The Pastor’s Corner
In today’s Gospel, a scholar of the law tested Jesus by asking: “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?” The answer is very familiar to us. The way we ful ll this is not always easy and yet we know that this is what we must work at doing our best to ful ll. Our attentiveness to God can get lost in our day to day activity and list of obligations that we have. Loving our neighbor can be extremely challenging, but we don’t have to have the same “love” for each person. Some people are easy to love and are an important part of our lives. Other people expand our ability to “love” and will never have the same place in our lives as others do. They require more understanding and tolerance than others, but we can’t just “write them off” even if we would like to. They will never make of list of “friends” and they don’t have to. This remains a challenging question for us.
It is with sincere gratitude that I thank you for your generous response to the recent hurricane appeals. The first response was $8,000 for Catholic Relief Services and the second was $22,000 for Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez, O.F.M. in Puerto Rico. I have also heard of people o ering to take in children from Puerto Rico so that they won’t miss school for the remainder of the year. We will be sponsoring more projects.
This week we begin the month of November with the Solemnity of All Saints, and throughout the month we remember our deceased sisters and brothers. There are envelopes in church where their names may be listed for remembrance.
-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
Stewardship: Caring for God’s Creation – Gaudium Evangelii: Chapter 3, The Proclamation of the Gospel
Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are ‘disciples’ and ‘missionaries’, but rather that we are always ‘missionary disciples.’
If we are not convinced, let us look at those first disciples, who immediately after encountering the gaze of Jesus, went forth to proclaim him joyfully: “we have found the Messiah!”
The Samaritan woman became a missionary immediately after speaking with Jesus and many Samaritans came to believe in him ”because of the woman’s testimony.” So too, Saint Paul after his encounter with Jesus Christ, “immediately proclaimed Jesus.”
So, what are we waiting for?
All Souls Day and Thanksgiving Cards
Thursday, November 2, is All Souls Day. If you would like to remember a deceased friend or loved one on All Souls Day, we a have special card available at the reception desk for an offering of $5.00 each or can be ordered ONLINE HERE.
The cover of the card features a photo of the Angel of Redemption from the Sorrowful Mother Shrine.
The inside message reads:
A Spiritual Gift in Loving Memory of
_________________________
will share in a special remembrance in the prayers and Masses
celebrated by the Franciscan Friars at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi on All Souls Day.
Blessings at Thanksgiving is a special card to help support the Franciscan Friars at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. You can give a gift in honor of a friend or loved one and have them remembered at Mass on Thanksgiving Day. This card is available at the reception desk in the lobby of St. Francis House for a offering of $5.00 each or ONLINE HERE.
Week of Prayer to St. Jude
We invite to take part in a Week of Prayer in honor of St. Jude from
Monday, October 23, through Friday, October 27,
at the 11:30 and 4:30 weekday Masses
Envelopes are available at the entrances of the church for your intentions.
The Pastor’s Corner
“…Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,” says Jesus in today’s gospel from Matthew. The Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus, which they tried to do many times. Jesus asks for a coin with Caesar’s image and inscription, and gives the response quoted above. The Pharisees should have known better; we are created in God’s image and likeness. We belong to God, not to Caesar, but in order to survive in the culture of that time, payment to Caesar was a necessity whether they liked it or not. There were so many times that Jesus uses these moments to teach his values and his truth. This is a good reminder to all of us that first and foremost, we belong to God and that following Jesus, we believe in his values and his way of life.
A special thank you to all who have gone online for their weekly offering to St. Francis and to those who have been giving online for many years. Thank you also to those who increased their Offertory donation. Many parishioners have commented that they didn’t know that we have to raise such an amount of money yearly. We understand if you have a limited income, but the days of giving $1 in the collection are over for most people. We appreciate your cooperation and generosity.
Don’t forget that the State of the Parish will be held after the 4:00 PM Mass on Saturday, October 28, and after the 5:00 PM Mass on Sunday, October 29. The presentation is about 45 minutes.
-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
Hurricane Relief Donations
There are collection boxes in the church marked for Hurricanes Relief Donations.
San Juan Archbishop, Roberto Gonzalez, O.F.M., a Franciscan Friar from Holy Name Province, has requested our help to alleviate the su ering of the people of Puerto Rico.
All funds received by the ministry sites of Holy Name Province before October 22 will be matched by the Province and sent to Archbishop Gonzalez for direct assistance to those who have lost so much.
Please be as generous as you can, and thank you for helping our brothers and sisters in their time of need!
To date the Church of St. Francis of Assisi has collected over $11,000 for hurricane relief which will become $22,000 with the match! Thank you to everyone who has donated! There is much that needs to be done in Puerto Rico, please add your help to the money we have already collected.
You can make your dedicated donation here.
Forum on the Migration Crisis in Mexico
Fray Tomás González Castillo, O.F.M. is the founder of La 72 Hogar Refugio Para Personas Migrantes.
La 72 Home and Refuge for migrants is a project of the Franciscan Province of Southwest Mexico and focuses primarily on protecting migrants’ human rights and offering humanitarian assistance as they travel through Tenosique, Tabasco, Mexico, one of the most dangerous areas along the migratory route towards the United States. La “72” is named in honor of the 72 migrants that were murdered August 24, 2010 in San Fernando Tamaulipas.
Fray Tomás has been awarded the 2017 Human Rights First Award for his work in advocating for our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters. Since its founding in 2011, La 72 has helped more than 50,000 people experiencing forced migration.
Please join our panel discussion featuring Ramón Márques, Director of La 72, and other human rights advocates as we discuss the migration crisis in Mexico and Central America.
The event will be held on:
Tuesday, October, 17, at 6:00 PM
in San Damiano Hall.
It is being hosted by the Migrant Center of St. Francis and sponsored by Franciscan International. For more information, contact [email protected] or call 212- 736-8500, Ext. 377.
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