10-03-10 - St. Thomas More Church

WE ARE, OR SHOULD BE,A “RESPECT LIFE” PEOPLEWelcome to the month of October,Respect Life Month.Throughout this month, we arecalled to remember that, as God’sholy people, we are challenged totake up the cry for a respect for all life,from conception to natural death.In today’s day and age, too manypeople pick and choose the kinds ofrespect life people they are going to be. They take a lot ofthe anti-abortion efforts, a little of the stance againsteuthanasia but will embrace capital punishment and theneed to end the life of the condemned.In order to be a Respect Life people, we must embracewhat Cardinal Bernardin used to call the “seamless garmentof life.” That is, if we are true believers, we must standagainst any atrocity that attacks life: abortion, euthanasia,doctor-assisted suicide, capital punishment, poverty,starvation, genocide, war, terror, the list goes on and on.Only when we embrace the value of all human life — fromconception to natural death — will we truly be a RespectLife people.RESPECT LIFE ROSE SALEThe profits from today’s rose sale will be going to BirthChoice in Hammond. Please be generous.ANNIVERSARIES AND THE RITE OF CANDIDACYOn September 15, 2010, Bishop Melczek celebrated theRite of Candidacy at Nativity of Our Savior Parish inPortage. This Rite is one of the “steps” to ordination. Atthis Rite, the candidate commits himself to ordination andthe diocese commits itself to ordination, barring anyunforeseen circumstance.At the Rite of Candidacy, one of our parishioners, DavidKapala, committed himself to ordination to the diaconate.He is one of ten men who will be ordained deacons for thediocese next summer.This Rite took place at the annual Anniversary Mass forthe deacons of the Diocese of Gary. I take this opportunityto thank Deacon Joe Stodola, Deacon Napoleon Tabionand Deacon Dan Zurawski for their faithful service to theLord in our parish community. I also thank their wives —Joyce, Lynn, and Mary Lou — for the service that they giveto our parish as well. They are very committed couples tothe work of the Lord in our community!Happy Anniversary, Deacons Joe, Napoleon, and Dan.And congratulations, Dave. We cannot waitfor your ordination next summer!The Pastor’s PageLOOKING AHEADThe priests of the Diocese of Gary will be spending themajority of a week together October 17th through 21st at aconvocation. The topic of this year’s convocation is theliturgical changes being made beginning the First Sunday ofAdvent in 2011.As you may be aware, there are some major changescoming in the translations used during Mass. We are allgoing to have to relearn a number of our prayers.The convocation will give us an opportunity to plan atimeline to help with the education and initiation of the newchanges.After this, we will begin to have information sessions withministers on a local level as well as on a deanery level.Much more will be coming about this in the next year.Watch for future bulletin articles.ON ANOTHER NOTE, next month November 1st falls on aMonday. That is one of the Holydays of Obligation that, if itfalls on a Saturday or a Monday, loses its obligatory statusfor that year.Therefore, the only Masses on November 1st will be theregular 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. Masses. There will be no HolyDay schedule for the feast of All Saints this year.ON THE LIGHTER SIDEA lady was having a bad day at the roulette tables in LasVegas. She was down to her last $50. Exasperated, sheexclaimed, "What rotten luck! What in the world should I donow?"A man standing next to her, trying to calm her down,suggested, "I don't know... why don't you play your age?"He walked away. Moments later, his attention is grabbedby a great commotion at the roulette table. Maybe she won!He rushed back to the table and pushed his way throughthe crowd. The lady was lying limp on the floor, with thetable operator kneeling over her.The man was stunned.He asked, "What happened? Is she all right?"The operator replied, "I don't know. She put all her moneyon 29, and 36 came up. Then she fainted!"Priests and deacons have served the Diocese of Gary morethan fifty years. Others have served in the territory that isnow the Diocese of Gary. Please pray for those men whohave been called to God and whose anniversaries of deathare this week:October 5: Rev. Edmund A. Ley (1963)October 8: Rev. Michael J. Kelner (1980)October 9: Msgr. Louis W. Michalski (1974)Page 5