Dear Parishioners:
Last week’s nor’easter brought lots of rain and cancellations, including our Oktoberfest. It also seems to have kept many people home all weekend, as Masses were not well attended. Let’s hope the weather improves and we see better Mass attendance this weekend!
October is dedicated to our Blessed Mother and the Holy Rosary. This is because we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7. This is the month to dust off your Rosary beads and put them to work praying! St. Padre Pio said: "Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today.”
Pope St. Pius V instituted the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (initially called Our Lady of Victory) to thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for a miraculous naval victory by Christian forces over the Ottoman Empire on October 7, 1571. The Christian fleet was heavily outnumbered, and the victory was widely attributed to the faithful praying the Rosary across Europe.
While the celebration began as a single feast day, Pope Leo XIII officially promoted and dedicated the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary in the late 19th century through multiple encyclicals (starting around 1883). He urged the faithful to pray it daily to seek protection and peace for the Church and the world during difficult times.
At the concluding Mass in Lourdes, on the third day of his Apostolic Journey to France, Pope Leo XIV launched an appeal that he said was “particularly close to my heart, here in this place.” Just as the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in the Grotto of Lourdes with a Rosary and guided her in prayer, the Pope said he hopes all Christians will pray the Rosary especially during the month of October.
He called for them to pray the Rosary “with the particular intention that wars may cease and that peace may be established among peoples in conflict. Let us accompany this prayer with concrete acts of penance and mercy, committing ourselves always to fostering dialogue and reconciliation.”
So please join us every Monday in October for Devotions at 7:00 pm. We come before our Eucharistic Lord praying for his divine assistance and asking his Mother Mary for her intercession, especially for peace in our world.
We blessed pets on this past Friday in honor of St. Francis. In January, the Holy Father, Pope Leo, proclaimed a special Jubilee Year of Saint Francis marking the 800th anniversary of his death. In his decree, he stated: “This Year of Saint Francis should encourage all of us, each according to his or her own possibilities, to imitate the Poor Man of Assisi.” This Sunday, October 4, marks the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death. This is a day to pray for his powerful intercession and for those who follow in his footsteps in the Franciscan Order. We especially pray today for our own good Franciscan Apostolic Sisters. They are gathering with other Franciscan Friars and Sisters in Connecticut for a special celebration.
The Transitus of St. Francis is celebrated on the evening of October 3rd to commemorate the death and passing of St. Francis of Assisi into eternal life. "Transitus" is a Latin word meaning "passage" or "crossing over.” St. Francis died on October 4, 1226, at the Portiuncula in Assisi, Italy. He famously referred to death as "Sister Bodily Death," viewing it not with fear, but as a joyful transition to God.
An ancient tradition of fraternal friendship between the Franciscan and Dominican orders includes having a Dominican Friar preach during the Transitus of Saint Francis. And a Franciscan Friar preaches on the Feast of Saint Dominic on August 8. The Transitus service includes reciting the Canticle of the Creatures composed by Saint Francis. It is a poetic hymn in which he praises God for the beauty of creation.
In it he writes: “Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, who is the day through whom you bring us light. And he is lovely, shining with great splendor, for he heralds you, Most High. Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Moon and Stars. In heaven you have formed them, lightsome and precious and fair.”
Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Sox! Go Pats!! St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!