All Saints Parish Homilies and News

http://www.kofc.org/en/news-room/columbia/2020/june/window-of-opportunity.html Window of Opportunity: By Father Greisbach Challenges resulting from the pandemic have offered unexpected openings for God’s grace. Father Seamus Griesbach sits at the confessional he built to fit in the window of the rectory of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Sabattus, Maine. He installed the drive-up confessional March 19, the solemnity of St. Joseph, with help from his brother, Leon. We never had a course in the seminary about how to minister during a pandemic — and I would never have imagined a time when one of my primary opportunities to serve God’s people was through the screen of a drive-thru confessional. Yet it has become my new routine: listening to the sound of vehicles idling as penitents wait patiently for their turn to pull up to my window. Some have come from hours away. From young children making their first, tentative steps at repentance to older Catholics who know each prayer by heart, th...

Book of the Prophet Ezekiel 33:7-9.    Follow up reading * " The Time Is Now ", by  Joan D. Chittister “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for[ a ] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved." The vocation of a prophet, as envisioned in terms of Ezekiel's oracles, is to judge the evil and the wicked and to dissuade them from their ways. The prophet has the responsibility of announcing the judgment of God, not his own judgment, and non-fulfillment of preaching the message of God involves death for the prophet, whereas he will save his life if he is faithful to th...

Aleteia news Monterrey's government finally rescued the statue from the Santa Caterina River.  Monterrey’s government agreed to rescue the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, made of steel that “reappeared” almost buried by rocks moved by the Santa Catarina flow during the heavy rainfall caused by hurricane Hanna last Sunday, July 26th. A 40-foot sculpture of Mary, blessed by John Paul II, emerges from river after 10 years-  By Matthew Green An image of Our Lady of Guadalupe ( Virgin of Guadalupe, is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a series of five Marian apparitions in December 1531).   Our Lady of Guadalupe icon A statue dedicated to this apparition  was taken by Hurricane Alex  (2010) and returned by Hurricane Hanna . During the last days of the month of July, the northeastern Mexican city of Monterrey was struck by the remains of Hurricane Hanna, which arrived in the region as a tropical depression.  Amidst torrential rains...

Echo blog from Catholic Relief Services Upon her death at the age of 24, witnesses said that minutes later her scars vanished and her face appeared radiant and beautiful. Blessed Kateri is the Mohawk Saint.  She was but one miracle away from sainthood and, “we ended up reciting the prayer for canonization that we’ve all been praying since 1980.” The prayer, begins, “Kateri Tekakwitha, Noble Turtle, Mother Earth, gathers her people, east, south, west, and north. Mohawk Algonquin Lily filled with love, grateful woman, we honor you.” Reported by Donahue, Bill. The Secret World of Saints: Inside the Catholic Church and the Mysterious Process of Anointing the Holy Dead (Kindle Single) (Kindle Locations 169-172). Byliner Inc.. Kindle Edition.  Saint Kateri was beatified by Saint John Paul II and cannonized on October 12, 2014 by Pope Benedict XVI. There’s something about a saint’s story that speaks to us across the generations. How we see our stories reflected in theirs. A...

A statement from the clergy Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach Florida By The Rev. James R. Harlan | June 2, 2020 | Posted in Maine Writer blog In 1889, four communicants gathered on the shores of Lake Worth, Florida to establish an Episcopal mission, which today is known as the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea. Yesterday evening (June 1, 2020), police in Washington, DC used tear gas, flash grenades, and batons to clear peaceful protesters, including clergy, seminarians, medical personnel, and members of St. John’s Episcopal Church, out of Lafayette Square for the sole purpose of creating a political and partisan photo-op of Mr. Trump holding a Bible in front of our fellow Episcopal Church. The Bible he held has much to say about how we ought to live our common life. It teaches us to care for the stranger, to love God, and to love our neighbors. It teaches us to love even our enemies, and to pray for those who persecute us. The problem is not that Trump stood outside a church wi...

Prayer to prevent the evils of racism: Opening Prayer God of justice, In your wisdom you create all people in your image , without exception. Through your goodness, open our eyes to see the dignity, beauty, and worth of every human being. Open our minds to understand that all your children are brothers and sisters in the same human family. Open our hearts to repent of racist attitudes, behaviors, and speech which demean others. Open our ears to hear the cries of those wounded by racial discrimination, and their passionate appeals for change. Strengthen our resolve to make amends for past injustices and to right the wrongs of history. And fill us with courage that we might seek to heal wounds, build bridges, forgive and be forgiven, and establish peace and equality for all in our communities. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 130: 1-8   "My soul waits for the Lord" R. We cry to you, O Lord, from the depths of the earth. Out of the depths I call to you, LOR...

https://aleteia.org/2020/05/22/how-st-rita-miraculously-saved-a-girl-from-a-plague/?utm_campaign=NL_en&utm_source=daily_newsletter&utm_medium=mail&utm_content=NL_en Aleteia is an online Catholic news and information website founded in 2011/2012 by Jesús Colina via the Foundation for Evangelization through the Media. It is based in France and operates in six languages worldwide. Wikipedia How St. Rita* miraculously saved a girl from a plague Published in Aleteia by Philip Kosloski St. Rita of Cassia When many Italian cities were suffering from a contagious disease, one girl turned to St. Rita’s intercession. St. Rita of Cascia is known by many as the “Patron Saint of the Impossible,” as countless miracles have been attributed to her intercession. One example comes from Italy during the 17th century, when a vicious plague ravaged many different cities. According to an early 20th-century book entitled Life of St. Rita of Cascia, during 1656 a young girl who was devoted to St. ...