James Tissot (French, 1886-94).
La Communion des Apôtres (The Communion of the Apostles).
How fitting it is to celebrate this final month of our 70th Anniversary while we are in the midst of our Eucharistic Devotions (not the usual “40 Hours,” but 80 Hours this year). It is also the feast day of St. Charles Borromeo, who is one of the shining lights who came out of the Catholic Reformation (and patron of our diocesan undergraduate seminary). He fought bravely for the reform of the Catholic Church and helped establish seminaries that would properly educate future priests. St. Charles was a leader behind the Council of Trent and assisted in the creation of the first universal Catechism of the Catholic Church. What motivated him to be so bold in purifying the Church was a devout prayer life in the Eucharist coupled with a charitable heart, always striving to practice what he preached. He wrote: “I admit that we are all weak but if we want help, the Lord God has given us the means to find it easily. Would you like me to teach you how to grow from virtue to virtue and how, if you are already recollected at prayer, you can be even more attentive next time-and so give God more pleasing worship? Listen, and I will tell you. If a tiny spark of God’s love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out. Keep the stove tightly shut so that it will not lose its heat and grow cold. In other words, avoid distractions as well as you can. Stay quiet with God.” Please let His Divine spark grow within you by joining in our Closing Vespers, this Sunday, at 6:30 p.m. He so loves you!
Some Updates: It’s still not too late for you to come to our annual school fund raiser, Night at the Races, this Saturday, November 10th at 6:00 p.m. The proceeds will help support our new PA system for further safety protocol for our school children. You may have noticed another project we had to undertake this past week for an increase in parking safety. We extended our parking lot to help with the traffic pattern for our school drop-off and pickup. The two lanes will allow for the extended traffic to not be a hindrance with the traffic flow on State Road. In addition, we will gain three extra rows of parking. (All you 11:00 a.m. Mass drivers can start rejoicing now!) You may have noticed that a small clearing was made in the wooded area along the gate on Diederich Lane. Since we have been in dire need of storage space, we will be building a pole barn to help.
Verso, l’alto! Fr. Bline
