October invites us to reflect on Respect Life, Rosary, the Life of St. Francis and much more...

October invites us to reflect on Respect Life, the Rosary, the life of St. Francis, and much more…
First of all, let us wish our St. Francis parishioners, a happy and joyful Feast of St. Francis. Feast of St. Francis of Assis is on October 4th, but we celebrate on Sunday, October 2nd. St. Francis of Assis loved the whole universe. The custom of blessing animals originated from St. Francis’ love for all creatures. Animals used to come and listen to his preaching. How beautiful is it to begin the month of October, respect life month, by reflecting on St. Francis’ love for all God’s creation.
I think in 2019, most of us watched the movie, "Unplanned." After the movie, I said, what a powerful    message. Why is it powerful because it involves real life? Life matters. The month of October is the month of respect life and the month of the rosary. This year, the theme for the respect life is "Called to serve moms in need." Every moment of our life from womb to tomb is a gift from God and He is our Hope. Every     season of our life encounters challenges—moments of being vulnerable, but those vulnerabilities give us the opportunity to grow closer to Christ who is our Hope. As I mentioned above, October is the month of the Rosary, a devotion to our Mother Mary, which connects with respect life month. When we meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary, we walk through the life of Jesus: from the very moment of his conception in the womb of Mary, through his passion death, and resurrection to his ascension and coming of the Holy Spirit. He restored the dignity of our life. Through his salvific action, we received the dignity of life.
In this month of October, let us pray for life: life from the womb to the tomb. During the first week, we pray and pray for unborn babies, mothers, and babies aborted and for the healing of their parents. In the  second week, we will be praying for/with people with different abilities (disabilities). We call it Inclusion Awareness Sunday. If you know someone who has not received the Sacrament at an appropriate age, please call Kathy Rominske, and Sandy Kennedy, as we can prepare them for the Sacraments.
October 18th is also the feast of St. Luke, who was a physician and patron saint of the medical profession. On the Third Sunday close to the Feast of St. Luke, we pray for all those who are sick, the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of the Sick, and offer a special prayer for the caregivers and healthcare professionals. On the fourth Sunday, we celebrate World Mission Sunday. Pope Francis wrote in his 2017 message, “Carrying out our mission, let us draw inspiration from Mary, Mother of Evangelization. Moved by the Spirit, she welcomed the Word of Life in the depths of her humble faith.” On the fifth Sunday, we meditate and pray for domestic violence and human trafficking. Again, an opportunity to reflect on the dignity of life in our day-to-day life.
Twenty-seventh Sunday, the reading invites us to reflect on faith and its effect on our life. St. Thomas Aquinas writes, “To one who has Faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without Faith, no explanation is possible.” In the first reading Habakkuk begins by complaining to the Lord: why doesn’t God do         anything about violence and injustice? If we continue reading the following passage we will see God’s    response, saying that he is preparing the Babylonians to come and destroy the evil doers and the prophet acknowledges the divine judgment.
In the Gospel reading, the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith”.  Faith is a gift from God. We need to nourish our faith through reading/listening to the Word of God and receiving the Sacraments and putting them into practice. Our faith is alive when focused on the love of God and neighbor and grows when our prayers and actions are driven by charity. Jesus told his disciples, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.”
Do we ask God to increase our faith? Have you noticed things happened even when we questioned or doubted? God is always beside us, let us ask him to increase our faith.