Cathedral Family,
We begin so many new things in September. It is an exciting time, but a challenging time—in the wake of the tragic deaths at our sister parish Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Minneapolis-St Paul---it has been a time of sadness and vigilance on our part getting ready for our school. I am deeply grateful and proud of our school faculty and administration for all they have done to be prepared for this coming year-- -and doing it with care and joy! We opened school with 425 students—many new to our school for the first time. Please keep our school and all children returning to their schools in your prayers.
This weekend, Pope Leo XIV will canonize two new saints---St. Carlo Acutis and St. Pier Giorgio Frassati--- both youthful saints of recent history. St. Carlo only died in 2006 at the age of 14. He will be one of the youngest canonized saints! He is a saint for our times---especially for youth. Coming from a nonpracticing Catholic family---his babysitter—a Polish woman, evangelized little Carlo. She told him all the stories of the saints, the Blessed Virgin and all of the stories about Jesus. What captivated Carlo was the reality of Christ present in the Eucharist. He deeply believed that Jesus was in the Eucharist. He made it his mission to want children all over the world to know about Jesus and the Eucharist. He decided to spend all of his time setting up a website that catalogued all of the Eucharistic Miracles known around the world. His work has been shared all over the world at this point. Not only did he speak about the Eucharist and pray in front of the Eucharist, but he also was deeply concerned for the poor. He gave away his money to poor children. He wanted to share what he had with other children, saying I have so much, I have to give it to those who don’t have it. He developed leukemia in his teens and suffered greatly. He remained joyful and optimistic---offering his suffering for others. He loved St. Francis of Assisi and asked to be buried in Assisi. His tomb is there now. May St. Carlo inspire many of our youth to come to love and surrender their lives to the Lord. Next week I will write about St. Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Bishop Checchio will be celebrating a special mass for the diocese on Sunday at St. Augustine in Kendall Park. In the future, we hope to have a celebration here for these two new saints. We are seeking to evangelize our youth by offering a 5 pm mass on Sunday evening. On many nights after the mass, there will be youth nights, catechesis for confirmation and opportunities for fellowship and socializing. We must intentionally create an atmosphere where youth can experience a dynamic living Christian life. Please pray for it…more to come…
This Sunday after the 12 noon mass, we will dedicate the statue of Mary, Queen of Heaven and the Angels. The plaza and statue have been memorialized by many of our parishioners. The plaza will become more and more a place of hospitality under the mantle of the Virgin Mary---who will promote a great community for Her Son!
Stay close to the Lord these days. Let’s try to commit more time to praying before the Blessed Sacrament. Soon we will open Wednesday night for adoration. We need dedicated adorers to accomplish it. Please notify the office or Tina Rossi.
In Jesus,
Fr. Christy