This coming week sees the launch of our Confirmation and adult catechesis (OCIA) classes, on Wednesday and Thursday night (respectively). By the way, if you or your child(ren) are planning on attending, please be sure to register – you can use the links above to find the online registration forms. For everyone, please pray for our students. We are excited to meet the youth and adults who come to discover and explore the faith with us. It’s going to be a blast!
Over the last week I’ve found myself in various conversations involving plans for various gatherings of friends. One group of parishioners shared with me that they are starting a D&D campaign (I’m quite jealous!), another shared about their hosting of family over the holidays, and so on. All of these reminded me of how we must actually make time for and actively pursue opportunities like these! And its got me thinking about how we might do that at Saint Mark parish. Expect more on this front soon!
But if you’re looking for a bit of light-hearted fellowship, you don’t have to wait! This week Saint Mark Catholic Classical School is partnering with Domino’s Pizza. From 4pm to 7pm this Tuesday (October 24) 30% of all sales will go to our school. If you’re looking for an excuse to buy pizza, this is it! And what better way to kick-start a gathering of friends and/or family than with a pizza (or two) that you don’t have to cook yourself! I’ll be stopping by the Domino’s pizza at Ballinger Way myself to do just that 😏
Whether you indulge in pizza (or other food that Domino’s offers!), I hope you have a week filled with many blessings & graces. Rest assured of my prayers for you.
yours in Christ,
Father Maurer
P.S. If you’re on Facebook, you may have heard about an accident involving one of our archdiocesan priests, Father Thomas Tran. Happily, he has returned home and is doing the work of recovery. In your kindness, please continue to pray for him and his parish community.
October 22 – Though Sunday celebrations generally trump lower ranked feasts, today’s memorial of Pope Saint John Paul II is one that I can’t fail to acknowledge. As with so many others of my generation, he was the pope for a significant portion of my life.
This photo of him in his papal cassock while making finger glasses encapsulates the impression he made on so many of us. Contrary to the assertions of the world, Pope John Paul II demonstrated how faithfulness to Christ and His Church went hand-in-hand with joyfully living in the world with Christians & non-Christians alike. Father Billy Swan over at Word on Fire has a lovely reflection on this theme.
October 23 – Today is the memorial of Saint John of Capistrano, a Franciscan friar of the fourteenth century, he turned from secular power struggles and dedicated his life to Franciscan spirituality. As a Franciscan, he worked to return the community to strict observance of the Rule of Saint Francis. Read more about him at Loyola Press.
October 24 – Saint Anthony Claret, whose memorial we celebrate today, was a young man when he turned away from his father’s manufacturing trade to pursue religious life. Though he initially wanted to be a Carthusian hermit, he realized that the Lord was calling him to priesthood – first as parish priest and later as a missionary, work that proved to be specially blessed and fruitful Read more about him and his life at Franciscan Media.
October 28 – Apart from what little is mentioned in the New Testament about them, little is known about Saints Simon & Jude, whose feast day is today. Simon the Zealot (or ‘the Cananean’, which is a translation of the Aramaic word meaning ‘zealot’) would have been one deeply committed to his Jewish identity – even to the point of deep opposition of the Romans, who greatly oppressed his people. Jude – who the scriptures are careful to distinguish from Judas Iscariot – is perhaps best known for his question to Jesus about His revelation of Himself to the world (John 14:22).
Despite what little we know of them now, the Lord nonetheless chose them to be among those He would entrust to proclaim the Gospel to the world! A helpful reminder to each of us that there each of us is chosen deliberately and for a purpose in God’s grand plan! Read a little more about Saints Simon & Jude at the Vatican News website.