CATHOLIC FAITH AT HOME RESOURCES
For Our Family of Parishes
St. Thomas More, St. Bernadette, St. Mary's, St. Peter's
October 23
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ST. RAPHAEL FEAST DAY
OCTOBER 24
How marvelous that God designated
the Holy Archangel, Raphael,
to assist us in curing our health issues,
as well as our difficulties and struggles!
Did you know, that—with St. Joseph—
St. Raphael is known as the "terror of demons?"
God generously endowed St. Raphael with many missions!
He is the patron saint of healing,
serving people who need healing
for their bodies, minds, or spirits
and helping those who care for them
(such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and counselors).
St. Raphael is also the patron saint of love and
all single Catholics, young people, Christian marriage,
travelers, happy meetings, those who are blind
(a healer for those with eye problems), Catholic studies,
and people seeking protection from nightmares.
Trusting that St. Raphael will bring our personal intentions
before the throne of God in heaven,
you can submit petitions through the link below
to be included in Three Holy Masses
on October 22, 23 and on October 24.
Click the link below to add prayer intentions:
PRAYER INTENTIONS
Click the link below to pray a Litany of St. Raphael:
LITANY OF ST. RAPHAEL
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FORMED BOOK CLUB
New book beginning
MONDAY, OCTOBER 31
The next selected title is
American Pilgrimage,
which narrates the story of the Church from
the dramatic evangelization efforts of the colonial period, to the Catholic urban villages of the immigrant Church, to the struggles to reimagine tradition
in the late-20th century.
It's told through the ongoing struggle between
the City of God and the City of Man:
A struggle between the Church and the world,
within the Church itself, and
within the soul of every Christian.
Tune in on Monday, October 31st as
Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro
begin their discussion of American Pilgrimage.
If you have not already done so, click the link below to begin:
FORMED BOOK CLUB ENROLLMENT
Click the link below to:
ORDER AMERICAN PILGRIMAGE
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THE INFLUENCE
OF
FOUR
CHURCH FATHERS
Former Baptist Rod Bennett explains how his encounter
with four of the Church Fathers convinced him
that the Catholic Church is the one, true Church
established by Jesus Christ.
In the saintly and learned Fathers,
he discovered how Christ passed down his teaching
before the Bible was compiled.
"Early Church Fathers" is a title that was gradually
applied to Christianity’s earliest teachers,who
in the period of the Church’s infancy and first growth,
instructed her members in the teaching of Jesus Christ
and
that teaching which He very specifically
had given to His Apostles.
Click on the link below to watch his conversion story:
FOUR WITNESSES
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THEOLOGY OF THE BODY FOR PARENTS
Tuesday Evenings
Oct. 25 - Nov. 29
8pm - 9:30pm
on Zoom
In a course that instructs, proposes practical lived experiences,
and invites prayer, Cindy Costello shares with parents
St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.
Participants will learn
deep insights into the origin, redemption, and
destiny of the human person,
which leads to an understanding of
each person's unique belovedness in God.
Cindy shares creative ways
and helpful language
to pass on the Theology of the Body
to the fruit of their love, their children.
Click below to register:
THEOLOGY OF THE BODY FOR PARENTS
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NOVENA TO
SAINT RAPHAEL
FEAST DAY: OCTOBER 24
Glorious Archangel Saint Raphael,
great prince of the heavenly court,
you are illustrious
for your gifts of wisdom and grace.
You are a guide of those who journey
by land or sea or air,
consoler of the afflicted,
and refuge of sinners.
I beg you,
assist me in all my needs
and in all the sufferings of this life,
as once you helped
the young Tobias on his travels.
Because you are the medicine of God,
I humbly pray you to heal the many infirmities
of my soul and the ills that afflict my body.
I especially ask of you the favour
(Make your request here...)
and the great grace of purity
to prepare me to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
(Pray for nine consecutive days.)
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National Eucharistic Revival Resources
WEEKLY UPDATE
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Cultivating the
Faith of our Little Ones
It takes a lot more than grit to accompany children
as they are initiated into the Sacred Mysteries.
Dr. Zachary Keith shares wisdom and grace for all parents
— and anyone who loves and serves those dearest to the Lord.
Click the link below to read more:
CULTIVATING THE FAITH OF OUR LITTLE ONES
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GOD IS WITH US!
Enter into the dynamism of God’s nearness
as portrayed in Part One of Augustine Institute’s
recent series, Presence.
Click the link below to watch the video:
PART ONE OF THE PRESENCE
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Living the Mass
A Eucharistic Revival Webinar
October 26, 2022 3:00 p.m.
