I. Gratitude With Burgoo! The burgoo “giveaway” was a super and original idea to THANK YOU to our parishioners, for being so very generous during this COVID season! You have been tremendously generous to our Vincent De Paul outreach, our Cathedral food pantry, our Cathedral Soup Kitchen at the Pitino Shelter, and the parish during this unusual pandemic time. There are many churches who are running in the red, but because of your openheartedness and unselfish giving Saint Stephen Cathedral is not!
COVID-19 restrictions prevented us from offering our parishioners a free dinner this year for our annual Dedication Anniversary Celebration (we did celebrate the Eucharist and special Scripture readings), yet we wanted a way to express gratitude to our faith community. Thus the idea to offer registered parishioners a free half gallon or gallon of burgoo as a special way of saying thank you for being members of our parish family was born.
The willing spirit of many volunteers and the beautiful weather contributed to a successful burgoo event! In all, more than 40 volunteers worked to plan, prepare and cook the delicious burgoo, and work at the drive-through distribution. A crew of volunteers gathered last Friday and Saturday to prepare and cook up a delicious batch; another crew handled the distribution on Saturday and Sunday. The success of this project is due to the time, talent, and work of many hands! Special thanks to Kathryn Wimsatt, Garry Pierce and Donna Tarantino, who worked tirelessly to wrangle countless details, and to Glenn Thompson (Burgoo Master!) who led the 2-day cooking process again this year. Thank you to all who helped in any way; you are greatly appreciated! Our AWESOME volunteers include the following (hope we haven’t overlooked anyone!): Donna Duffy, photographer; Jim Duffy, Todd Johnson, Matt Lisby, Mark & Martha Sims, Deuce Sims, Randy Kamuf, Bennie Blandford, Tom Neal, John Hein, Ben & Kelsey Rhodes, Randy Clemens, Luke Riney, Bill Riney, Chris Zoglmann, Phil Hurley, Bill McCarty, Tommy Grant, Aaron Overbeck, Alex Johnson, John, Chrissy, & Tom Kurtz, Lawrence Armendarez, Joe & Kim Harris, Debbie Osborne, Lloyd & Mary Helen Nash, Elmo Thompson, John Clayton, Martha House, Bob Stone, Duncan & Samantha Kaai, David Hemingway, and Father Sinoj.
We are grateful to God for you, our faithful parishioners, and for all the people of faith who have been part of our Cathedral community, “upon his shoulders we stand tall.” Thank you! Grazie! Danka! Merci! Gracias!
II. The Rosary, A Tried and True Devotion! Most major world religions are enriched by a “mantra” type of praying; the rosary has its origins based in the monastic life of the Church, and specifically in monks praying the 150 Psalms. The rosary (crown of roses) is a humble, practical, powerful means of contemplation. “The rosary is medicine for the spiritual help of our souls and for spreading love, forgiveness, and brotherhood everywhere” (Pope Francis). The feast of our Lady of the Rosary is Wednesday, October 7—we will celebrate Mass at 7:00am and 12:05pm (noon). Traditionally, October is the month when praying the rosary is emphasized. The Joyful, Sorrowful, Luminous, and Glorious mysteries of the rosary shed light upon the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and the key role of Mary, His mother, in the story of salvation history. Why not learn more about this tried and true devotion during the month of October? Why not pray the rosary individually or as a family during the month of October? Pray the rosary slowly and meditatively. Rosaries, and pamphlets with the mysteries, and how to pray the rosary, are at the Church doors during the month of October, thanks to our Cathedral Rosary Makers Ministry. Help yourself!
III. The Call to Simplicity & Detachment: As the son of a wealthy Italian, an Assisi merchant, Francis (1182–1226) was destined for grand homes, exquisite clothing, and fine food—the “good life.” After a conversion experience, he relinquished his wealth and the trappings of this world to minister to lepers and preach to the spiritually hungry. His home was the earth; his clothing, humility; and his identity, that of an impoverished beggar seeking God. Many young men joined Francis in this “new way of life,” leading to the foundation of the frati minori (“lesser brothers”), which eventually became known as the Friars Minor. One of the most popular saints in Church history, he showed an outstanding love of creation as exemplified in his famous “Canticle of the Sun.” We are blessed to have a Pope who embraces not only his name, but also the values of St. Francis of Assisi, and to have several Franciscan Sisters ministering in our Diocese, including Sr. Consolata, Sr. Anthonia, (and their visiting sister, Sr. Clementina Obembe) as members of the Saint Stephen Cathedral faith community. October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, falls on Sunday this year, therefore, the Scripture readings will be that of the 27th Sunday of ordinary time. What is it about this saint that still attracts and challenges us?
WHAT FRUIT MAY GOD EXPECT FROM US?
IV. Peter’s Pence Collection: This Sunday you are asked to support the Good works of the Holy Father by contributing to the Peter’s Pence Collection. This collection should have been taken up in June, but, in case you haven’t heard, we are still in a pandemic. Thank you for your prayerful consideration to helping the successor of Peter carry out missionary work and spreading the Gospel of Christ