October invites us to reflect on Respect Life, Rosary, the LIfe of St. Francis and much more...

October invites us to reflect on Respect Life, Rosary, the Life of St. Francis, and much more...

First, let us wish our St. Francis parishioners a happy and joyful Feast of St. Francis. The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi is on October 4th. St. Francis of Assisi loved the whole universe. The custom of blessing animals originated from St. Francis’s love of all creatures. Animals used to come and listen to St. Francis preaches. St. Francis loved all God’s creation, in other words, loved all life.

The Church dedicates the month of October to respect life and the rosary. This year's theme of    respect life is  “I came so that you might have life” (Jn 10:10). Our life from womb to tomb is a gift from God and He is our Hope. As I mentioned above, October is the month of the Rosary, a devotion to our Mother Mary, which very well connects with respect life month. When we meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary, we walk through the life of Jesus: from the very moment of his conception in the womb of Mary, how Joseph protected Mary and child Jesus. Further, we go through his public life of Jesus; passion, death, and resurrection to his ascension and coming of the Holy Spirit. Through his salvific action, He restored the dignity of our life. In an article, Most Reverend Michael F.  Burbidge Chairman, USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, writes, “Jesus,  truly present in the Eucharist, gives us the fullness of life. He calls each of us to respect that gift of life in every human person.”

The first week we pray in a special way, we pray for unborn babies, mothers, and babies aborted and the  healing of their parents. In the second week, we will be praying for people with different abilities (disabilities). We call it Inclusion Awareness Sunday. If you know someone who has not received a Sacrament in their appropriate age, please call the office, and we can prepare them for the       Sacraments.

On the third Sunday, we celebrate World Mission Sunday. Pope Francis, in his message, asks us to respond to our baptismal call to mission by saying, “Here I Am, Send me.” Third Sunday, October 18th is the Feast of St. Luke, who was a physician and patron saint of the medical profession. This weekend Mass we pray for all those who are sick, and offer a special prayer for the caregivers and healthcare professionals. Those who need it, there will be an opportunity to receive the Sacrament of the Sick. Fourth Sunday, we pray for domestic violence and human trafficking. Again, it is an opportunity to reflect on the dignity of life in our day-to-day life.

The scripture readings for this weekend are about the covenant, bond of love in marriage, a bond that God wishes to be permanent. In the book of Genesis, there are two creation accounts. The first one in chapter one which involves 7 days of creation. The second chapter gives us the second account of creation where man is created first. God created Adam, then created everything else and placed him in the garden to care for everything. But Adam was alone and the solitude was not good for him. So God created a woman, a partner for him. When man meets woman, it is the climax of the reading where Adam says, "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” It is an institution of a covenant.

This reading prepares us to listen to the Gospel passage. It is a kind of debate taking place in the  Gospel. The Pharisees wanted to prove that Jesus is wrong. The base of their argument is Deuteronomy 24:1, “When a man, after marrying a woman, is later displeased with her because he finds in her something indecent, and he writes out a bill of divorce and hands it to her, thus dismissing her from his house…” Jesus told them that Moses’s teaching was temporary due to their hardness of heart. Jesus emphasizes in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 1:27 and 2:24, in the beginning of creation, there Jesus proclaims permanence to be the divine intent from the beginning concerning human marriage.

Let us pray for families. On October 1 we celebrated St. Therese of Lisieux. Her family, the Martin  family, including St. Therese, is considered a school of love because they were a place of learning and training in virtue. Let us ask her intercession for our families to grow in holiness.