St. Catharine of Alexandria Church

ST. JUDE, THE SAINT OF HOPE FEAST DAY - OCTOBER 28 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.... St. Jude used to be known as the Saint of Lost Causes. However, as a symbol of hope and prayer to millions of people around the world, St. Jude may now rightly be called the Saint of Hope. We invite you to join in this devotion and turn to St. Jude, as a source of strength and inspiration in our faith. Our beautiful shrine to St. Jude is in the right corner as you enter the Church. St. Jude has long been honored as patron of lost causes, possibly because he was often confused with Judas Iscariot who betrayed Our Lord. St. Jude preached the Gospel with great passion, often in the most difficult circumstances. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he made profound differences in people’s lives as he offered them the Word of God. Today, more than ever before, the merit of St. Jude is being revived in people’s minds and hearts. In return, he is proving himself to be more than an ordinary advocate, taking special delight in coming to the aid and providing hope to persons in desperate need. No petition seems too great for him. St. Jude, Saint of Hope, pray for us.

Join us in praying this "Novena for America" prayer each day from October 26th until the election: O Blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:... We praise You for Your Goodness. We thank You for Your mercy. We ask forgiveness for our offenses against You. We seek Your loving care for all our needs and requests. You have blessed our nation, and given us countless gifts. Our freedom and the ability to seek Your will every day are among our dearest possessions. But in turning away from You, we not only risk the loss of all our country has stood for, but we also offend Youwho are all good and deserving of all our love. We ask that You hear us and, through Your fathomless mercy, convert the hearts of our people and bring them back to You. May our land once more ring out with praise of You and the most loving Virgin Mary, to whom we have entrusted the petitions in this novena. Most Holy God, we thank You for hearing us. May our hearts praise You forevermore. Amen.

What an amazing human being!!! Please enjoy this wonderful video!!!!!

SAINT JOHN PAUL II QUOTES FOR YOUNG CATHOLICS Then-Pope John Paul II ignited rapport with young people in the early years of his papacy. On his first visit to the United States in October 1979, he wooed tens of thousands of teenagers at Madison Square Garden in New York City. With school bands blaring popular music, he rode the Popemobile up and down the aisles, greeting the kids and touching their outstretched hands. ... A riot of cheers echoed in the hall. At one point, the youth began to chant John Paul II, we love you! The Pope, smiling broadly, responded with, Woo-hoo-woo, John Paul II, he loves you. This cheer sums up one reason why young people rallied around him: He won their affection because they could feel his love for them. Here are some of Saint John Paul II’s wonderful quotes for young Catholics! Dear Young People, Let yourselves be taken over by the light of Christ, and spread that light wherever you are. Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Remember that you are never alone, Christ is with you on your journey every day of your lives! He has called you and chosen you to live in the freedom of the children of God. Turn to Him in prayer and in love. Ask Him to grant you the courage and strength to live in this freedom always. Walk with Him who is ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life.’ Saint John Paul II, we love you!!!

SAINT JOHN PAUL II FEAST DAY, OCTOBER 22 Do not be afraid, I say, because great courage is required if we are to open the doors to Christ, if we are to let Christ enter into our hearts so fully that we can say with St. Paul, The life I live now is not my own: Christ is living in me. ... Open the doors of your hearts, in order that Christ may enter and bring you His joy. Saint John Paul II

Last Saturday morning, the 2nd Grade girls and boys in our Parish Religious Education Program received their First Holy Communion. Let us pray that these children of God open their hearts to the love and goodness that Jesus has to offer them. They deserve an extra bit of recognition - they've been waiting very patiently since May as the original date of Communion was postponed due to the Coronavirus. Congratulations to our children, their parents, and to their dedicated, har...d-working teachers. We are also very grateful to Monsignor McAree, and our Religious Education Coordinator, Mrs. Audrey Angelini, and her wonderful staff. Please see pictures below of beautiful Alexa Feroldi on her special day! May God bless you, Alexa!

Are you trying to make a choice and you don’t feel clear guidance or direction? I really want to encourage people who feel like they’re not being good Christian...s because you’ve never heard from the Lord, or He’s never spoken to you, or you don’t know what path to take. You are not alone. I want you to know that He’s never spoken to me directly either. What I realized is just because you don’t think you’ve heard an answer doesn't mean that He isn't leading you and it doesn't mean He isn’t with you. Our God is a big God with an infinite number of ways to speak to us. That’s why I say look around, listen, pay attention, because God uses so many ways to speak to us. He uses people, He uses His word to speak to us, He uses worship to speak to us... and so much more. There have been multiple times in my life where I was completely stuck in a tough situation, and I prayed and asked the Lord to show me the answer, I sought wise counsel, I talked to pastors, and He never showed me an answer! It doesn't mean that He wasn't leading me, and it doesn't mean He wasn't with me. Part of walking by faith means that we don't know His plan or the outcome. It's not about knowing God's plan. It's about following God's plan. It’s about being willing to say, "You know what, God? I don't know what your plan is, but whatever it is, I'm open to it, and I will do it.

St. Catharine's Prayer Shawl Ministry I just received a beautiful prayer shawl from St. Catharine’s Prayer Shawl Ministry. If you have ever received one of these lovely shawls, or know someone who has, you know that having a shawl wrapped around you is like receiving a hug from God. Kindness, compassion, and the love of knitting or crocheting have been combined into a prayerful ministry which reaches out to those in need of comfort. Their mission has been to create prayer ...shawls for those in our parish family and community as a gift for healing, protection, strength, courage, and to bring hope, comfort, peace, love, and prayers through the work of their hands. God bless these Lovely Ladies - Pat Airo, Marielle Beckmann, Tita Cerbolles, Amy Cicalo, Pat Connolly, Carol Crane, Janet D’Andrea, Marie Deremeik, Lora Ann DeMartino, Joan Feroldi, Maureen Fogarty, Betty Henry, Mary Katsihtis, Louise Langan, Pat Manning, Mary McCloskey, Virginia McDonald, Judy McElligott, Mary Moynihan, Audrey Mullin, Anna Pesce, Dinnie Quigley, Helen Schwarzler, Pat Vanderbeek, and Margaret Vicinus. In their 12 years of existence, these wonderful women have made over 600 beautiful handmade shawls. They also knit beautiful baby blankets as special gifts for those children baptized at St. Catharine’s. While the gatherings are on hold during the coronavirus, St. Catharine's Prayer Shawl Ministry usually meets every Thursday from 2-4:00 PM in the Lower Parish House, from September through June.

ST. TERESA OF AVILA FEAST DAY OCTOBER 15 The gift of God to Teresa of Avila in and through which she became holy and left her mark on the Church and the world is threefold: She was a woman; she was a contemplative; she was an active reformer.... As a woman, Teresa stood on her own two feet, even in the man’s world of her time. She was her own woman, entering the Carmelites despite opposition from her father. She was a person wrapped not so much in silence as in mystery. Beautiful, talented, outgoing, adaptable, courageous, enthusiastic, she was totally human. Like Jesus, she was a mystery of paradoxes: wise, yet practical; intelligent, yet much in tune with her experience; a mystic, yet an energetic reformer; a holy woman, a womanly woman. Teresa was a woman for God, a woman of prayer, discipline, and compassion. Her heart belonged to God. Her conversion was an arduous lifelong struggle, involving ongoing purification and suffering. She was misunderstood, misjudged, and opposed in her efforts at reform. Yet she struggled on, courageous and faithful; she struggled with her own mediocrity, her illness, her opposition. And, in the midst of all this, she clung to God in life and in prayer. Her writings on prayer and contemplation are drawn from her experience: powerful, practical, and graceful.