S.M.A.R.T. NEWS OCTOBER IS RESPECT LIFE MONTH THE MONTH OF THE ROSARY Saint Mary s Active Religious Teens October 2017 Web Site: http://youth.icstmary.org The lives of the saints in our Catholic faith are so awesome! I ve heard someone recently call them heroes of Holiness and I could not agree more! As we approach All Saints Day in our Liturgical calendar, take some time reading about these wonderful people that have gone before us. Here are a few worthwhile quotes to ponder from some of these Catholic heroes. Let us allow their impressive lives to inspire ours: If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze! -St. Catherine of Siena Let us begin in earnest to work out our salvation, for no one will do it for us, since even He Himself, Who made us without ourselves, will not save us without ourselves. -St. Margaret Mary Alacoque To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. -St. Thomas Aquinas PRAY, HOPE, AND DON T WORRY -St. Pio of Pietrelcino You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good. For God resists the proud. -St. Vincent de Paul Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you. -St. Augustine Love to be real, it must cost it must hurt it must empty us of self. St. Mother Teresa It is not hard to obey when we love the one whom we obey. -St. Ignatius of Loyola You cannot be half a saint; you must be a whole saint or no saint at all. -St. Therese of Lisieux The source of justice is not vengeance but charity. -Saint Bridget of Sweden I know well that the greater and more beautiful the work is, the more terrible will be the storms that rage against it. -St. Faustina If you would rise, shun luxury, for luxury lowers and degrades. -St John Chrysostom Let your old age be childlike, and your childhood like old age; that is, so that neither may your wisdom be with pride, nor your humility without wisdom. -St. Augustine Thus understanding and love, that is, the knowledge of and delight in the truth, are, as it were, the two arms of the soul, with which it embraces and comprehends with all the saints the length and breath, the height and depth, that is the eternity, the love, the goodness, and the wisdom of God. St. Bernard LISTEN AND ATTEND WITH THE EAR OF YOUR HEART -St. Benedict In so far as divine love beautifies our souls. And makes us pleasing to His divine Majesty, it is called grace; in so far as it gives us strength to do good, it is called charity; but when it reaches such a degree of perfection, that it makes us not only do the good, but do so carefully, frequently and readily, then it is called devotion. St. Francis de Sales Patti McTaggart Sing praise to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy Name Psalm 30:4
DO YOU LIKE TO COOK? On the third Thursday of every month, join other youth from each high school and junior high as we collaborate together in St. Mary s parish hall and make four casseroles for the Free Lunch program. This month s cooking class will take place on Thursday, October 19th from 3:30-4:30PM. The casseroles created will be served the next day, Friday, October 20th, at the Free Lunch program. All youth are invited to participate!! PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS Loving and Generous God, it is You who call us by name and ask us to follow You. Help us to grow in the love and service of our Church as we experience it today. Give us the energy and courage of Your Spirit to shape its future. Grant us faith-filled leaders who will embrace Christ's Mission of love and justice. Bless the Church of St. Mary's by raising up dedicated and generous leaders from our families and friends who will serve Your people as Sisters, Priests, Brothers, Deacons and Lay Ministers. Inspire us to know You better and open our hearts to hear Your call. Have you thought about a vocation? If so, please contact Fr. Thom Hennen (vocation director) at 563-324- 1911, or Fr. Jeff (associate vocation director)337-3106, Fr. Steve at 337-4314, Fr. Bob at 337-4314, Sr. Agnes at 337-4314 or Patti at pmctaggart@icstmary.org. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sing a New Song Unto the Lord Do you like to sing? Would you like to share your gift of music with others? The St. Mary s Choir would LOVE to have you! All youth in grades 7 through 12 are welcome! Rehearsals are on Wed. evenings from 6-7PM in the balcony of the church. The choir sings both contemporary and traditional hymns of the Church and the music is beautiful! Come join!
