In the gospel of this Sunday, Jesus tells us in clear terms that we cannot claim entitlement to him just because we are believing persons. Christ belongs to all, and all belong to Christ. Whoever does not openly go against Him is always with Him. Anyone who follows the teachings of Christ, whether he or she is a proclaimed Christian or not, belong to Christ. The gospel encourages us to embrace everyone with Christ-like love and compassion.
Celebrating this week:
September 30: St. Jerome: Priest and Doctor of the Church, Memorial
St. Jerome was born c. 347, Stridon, Dalmatia—died 419/420, Bethlehem, Palestine; was a biblical translator and monastic leader, traditionally regarded as the most learned of the Latin Fathers. He lived for a time as a hermit, became a priest, served as secretary to Pope Damasus I, and about 389 established a monastery at Bethlehem. His numerous biblical, ascetical, monastic, and theological works profoundly influenced the early Middle Ages. He is known particularly for his Latin translation of the Bible, the Vulgate, and has been designated a doctor of the church.
Patron: of archaeologists, Biblical scholars, librarians, students and translators
October 1: Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor—Memorial
Generations of Catholics have admired this young saint, called her the "Little Flower", and found in her short life more inspiration for their own lives than in volumes by theologians.
Yet Therese died when she was 24, after having lived as cloistered Carmelite for less than ten years. She never went on missions, never founded a religious order, never performed great works. The only book of hers, published after her death, was an brief edited version of her journal called "Story of a Soul." (Collections of her letters and restored versions of her journals have been published recently.) But within 28 years of her death, the public demand was so great that she was canonized.
Patron Saint of foreign missions and missionaries, AIDS patients, air crews, florists, flower growers, and sick people
Invoked against illness, tuberculosis, and loss of parents
Canonized by Pope Pius XI on May 17, 1925
October 2: Guardian Angels—Memorial
Guardian angels are the essential protectors of all forms of life.
They are assigned a specific mission to give protection and help to a particular being and come with us at the time of birth.
Guardian angels come to us if we ever need a real protector and can help us tremendously. However, guardian angels don’t always stay with us for every moment of our life; they are only there as needed.
Basically, guardian angels help in three ways:
They give us protection if there is a danger or some kind of very upsetting circumstance.
They help us live a better life; If we ever need assistance with our goals and our dreams, our guardian angel will help us with that.
Guardian angels help if we are feeling very low and unhappy.
As we honor the celestial hosts of the guardian angels, ponder your own angel today.
Prayer: Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here; ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen. Angels of God, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
October 4: St. Francis of Assisi, Memorial
Born in 1182 into wealth, small town of Assisi in the Duchy of Spoleto, he chose a life of poverty and spirituality, founded the Franciscan Order, advocated vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and is celebrated for his stigmata, Canticle of the Sun, Christian mysticism, and as the patron saint of animals and the environment. His father, Peter Bernadone, was a merchant, and his mother was named Pica.
Francis of Assisi was poor only that he might be Christ-like. He recognized creation as another manifestation of the beauty of God. In 1979, he was named patron of ecology. He did great penance—apologizing to “Brother Body” later in life—that he might be totally disciplined for the will of God. Francis’ poverty had a sister, Humility, by which he meant total dependence on the good God. But all this was, as it were, preliminary to the heart of his spirituality: living the gospel life, summed up in the charity of Jesus and perfectly expressed in the Eucharist.
Prayer of St. Francis: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.