Honoring, Praying for the Dead

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One of the ways we as Catholics remember our dead is to pray for them.  The Bible offers several accounts of prayer for the dead, the earliest of which is seen in the Second Book of Maccabees.  Other early evidence of the Christian practice of praying for the dead can be found in the Roman catacombs, where inscriptions include both prayers for the dead and requests for prayers. Early Church Fathers such as Tertullian and Augustine also witness to the tradition of praying for departed family and friends.

Prayers for the dead begin as soon as the person dies.  Among its various rites, the Order of Christian Funerals includes “Prayers after Death” and “Gathering in the Presence of the Body.”  Both of these rites are to bring comfort to the mourners at the time of death or shortly thereafter.

 As the Order of Christian Funerals (OCF) states, “At the death of a Christian, whose life of faith was begun in the waters of baptism and strengthened at the Eucharistic table, the Church intercedes on behalf of the deceased because of its confident belief that death is not the end nor does it break the bonds forged in life” (4)

The funeral liturgy, especially the celebration of the Mass, is the primary way the community offers prayers for their dead: The OCF states, “At the funeral rites, especially at the celebration of the       Eucharistic sacrifice, the Christian community affirms and expresses the union of the Church on earth with the Church in heaven in the one great communion of saints”(6). 

 After the funeral liturgy, the community continues to remember and pray for the dead at “Masses for the Dead,” on special anniversaries and occasions, on solemnities such as All Saints and All Souls’ Day, and during the Eucharistic Prayer. 

 We offer our prayers for the dead to commend them to God’s   merciful love, to ease their transition from this life to the next, and to keep them close at heart. As the Order of Christian Funerals  states,” Though separated from the Living, the dead are still at one with the community of believers on earth and benefit from their prayers and intercession” (6).

www.PastoralLiturgy*magazine,November/December2018, Kathy Kuczka

First Annual St. Valentine Christmas Holiday Walk

Saturday, December 15th

Dinner 4 pm—7 pm

The Holiday Walk Homes will be open at 5 pm until 8 pm

Come join us back at the gym for caroling, cookies and raffles

8 pm – 9:30 pm

Adults $15

Teens 13-17 – $10

Children 12 and under $5

Tickets may be purchased  in the back of Church after all the Masses.

 

Pope Francis invites the faithful to pray the Rosary in October – Vatican News.

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The Holy Father has decided to invite all the faithful, of all the world, to pray the Holy Rosary every day, during the entire Marian month of October, and thus to join in communion and in penitence, as the people of God, in asking the Holy Mother of God and Saint Michael Archangel to protect the Church from the devil, who always seeks to separate us from God and from each other.

 In recent days, the Holy Father met with Father. Fréderic Fornos, S.J., international director of the World Network of Prayer for the Pope, and asked him to spread this appeal to all the faithful throughout the world, inviting them to conclude the recitation of the Rosary with the ancient invocation “We fly to Thy protection”, and with the prayer to Saint Michael Archangel that he protect us and help us in the struggle against evil (cf. Revelation 12, 7-12).

The prayer – the Pontiff affirmed a few days ago, on 11 September, in a homily at Santa Marta, citing the first book of Job – is the weapon against the Great Accuser who “goes around the world seeking to accuse”. Only prayer can defeat him. The Russian mystics and the great saints of all the traditions advised, in moments of spiritual turbulence, to shelter beneath the mantle of the Holy Mother of God pronouncing the invocation “We fly to Thy protection, O Holy Mother of God. Do not despise our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin”.

 With this request for intercession the Holy Father asks the faithful of all the world to pray that the Holy Mother of God place the Church beneath her protective mantle: to preserve her from the attacks by the devil, the great accuser, and at the same time to make her more aware of the faults, the errors and the abuses committed in the present and in the past, and committed to combating without any hesitation, so that evil may not prevail.

The Holy Father has also asked that the recitation of the Holy Rosary during the month of October conclude with the prayer written by Leo XIII: Saint Michael Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

 

Rosary Rally

To celebrate the anniversary of Fatima our parish is having a rosary rally next Saturday on October 13 at 12 noon in front of the Church. All are welcome to join us.

13th Annual Fun Run/Walk & Spaghetti Dinner

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Once again, the sun shone down on our 13th Annual 5K Fun Run/Walk and Spaghetti Dinner. For some it must have been a hot day but for others it was a good day to be out and running. The great weather brought out more than 300 runners and walkers.

 Thank you so much to our co-chairs Bonnie Danic and Jim Soter, they along with their spouses John and Patty did an excellent job, and I cannot thank them enough for their willingness to help the parish in this way. It takes in lot of time and efforts to have a successful event and year after year our co-chairs do it. Everything was well-run and organized, and they put a lot of work in behind the scenes to make sure that we had a great day for the parish.  

A huge thank you to our great team of volunteers, as well as all our sponsors.  Without the help of all of you who stepped up to help in different ways, it wouldn’t have been as successful as it was. This event has been growing year after year and it has been a wonderful opportunity to bring the parish, school and the neighborhood community together. Thank you so much to everyone who, once again, made this event a huge success.

 

Blessings,

Fr. Socorro

A Prayer for Our Church

Heavenly Father, In every age, you have been our refuge. Yet again and still, we stand before you asking for your protection on your holy Church.

For the victims of abuse and their families, pour out your healing and your peace.

For the Bishops of this country, continue to inspire their decisions, and guide them with your Spirit.

For the thousands of good and faithful priests, who have followed your call to serve you and your people in holiness, sustain them by your grace.

For the faithful who are angry, confused, and searching for answers, embrace them with your love, restore their trust, console them with your clear Gospel message, and renew them with your sacraments.

We place our Church in your hands, for without you we can do nothing.

May Jesus, our High Priest and true compass, continue to lead her in every thought and action – to be an instrument of justice, a source of consolation, a sacrament of unity, and a manifestation of your faithful covenant.

Grant this through that same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (From FDLC.org)