September is here. Amazing!!! Where did the summer go? With this month comes a spirit of freshness…the school year begins, organizations hold meetings, the Patriots start a brand new season. Listen to the song Holy Wisdom, Lamp of Learning (bit.ly/LampofLearning) to capture this sense of renewal. On the other hand, we experience constancy in our Church life as we continue to celebrate the Season of Ordinary Time. During September, we will listen to Sunday gospels which tell of Jesus’ mighty deeds and Jesus’ words that help us to become better disciples. This month, along with Jesus’ disciples, we are also asked the question “Who do you say that I am?” The daily and Sunday Mass readings are always available at bible.usccb.org; you can prepare for the Sunday readings at liturgy.slu.edu.
The Season of Creation begins on Sunday, September 1, which is the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. You can read Pope Francis’ message to the Universal Church on the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation at bit.ly/PFCreation2024. The Celebration Guide for the Season of Creation (found on the Season of Creation website, seasonofcreation.org), reminds us that this is an ecumenical event, stating that “the Christian family unites for this worldwide celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home.” The theme for this year’s Season of Creation is “To Hope and Act with Creation”. You can learn more about the Season at its website (seasonofcreation.org ). The Season of Creation runs from September 1 to October 4, the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi.
September 15 is Catechetical Sunday here in the United States. This year’s theme is “Lord, when did we see you hungry”, a quote from Chapter 25 of Matthew’s gospel. (Information about this year’s theme is at bit.ly/Hunger2024.) As Catholics, we are called to put our faith into action, inviting others to share our faith in Jesus Christ. The US Bishops’ webpage about Catechetical Sunday (bit.ly/USCCBCatSun) states that “[c]atechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. Catechetical Sunday is an opportunity for all to rededicate themselves to this mission as a community of faith.” Let’s take this message to heart and carry out our mission as members of our parish of St. Mary’s in Franklin. One concrete way to do this is to participate in the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s Friends of the Poor Walk/Run on September 28; see the webpage at bit.ly/FriendsWalk2024.
This month we begin our study of the Book of Genesis, the very first book in our Bible. Join us in learning the stories and lessons of this book. Our first session is on Monday, September 9 at 11:00; we will meet on most Mondays up to the week before Thanksgiving. The sessions are held in the third floor chapel at Magnolia Heights (485 East Central Street). Contact our parish pastoral associate, Leo Racine, at pastoralassociate@stmarysfranklin.org or 508-528-0020 for more information and to register. If you are interested in hearing the Bible read to you in 365 daily episodes by Fr. Mike Schmitz, who also prays with the Scriptures and provides a helpful commentary, you can go to bit.ly/BIYms, the Ascension Press site of the Bible in a Year podcast.
September is the month in which we observe National Migration Week (September 23-29) and the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (September 29). These two observances, the first being sponsored by the US Bishops’ Conference and the second by the Vatican, underscore the need for us to “engage in prayer, reflection, and action on behalf of our brothers and sisters who are forced to flee their homes” (bit.ly/USCCBMigration2024). You’ll find numerous resources on this USCCB site to help you to understand the Church’s position on immigration; you can also read an explanation of the idea of accompaniment and its place in the Church. The Pope’s message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees can be found at bit.ly/migrants2024; the theme the Pope has chosen for this year’s observance is “God walks with His people”.
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