Schedule for October 3-4, 2020
Saturday, October 3
- 7:00 am Cathedral Open for Private Prayer and Devotion
- 8:00 am Mass - will also be livestreamed
- 12:00 pm Funeral Mass (private)
- 3:00 pm Rosary – Live-Stream
- 3:30 - 4:30 pm Holy Hour - concluding with Evening Prayer and Benediction
- 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Confessions
- 5:00 pm Mass
- 6:00 pm Cathedral Closes
Sunday - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
- 7:00 am Cathedral Open for Private Prayer and Devotion
- 8:00 am Mass - will also be livestreamed
- 9:00 am - 9:50 am Confessions
- 10:00 am Annual Red Mass with Archbishop Rozanski to mark the
beginning of the judicial season - will also be livestreamed - 11:00 am - 11:50 am Confessions
- 12:00 Noon Mass
- 5:00 pm Mass
- 6:00 pm Cathedral Closes
Dear Parishioners,
On October 4, 2008, I had the wonderful opportunity to drive a group of Franciscan Sisters of the Martyr St. George from Rome to the City of Assisi for the celebration of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The day commemorates the death of one of the most beloved saints in the world, who left everything to marry “Lady Poverty” and to live in imitation of Christ. St. Francis has the merit of having saved Catholicism of his era from corruption and richness, re-establishing the link between the Church and poorer classes.
On October 3, the ancient walls of the city are lined with oil lamps and lit all the way up the mountain. Looking up to Assisi from the town below it looks like a gigantic birthday cake—the lights beckoning pilgrims to the city. That evening a procession of hundreds carry candles as they walk reverently into the Porziuncola of Santa Maria degli Angeli where St. Francis died.
From the cross in the neglected field-chapel of San Damiano, Christ told him, “Francis, go out and build up my house, for it is nearly falling down.” Francis became the totally poor and humble workman.
He must have suspected a deeper meaning to “build up my house.” But he would have been content to be, for the rest of his life, putting brick on brick in abandoned chapels. He gave up all his possessions, piling even his clothes before his earthly father—who was demanding restitution for Francis’ “gifts” to the poor—so that he would be totally free to say, “Our Father in heaven.” He was, for a time, considered to be a religious fanatic, begging from door to door when he could not get money for his work, evoking sadness or disgust to the hearts of his former friends.
During the last years of his relatively short life—he died at 44—Francis was half blind and seriously ill. Two years before his death he received the stigmata, the real and painful wounds of Christ in his hands, feet and side.
On his deathbed, Francis sang Psalm 141, and at the end asked his superior’s permission to have his clothes removed when the last hour came in order that he could expire lying naked on the earth, in imitation of his Lord.
Monsignor Henry Breier
This Weekend's Pulpit Announcements
Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski and the Cathedral Basilica continue the tradition of the White Mass and our profound expression of gratitude to the men and women who minister in the healthcare professions, especially highlighted in this year of the pandemic. The 2020 White Mass will be celebrated next Sunday, October 11, at 10:00 am. All are welcome.
The 2020 Annual Catholic Appeal is all but over, and the generous commitment of so many individuals and families could make this one of the most successful Appeals ever. If you already have made a gift, THANK YOU! If you missed the opportunity to make your pledge at the parish earlier, it’s not too late. Contact the parish office to make your gift today!
People move. Phone numbers change. Families grow and, later, children leave the nest. In an attempt to ensure the parish database and annual directory is as accurate as possible, a letter was mailed to all registered parishioners last week requesting updates to their information. Thank you to all who have already responded! If you haven’t responded, please do so as quickly as possible. And if you didn’t receive a letter, please contact the parish office.
Finally, all are invited to remember deceased loved ones in prayer during the Cathedral Basilica’s All Souls Novena. Send us the names of the deceased loved ones you wish included in the Novena, and they will be remembered collectively in a Mass each day for nine days beginning on November 2. Further details and enrollment for the All Souls Remembrance is available for purchase on the Cathedral website.
Public Service Announcement
Wearing of Masks
Just a quick reminder that masks are to be worn at all times while in the Cathedral Basilica (except for the reception of Holy Communion). It is important that the mask covers both your nose and your mouth to prevent the spread of a virus.