The National Eucharistic Revival gives us an
excellent opportunity to deepen our
understanding of and devotion to
the Eucharist
and to foster full, active, and conscious participation in the Mass.
Join us for a lively webinar with Fr. Dominic Grassi and
Joe Paprocki, DMin, co-authors of the popular book,
Living the Mass: How One Hour a Week Can Change Your Life.
They invite participants to enter the Mass through
the lens of the Dismissal Rite,
focusing on
what it is that the Mass prepares us to do
as we are sent forth.
Click the link below to register for free:
LIVING THE MASS
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How do we know if we have
committed a mortal sin?
Scroll down to find the answer!
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HUMOR FOR THE HEART
A businessman needed a million dollars to close an important business transaction.
He went to church to pray for the money.
He knelt and started praying. Next to him was a man who was praying for a hundred dollars to pay an urgent debt.
Taking out his wallet, the businessman pressed the
hundred dollars into the other man's hand.
Overjoyed, the man got up and left the church.
The businessman then closed his eyes and prayed,
"And now, Lord, that I have your undivided attention...."
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GOSPEL READING REFLECTION
For October 23, 2022
The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year C - Lk 18:9-14
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GOD IS JUST AND MERCIFUL
"...whoever exalts himself will be humbled
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
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- St. Luke’s comment makes the meaning of Christ’s parable clear: If you are convinced you are holy but look down on everyone else as a lost sinner, you are a fool in great danger.
- Yet each one of us lives out this parable. Our true condition is a poor sinner in need of God’s mercy. Yet seeing this is abhorrent to us, so we try to convince others and ourselves that we are just. The Holy Spirit can slowly show us what we are. This is painful but it reveals us as widows, orphans, poor, brokenhearted, oppressed, and in need of justification. This breaking down process opens us up to serve God in justice so God will stand beside us and bring us safely to heaven.
- We cannot remain in a state of justice unless we live the virtue of justice, or giving every person what we owe him. God is a person, too, and we owe him adoration, thanks, reparation, and petition. Our life is full of both natural duties (like honoring parents) and of freely accepted obligations (like employment).
- “So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”(Mt 5:23-24).
- If we lose the state of grace, we can recover justification through the sacraments of healing, especially Confession. However, we cannot be forgiven unless we forgive those who offend us.
- In addition to giving others what we own them, we also must live lives of mercy. This means giving (in the language of stewardship) our time, talents, and treasure.
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ANSWER TO QUIZ
Everyone knows—or almost everyone does—
that there are morally good actions
and morally evil actions.
But when is an action not only wrong, but sinful?
And particularly mortally sinful?
After all, as St. John says,
“all wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal”
just as “there is sin which is mortal” (1 John 5:16,17).
A mortal sin is one that “destroys in us the charity
without which eternal beatitude is impossible.
Unrepented, it brings eternal death” (CCC 1874).
That’s what makes it “mortal,” or deadly:
it cuts us off from God forever,
unless it is “redeemed by repentance
and God’s forgiveness” (CCC 1861).
Thanks be to God, not every evil action is mortally sinful.
So how do we know which is which?
Just as there are three ingredients in evaluating a moral action
—the object, intention, and circumstances—
so there are three ingredients in a mortal sin:
(1) “grave matter,”
(2) “full knowledge,”
(3) “deliberate consent.”
And the Catechism is clear that all
“three conditions must together be met” (1857).
Click below to learn how to evaluate the seriousness of a sin:
HOW TO EVALUATE THE SERIOUSNESS OF SIN
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BOOK
RECOMMENDATION
We need to be armed for battle!
At all times, and especially during these crazy times in this vale of tears,
we need to lay our foundation in Christ Jesus.
Spiritual reading helps us build and strengthen that foundation.
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This week's recommendation is:
What Is God?
Answering the World's
Most Important
Question
by Kevin Vost
Have you ever tried to have a close, loving relationship with someone you don’t know?
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It’s not easy. (And it’s probably not a good idea!)
Most would never dream of attempting such intimacy
with a human stranger,
yet many of us try to do just that with God!
So, just as with people,
if we don’t know God, we can’t really love Him.
But we can do both.
What Is God
examines God’s attributes and
considers questions about Him
that have vexed mankind for centuries.
• What does it mean for God to be simple?
To be perfect?
• Is God really knowable, after all?
• Can we say that He is happy?
- Is God able to change the past, or cause it not to have been?
- And the classic: Can God make a boulder so big
that even He cannot lift it?
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We pray you will be excited to embark on purposeful spiritual reading as a way to build a more prayer-filled, Christ centered life. | | | | | |