October is upon us, along with the beauty of the season of fall. In our Catholic tradition the month of October is closely connected to the Blessed Virgin Mary through the devotion of praying the rosary. I want to thank our local Knights of Columbus for leading the practice of praying the rosary at St. Mary’s Church every night at 6:30pm throughout the month of October. I hope that many people can come and join us for this very special Catholic devotion. During the month of October the Knights of Columbus are also spearheading our local Life Chain. This is a national initiative to gather publicly for prayer to end the evil of abortions. Please join us to pray for one hour on Sunday, October 6, at 2pm-3pm, at the corner of 3rd Ave. E. and 9th Street E. (by the Post Office). As Christians we must stand for life, even as we are surrounded by what St. John Paul II called “the culture of death.”
October 21st is the date of our Federal Election. It is important that we take part in this democratic process by studying each of the candidates, asking ourselves questions about who will represent us best. Please bring your faith and convictions into this process. Take some time, make a list of values that we as Catholics hold to be sacred, and seek to elect people who will uphold those values, or at least will not destroy them.
And last but not least, my birthday is in October. I can’t believe how old I’m getting already, I hope that the wisdom that should accompany old age will catch up with my age at some point. Thank you in advance for all your prayers and support. I thank God for the privilege of being a parish priest at St. Mary’s and the Missions. I hope to see many more birthdays come and go while serving with you.
Fr. Wojtek Kuzma