Our Lady of Sorrows Church October 26, 2014 From the Pastor’s Desk My Dear People: The most astounding statistic I have ever heard is that the second largest religious group in this country is “fallen away Catholics.” With the thrust of the “New Evangelization” we are all reminded of the obligation received at baptism to spread the faith, which also means bringing back fallen aways and also keeping Catholics from falling away. We Catholics are a definite minority in Alabama: total percentage including Hispanics is 7% of the population. Experts claim we lose most of our Catholics due to a lack of appreciation of our own Catholicism. We thank God we have great youth ministers at OLS, and I have addressed the issue with them that we need to teach our young people the very heavy reasons to be Catholic and remain Catholic. There is actually a Church law that says Catholics are to marry Catholics. Yes, dispensations are easily given, but it is a law based upon the fact that it presents an enormous challenge to keep strong in the faith when the spouse is not Catholic. Eventually one spouse or the other usually converts to the other’s faith, and Catholics who don’t know why they are Catholic often give up their faith. Recently, Greg Pierre gave an excellent talk to the Adult Education class on 10 reasons to be Catholic. He started the talk with stating he was not to be misunderstood…he was not implying that non-Catholics could not be saved. Nor was he saying that every Catholic is a saint. Begging God’s mercy is part of our beautiful Catholic prayers of the Mass and our frequently recited Divine Mercy Chaplet. He states that Catholicism has the fullness of Christianity. The first reason to be Catholic is because the Bible DEPENDS on Catholic teaching. It is Catholic Church teaching that established which of the hundreds of letters existing in the Church during the early centuries were inspired. With 20 different Gospels, which ones are inspired? With 5 different Acts of the Apostles, which one is inspired? Without the teaching of the Church, we have no assurances that the writings in the Bible are inspired. The Sacred Scriptures were not delivered to us by an angel on a silver platter. Matthew, Mark and Luke, are the most credible history of the Ancient Mediterranean world. They tell us most clearly that Jesus, the God-man, started a TEACHING CHRUCH. Once history established this, this TEACHING CHRUCH turned around and declared that these history books are also inspired uniquely by God, and that the other 24 books of the New Testament are also uniquely inspired by God. This was the teaching of the Catholic Bishops at the Council of Hippo 393 and again at the Council of Carthage in 397. Give up the teaching authority of the Church, and one gives up on the certainty of the uniquely inspired writings which we call the Word of God. This is one of the ten reasons Greg gives for why the Catholic Church has the absolute importance in the Christian world. Another reason Greg gives to be and to remain Catholic is the teaching of the REAL PRESENCE of Jesus in the Eucharist. Priests are ordained by bishops with the direct, never broken passing on of the spiritual authority to confect the sacrament of the Real Presence of Jesus at the Mass. How can one actually read and meditate on the 6th Chapter of John, the narratives of the Last Supper, and not believe in Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist? A third reason to be Catholic is because this is the Church as Jesus founded His Church, with one man at the top of this teaching and governing Church, the pope. Pope Francis is the 266th pope counting St. Peter. The Scriptures clearly show that Peter was promised this authority, that Peter was actually later given the authority, and that Peter (Acts of the Apostles) exercised the authority. Given the fact that Jesus promised perpetuity to His Church, the early Christian contemporaries of Jesus elected a successor to Peter who was Linus. Then Cletus. Then Clement, all the way down 2000 years to Pope Francis. I recently watched Marcus Grodi on EWTN give a presentation on the Best of the Journey Home series. He was himself first a Lutheran, then Presbyterian, and now a Catholic. He, like so many other Protestant theologians have read and studied the early Fathers of the Church (St. Ignatius, St. Irenaeus, St. Augustine and so many others). These works have left us valuable writings about the Church and the ultimate leader, the “Pope”, and the constant belief in the Real Presence by the Christians of the early