAACK!
PANCAKE BREAKFAST
SPONSORED BY THE KNIGHTS OF
COLUMBUS DIVINE MERCY COUNCIL
SUNDAY, OCT. 23RD – 8 am until 10:45 am
We will be serving:
Pancakes (all you can eat), Scrambled Eggs, Sausages, Bacon and Fruit. There will be NO CHARGE, but we will be accepting donations to help support our usual charities (St. Justin School, Community Food Pantries, etc.)
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Registration is open for our All Things New listening sessions –
Nov. 7 or Nov. 9th from 6-8pm. Go to:
https://allthingsnew.archstl.org/Ways-to-Engage/Listening-Sessions
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And a reminder from your pastor about the data driven nature of All Things New. One of the ways we are church and one of the ways that the Archdiocese knows that we are staying a vibrant community of faith is through our October Mass counts. So, if you have not been as connected to those weekly practices as in the past, NOW would be a very good time to be at Mass and make sure that you and our parish is counted as the vibrant community it is…
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The DEEPER DIVE into Sunday’s Scripture…. Comes to us from Give Us This Day –
In God’s Eyes
“Your faith has saved you.”
It’s probably the last thing the Samaritan expected to hear after his astonishing encounter with Jesus. No doubt, he was stunned—who wouldn’t be? After all, how did this happen? He wasn’t a Jew; on top of that, he had a disease that most people found repellent. He was an object of scorn. He lived in the margins, often in the shadows.
But Jesus saw someone else.
He saw a man to bring out of the shadows and into the light. And so Jesus gave him what he hungered for. Healing. Wholeness. Dignity. He gave a scarred and disfigured man a new body, a new start, a new life.
Among other things, this episode reminds us of the extravagant generosity of Jesus’ love. Jesus isn’t selective. He doesn’t pick or choose who is worthy of being made whole.
To him, no one is out of reach or out of bounds. What matters is trust. Belief. Sincerity. The desire to be whole.
In other words, faith.
So many of us live with our own kind of leprosy—scars or wounds that are sometimes invisible but that we believe make us unworthy of being loved by God. But this Scripture tells us otherwise: in the Lord’s eyes, we are all people of possibility, dignity, and hope. Every one of us.
Know that—and have faith!
That is what helps us to be healed.
And, yes, to be saved.
Deacon Greg Kandra
Greg Kandra is a Roman Catholic deacon serving the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. Author of The Busy Person’s Guide to Prayer, he is an award-winning broadcast journalist and maintains The Deacon’s Bench blog.
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The Song of the Day: Is a violin cover of the Taylor Swift song – Lover. Done by a group that I recently found called: ItsAMoney – And the little I know is that the main musician is Dallas-based Violinist Alan Milan…
Blessings,
Fr. Bill