36th Annual Life Chain: will be held today, Sunday, October 1, 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Meet at the corner of High Street and Great Oaks Trail. Be a strong, peaceful witness to the sanctity of human life in Prayer, Song, and Silence. Bring your family and friends. Signs will be provided.
October is a very important time for us as Catholics because October is the Month of the Holy Rosary and Respect Life Month. These two events are very well connected. October 7th is the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary, which is why the month of October is designated as such. The Rosary is the most important prayer that we can say except for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In many ways, the Rosary can be said to be an extension of the Mass because the mysteries of the Rosary center on the events of the Gospel beginning with the Incarnation. The Incarnation is the fact that God became man for us, and is that not what we truly celebrate in the Mass, that God became one of us and offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sins so that we may have eternal life with Him.
The mysteries of the Rosary, which span the lives of Jesus and Mary, recount for us and allow us to contemplate our own salvation in Jesus Christ and the great love that God has for us. Mary, through her obedience to and trust in God, witnesses to the love of God as she, too, gives her life for us as our loving Mother. To pray the Rosary with thought and devotion is truly to contemplate the mystery of God’s presence and love in our lives. God’s love is really a mystery because it is revealed to us throughout our lives in ways that we cannot always understand, but we definitely know it is there.
We can come to know God’s love only by spending time with Him and allowing Him to be more and more a part of our daily lives. Going to Mass every Sunday, and more often if possible, receiving the sacraments frequently, praying the Rosary, and reading the Bible are all good ways to spend time with God and invite Him into our hearts and our lives.
In our parish, the Rosary is prayed Monday thru Friday at 7:30 AM in the chapel. During the month of October our school children gather every Wednesday afternoon (check the bulletin for times) for Rosary and Benediction. Be sure to take note of these wonderful opportunities to pray the Rosary and invite others to join in as well.
One very important intention for us in praying the Rosary is that we, as a nation and the world, may have a greater respect for all human life from the moment of conception to natural death. Life is a most precious gift that God has given to us and as we treasure and defend our own lives, we must do the same for others especially those who cannot do it for themselves. The issues of abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment continue to be very important issues in our world as well as all the wars that go on in the world especially in Syria and Iraq, and the persecution of Christians which destroy so much life as well.
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS! On October 20, 21, and 22 we will hold our annual Solemn Eucharistic Devotions which will begin on Friday, October 20, with a special school Mass at 9:30 AM. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will continue on the main altar throughout the weekend, and we will have our Solemn Closing with Mass and a procession with the Blessed Sacrament on Sunday, October 22, beginning at 5 PM. Our guest homilist for the closing Mass will be Fr. Jeffrey Liptak, Parochial Vicar at St. Basil the Great Parish in Brecksville. Fr. Liptak was ordained to the priesthood this past May. Those preparing to receive their First Holy Communion and Confirmation will also join in our procession to honor the Eucharistic presence of our Lord. Please make every effort to be a part of this special weekend of praise and prayer as we give thanks to God for the gift of Himself in the Holy Eucharist.
Last weekend there were yard signs available at the doors of the church urging people to vote “NO” on Issue One in November. We received two hundred signs from Medina Country Right to Life. I am very grateful to all who took signs to display in their yards If you did not get a sign, there are still some available at the doors of the church. As I have said before, this is a very important issue that needs to be defeated for the protection of innocent children born and unborn in the State of Ohio.
All parishioners are invited to the Fall Family Fun Day on October 15 following the 10:30am Mass. See the bulletin for more information.
Sacred Heart School 7th graders are selling mums after all Masses this weekend to help offset their Washington DC trip next fall.