centuries. This seems to be one of the main reasons a number of Protestant theologians convert to Catholicism. They want the same Church that Jesus founded. Former Protestants usually appear on Grodi’s Journey Home program. The Church will always need a reform (Divine Founder, but human leaders), but it must be reformed from the inside rather than from the outside. Luther tried it from the outside. Before his death he moaned and groaned over the splits, divisions and subdivisions when Jesus wanted ONE Church. The word APOLOGETICS, in theology, means “defending” our faith. If someone engages us in a discussion of our faith, we need to be able to defend our faith to them…and to ourselves first. With prayers and blessings, Father Muller All Saints Day Mass Schedule: Saturday, November 1 8 and 10 a.m. First Saturday Devotions will be held on Saturday, November 1, at 7:15 a.m. First Friday Devotions will be held on Friday, November 7, at 6:00 a.m. Monday, Oct. 27 Special Intention Sp. Int. of the Blessed Mother Sp. Int. KazimierzTargosz Tuesday, Oct. 28 Sp. Int. Eileen Moore Catherine Masden George Smaha Wednesday, Oct. 29 Special Intention Bill & Ann Sheehan Sp. Int. Nancy Ross Thursday, Oct. 30 Sean Ryan Marie Dirgo Paul DePhillips Friday, Oct. 31 Othni & Louise Reynolds Sp. Int. Susan Henderson Josephine Spano Saturday, Nov. 1 Dean Romano, Sr./Sp. Int. Ellie Remmert Bill Stephens/Intentions of the Blessed Mother Brian Criswell Sunday, Nov. 2 People of the Parish Special Intention George Smaha Bishop Robert J. Baker, Mary Kazmir, Alcy Simonetti, Rose Butera, Joe Campbell, Lena Caltagirone, Shay McNamee CHAPEL OF OUR SAVIOR The Chapel needs permanent Committed Adorers for: Sunday at 9:00 PM (To Share Hour) Tuesday at 11:00 AM (To Share Hour) Wednesday at 11:00 AM (To Share Hour) Our goal is to have at least 2 people on each hour. These are the hours needed, but do select an hour that best fits your schedule. Please call Mary Claire Brouillette at 871-2909 or Trudy Carpri at 945-0742. All Souls Memorial Rosary The Knights of Columbus will reprise the Annual Memorial Rosary on Sunday, November 2, at 4 p.m. Father Jaya Reddy will preside. A brief homily, sacred hymns and the Memorial List of Names will be part of this Rosary service. The names of our loved ones who are deceased, and all of the faithful departed, throughout the diocese, will be remembered in prayer. With family and friends, please join us for this Memorial Rosary and prayer service. The Knights will assist you in having the name of your beloved deceased inscribed in the Knight’s Perpetual Memorial Book. The OLS Elementary Children’s Ministry invites all PSR and OLS students in the 1st-5th grades to a Halloween Bash on Thursday, October 30, from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Wear your costumes for this faith building and fun, Halloween event. Dinner will be provided for all participants and their families. Please RSVP with Chi Ranieri at [email protected] or text 9157570. Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend is scheduled for November 7-9, at St. Bernard Abbey. You can register online at www.wwme-Section5.org/register.php or by calling Bob & Joy Hernandez at 678-9850125. V.I.P. will be held on Tuesday, November 4. Come join your friends and neighbors for Mass at 11 a.m. in the Parish Hall, followed by lunch and bingo. Everyone is welcome to attend Adult Education: Renew & Rejoice on Sunday, November 2. Our speaker will be Father Wilfred Emeh, our newest associate pastor. His topic will be The Creed and Life Everlasting. The gathering begins in the Parish Hall at 9:45 a.m. with fellowship and light refreshments. What’s Goin on In High School Youth Group? Sunday, Oct. 26: Faith Formation: Bible Timeline Series “Do I feel unworthy of God’s love?” LifeNight Halloween Costume Party @7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29: “Bonfire” on the Parking Deck! 7-8:30 p.m. Teens interested in joining us for the Nov. 1416 CROSS retreat should have registration in by November 2. Cost is only $70. Contact Ginny for more details. All Ladies of Our Lady of Sorrows are invited to the Altar Sodality Fall Luncheon "Glimmer & Shine" Friday, November 14th Doors open at 10 a.m. Social hour and teacup auction Delicious catered lunch by Imperial Catering Entertainment provided Tickets $25 Please contact Judy Trant @ 871-8121. Vs. Iron Bowl CAR WASH! OLS Parking Lot Saturday, November 1st 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. $5 Come support the John Carroll 2014 Alabama State Lacrosse Champions!