We remain in the Church’s liturgical season of Ordinary Time this month, our attention focused on Jesus’ recorded words and actions in his time, and their meaning in ours. We are reminded of the great bond of marriage in the gospel on Sunday, October 6, (Mark 10: 2-16) and we hear that Jesus gave sight to the blind Bartimaeus on October 21 (Mark 10:46-52). The second reading on all of the Sundays of October is from the Letter to the Hebrews. The main theme of this “treatise” is the “sacrifice and priesthood of Christ”; this theme is developed so as to strengthen our own faith. From the Letter to the Hebrews we also hear that God’s word is living and effective (Hebrews 4:12), a good parallel to the words of Jesus from Mark’s gospel on that day, that all things are possible for God (Mark 10:27). You can read an introduction to the Letter to the Hebrews on the US Bishops’ Bible website at bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/0. And, as always, at the St. Louis University liturgy website, liturgy.slu.edu/ you can find means of preparation for each Sunday’s readings.
October 4 is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order and the patron saint of animals and ecology. Other saints for this month include Thérèse of Lisieux (the Little Flower) on October 1, Luke (the evangelist) on October 18 and the apostles Simon and Jude on October 28. See the Saint of the Day feature at Franciscan Media for information about these and other saints, bit.ly/4gK5Ykc.
This month hosts the second world-wide session of the Sixteenth General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the first session of which was held in October 2023, following parish, diocesan and national conference consultations. The delegates to the synod who gather in Rome this month will participate in “conversations in the Spirit” in order to further discern the steps our Church and we, as baptized individuals, can take together to become better disciples, followers of Jesus, in our mission to spread his word throughout the world. You can find more information about the Synod at www.synod.va/en.html.
October is the month dedicated by the Church to the Rosary; October 7 is the Memorial (feast) of Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary. October 13, 1917 was the sixth and last of Mary’s apparitions to three peasant children in Fatima; during these apparitions, Mary reportedly encouraged the children to pray the rosary daily. There is a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima in Holliston; its website can be found at bit.ly/fatimashrine. You can read more about Our Lady of Fatima on the EWTN webpage dedicated to Our Lady (bit.ly/OLoFEWTN). Finally, Deacon Guy St. Sauveur leads the recitation of the Rosary every Monday evening at 7:00 on Zoom. Click here for more details.
BACK TO LIST