Entries for October 2023

Dear Parishioners:

This Wednesday we celebrate All Saints' Day in honor of all the saints, both known and unknown. It is the day after the feast of All Hallows' Evening (also known as Halloween). This solemnity comes from Christian tradition of celebrating the martyrdom of saints on the anniversary of their death. The current date of November 1 was instituted by Pope Gregory III (731-741), when he consecrated a chapel to all the martyrs in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and ordered an annual celebration. This celebration was originally confined to the diocese of Rome, but Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the feast to the entire Church and ordered it to be celebrated on November 1.

The following day, November 2nd, the Church in an ancient feast celebrates All Souls’ Day where we gather and remember and pray for the faithful departed. We as Christians believe that if we place our faith in Jesus Christ, we will have eternal life. Jesus has that great desire that we are one with him, and this day commemorates our oneness with Jesus both those here on earth and those who have passed before us.

Another practice on this feast day is to attend Mass to pray for the faithful departed in our families, in our Church and all who have died in Christ. Saint Odilo, Abbot of Cluny, established All Souls' Day in the eleventh century. The day purposely follows the Feast of All Saints, in order to shift the focus from those in heaven to those in purgatory.

Please see our bulletin for a listing of those who were buried from our Church this past year and please keep them and their families in your prayers. Finally, during the month of November a Book of Remembrance will be placed before our baptismal font as a reminder of our dying and rising with our Lord, first in Baptism and then into eternal life.

Blessings!

Msgr. John Shamleffer

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Dear Parishioners:

The past couple of months have seen much violence, hatred, and loss of innocent life in our world, country and our city. Racism, religious intolerance, and division in our society is so palatable and is troubling to all. As Christians these behaviors and actions are in total opposition to the Gospel values.

The senseless murders in Israel and all religious intolerances are to be condemned and must be confronted by all nations. We as a Church, and we here at the Church of the Annunziata, stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters and many innocent Palestinian faithful during this time of great distress. May God grant peace to the dead, healing to the injured, and comfort to the families of those hurt and killed and to all in the Middle East, Ukraine, and all areas of strife.

Tragically these senseless acts also have occurred against many Coptic Christians who have been senselessly killed in Egypt. The Islamic State (IS) group has said it carried out the attack. It was the latest in a series of attacks by extremists on Egypt's Coptic Christian minority. Many other similar attacks have taken place the last few years against Chaldean Catholics in Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

Sadly, our city has not been immune from violence, hatred, racism, and divisions of many forms. Police officers have been killed or injured, innocent women and men have been attacked violently and way too many have lost lives to violence.

To combat this, it will not be great programs; but it will be the little people, you and me. The way we: speak of others, treat others, respect others, stop bullying in our schools, forgive and cherish others will speak volumes. We can’t hope to do this on a wider scope if we do not do it in our own homes, community, schools, places of employment, our parish. Are we building up others in Christ or tearing them down?

This coming November as we pray for those who have gone before us in life let us also pray for a greater respect of all people and strive in our lives to tear down walls that divide and separate us and let us remember that our God is stronger than sin, stronger than death.

God Bless!

Msgr. John Shamleffer

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Dear Parishioners:

Our second-grade PSR students are in the process of preparing for the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. I thank their parents and teachers for helping prepare these children for the sacrament.

This sacrament, like all sacraments, is an encounter with our Lord and we are blessed to receive the graces we need to unite our lives with his. When the Church celebrates the sacraments she makes a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, and in this way, she keeps her memory of him alive.

In order to make the sacrament more available here at Ste Genevieve du Bois I am adding a couple more opportunities for the sacrament: on Wednesday’s from 5:30-6:30pm during our Eucharistic adoration and on First Friday’s 6:30-7am. These new times for the Sacrament of Reconciliation will begin on November 3rd. I always find this sacrament to be one of immense joy as it enables those who partake of it to remove the effects of sin and grow ever closer to our Lord. Our God truly is the loving Father!