OCTOBER 4th Adult/Youth Choir 6:00-7:00PM in balcony 6th - Holy Hour for Vocations immediately following 12:10PM Mass 8 th CONFIRMATION SESSION 5:00-6:15PM in hall 11 th Adult/Youth Choir 6:00-7:00PM in balcony 14 th -15th Rite of Candidacy for Confirmation ALL MASSES 15 th _ Junior High Youth Rally 9:00AM-4:00PM Regina High School ROSARY-MAKING TBD 6:30-7:30PM in hall 18th Adult/Youth Choir 6:00-7:00PM in balcony 25th Adult/Youth Choir 6:00-7:00PM in balcony Nov.1 st FEAST OF ALL SAINTS Holy Day of Obligation. Masses at 5:30PM, 12:10PM, 7:00PM NOVEMBER Nov. 2 nd All Souls Day (Pray for all those who have gone before us) 5th CONFIRMATION SESSION 12:30-2:00PM STOP HUNGER NOW at St. T.More 8 th Adult/Youth Choir 6:00-7:00PM in balcony 15 th Adult/Youth Choir 6:00-7:00PM in balcony 16th Youth Casserole-Making Free Lunch 4:00-5:00PM in parish hall 23rd THANKSGIVING DAY (Thank God for your many blessings!) ROSARY-MAKING OCTOBER IS RESPECT LIFE MONTH AND THE MONTH OF THE ROSARY IN OUR CHURCH. ALL ARE WELCOME TO COME AND LEARN HOW TO MAKE ROSARIES. WHEN: TBD watch the bulletin! WHERE: St. Mary's Parish Hall TIME: 6:30-7:30PM THESE ROSARIES MAKE GREAT GIFTS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS! THERE ARE ALSO MANY CARE CENTERS THAT APPRECIATE THESE ROSARIES FOR THE ELDERLY SINCE THEY CAN GO THROUGH THE WASHING MACHINE! WHAT A GREAT SERVICE PRIVILEGE! ALL ARE INVITED - BRING A FRIEND ALONG!
LIVES OF THE SAINTS By Jacinta Hamilton Sophomore, Homeschool October 5 th is the Feast Day of St. Faustina. St. Faustina is a modern saint whose importance has been emphasized by recent popes. She was born in Poland only 15 years before Pope Saint John Paul the Great. The lives and mission of these two great saints were interwoven. St. Faustina served as a simple nun in the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Krakow, Poland, where she died in 1938 at age 33. While serving as Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla- -the future Pope John Paul II--opened Faustina s cause for canonization. He beatified and canonized her while serving as Pope. He spread the Divine Mercy devotion that St. Faustina spoke of, and he died on the Feast of Divine Mercy, which Jesus asked St. Faustina to promote. Pope Francis has continued to speak of the importance of St. Faustina. He mentioned her when declaring this current year the Jubilee Year of Mercy. St. Faustina experienced extraordinary visions and supernatural conversations with Jesus, which her confessors and superiors required her to write down in her Diary of Divine Mercy. Jesus referred to Faustina as the Secretary of His Divine Mercy. It is impossible to speak of St. Faustina without understanding the message that Jesus entrusted to her. In her Diary of Divine Mercy, she records in detail the many ways that Jesus asked her to share with the world about His great love and mercy towards mankind. These include: The Divine Mercy Image St. Faustina is pictured holding the Divine Mercy image above. It consists of the pierced heart of Jesus pouring forth blood and water. Jesus asked that the image contain the caption, Jesus, I Trust in You! The Hour of Divine Mercy Jesus referred to the 3 o clock hour as the hour of great mercy in memory of His sacrifice of Himself on the cross for sinners at that hour. Jesus said, In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion. (Diary, paragraph 1320) The Chaplet of Divine Mercy In 1935, St. Faustina heard an inner voice teach her how to say The Chaplet of Divine Mercy on ordinary rosary beads. First, begin with the Sign of the Cross, followed by one Our Father, one Hail Mary and The Apostles Creed. Then on the Our Father beads say the following: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. On the ten Hail Mary beads say the following: For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. In conclusion, say the following words three times: Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. The Novena of Divine Mercy Jesus asked St. Faustina to promote nine days of prayer a Novena from Good Friday to the Saturday after Easter. The prayer would consist of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the following intentions: all mankind, especially sinners; the souls of priests and religious; all devout and faithful souls; those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him; the souls of separated brethren; the meek and humble souls and the souls of children; the souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy; the souls who are detained in purgatory; the souls who have become lukewarm. The Feast of Divine Mercy Pope Saint John Paul the Great declared the Second Sunday of Easter to be the Feast of Divine Mercy, in fulfillment of what Jesus asked St. Faustina. The Feast includes public veneration of the Divine Mercy Image. The great promise of the feast is that, The soul who will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary, 699) St. Faustina s faithfulness in spreading the Divine Mercy devotion, in spite of many persecutions, inspires me. Her message of Jesus great love for sinners is one that the whole world needs to know. St. Faustina, pray for us! Jesus, I Trust in You!
RESPECT LIFE MONTH OCTOBER 2017 A mong the vulnerable for whom the church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children - the most defenseless and innocent among us. Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases - taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this. Precisely because this involves the internal consistency of our message about the value of the human person, the Church cannot be expected to change her position on this question It is not progressive to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life Pope Francis Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium #213-214