The Sacrament reminds us that: Because of human weakness Christians ‘turn aside from [their] early love' (see Rev 2:4) and even break off their friendship with God by sinning.

The Lord, therefore, instituted a special sacrament of penance for the pardon of sins committed after baptism, and the Church has faithfully celebrated the sacrament throughout the centuries.

What happens in the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
In the Sacrament of Penance, "the sinner” who by grace of a loving and merciful God embraces the way of penance comes back to the Father who ‘first loved us' (1 Jn 4:19), to Christ who gave himself up for us, and to the Holy Spirit who has been poured out on us abundantly.

What is the role of the priest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
According to the Rite of Penance, "the Church exercises the ministry of the sacrament of penance through bishops and priests. By preaching God's word, they call the faithful to conversion; in the name of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, they declare and grant the forgiveness of sins. In the exercise of this ministry priests act in communion with the bishop and share in his power and office . . ."

What is the role of the community in the sacrament?
According to the Rite of Penance, "the whole Church, as a priestly people, acts in different ways in the work of reconciliation which has been entrusted to it by the Lord. Not only does the Church call sinners to repentance by preaching the word of God, but it also intercedes for them and helps penitents with maternal care and solicitude to acknowledge and admit their sins and so obtain the mercy of God who alone can forgive sins.

Jesus’ words, “woe to the one through whom [sins] occur,” hold a key of insight for all of us because they have a positive dimension in addition to the explicit negative one. While it is our duty to avoid leading each other astray, we are also called to help one another remain true to the gospel message. Luckily, one does not need to be perfectly holy to help another. Even the lowliest sinner can help the most righteous person when we rely on the Lord.

We often fail to recognize the degree to which our actions affect and influence others. This is especially true in our family life and relationships with the people we spend the most time with. By our actions, we often lead one another astray or closer to heaven.

In my experience, focusing on each other’s welfare more than contemplating our own helps to avoid the notion that we are unworthy as leaders on this journey. By spending less time worrying about whether or not we can do it, we can properly focus on the next step in this moment to care for those around us. This focus fosters an unselfish mindset that reminds us that we are all here to help each other to be better Christians—ultimately, to get each other to heaven!

Blessings!

Msgr. John Shamleffer

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Dear Parishioners:

The month of October is dedicated to the praying of the Rosary. The Rosary (from Latin rosarium, meaning "rose garden") or "garland of roses “is a popular and traditional catholic devotion.

How to Pray the Rosary - The purpose of the Rosary is to help keep in memory certain principal events or mysteries in the history of our salvation, and to thank and praise God for them. The prayers consist of repeated sequences of the Lord’s Prayer followed by ten recitations of the Hail Mary and a single praying of "Glory be to the father” each of these sequences is known as a decade. The praying of each decade is accompanied by meditation on one of the Mysteries of the Rosary, which recall the life of Jesus Christ. There are twenty mysteries reflected upon in the Rosary, and these are divided into the five Joyful Mysteries, the five Sorrowful Mysteries, the five Glorious Mysteries, and the five Luminous Mysteries.

The Pope has always had a great devotion to Mary and the rosary. During this month of October we pray the rosary many different times in our Church.

A couple years ago Pope John Paul II included new mysteries named the Luminous Mysteries, which reflect upon the public life of Jesus. Maybe you could also once this month gather with your families and pray the Rosary together as a sign of solidarity with our Pope. Perhaps you could also add the intention of all those who have fallen away from the practice of the faith, that they might be welcomed back home to the Church.

In a particular way as we pray the rosary we can also pray for religious liberty. This liberty is not only about our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It is about whether we can make our contribution to the common good of all Americans. Can we do the good works our faith calls us to do, without having to compromise that very same faith?

Lastly this is also Pro-Life month let us continue to pray for all life from the unborn to those near death.

Blessings!

Msgr. John Shamleffer

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