Feast Day of St. Jean Marie Vianney
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today, 4 August, is the feast day of two great saints. In the new calendar, today is the feast day of the holy Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney. In the old (traditional) calendar, today is the feast day of the great saint who gave us the Rosary, St. Dominic. Although separated by 600 years, these two men were cut from the same cloth. Both men lived lives of rigorous penance, with St. Dominic dying at the age of fiKy-one, "exhausted with the austerities and labors of his career" and St. Vianney dying at the age of 73. I oKen wonder how these holy men would be treated if they were alive today. Most likely, both would be charged with hate crimes because of their bold and truthful speech. Also, I can see how both of them would be excoriated by the media and possibly, by their own bishops/pope, for their “rigidity” in proclaiming the truth.
The lesson from this, my friends, is to wear such appellations as “hater” and “rigid” as badges of honor. The more you are called rigid, a hater, or not “woke” enough, rejoice for you are doing your job as a Catholic! This puts me in mind of the prophet Jeremiah, whom we have been hearing from in our first readings at Mass all week. Jeremiah was a prophet who warned Jerusalem of its coming destruction because Israel had forsaken God by worshiping the idols of Baal and burning its children as offerings to Moloch. “The nation had deviated so far from God's laws that they had broken the covenant, causing God to withdraw his blessings. Jeremiah sought to warn the nation of Judah that it would suffer famine, foreign conquest, plunder, and captivity in a land of strangers.” How history repeats itself! Today, all those who try to warn us of our sinful ways, such as legalized abortion (Moloch loves this) and rampant pornography (Baal loves this) are met with anger and oKen, violence. Is God removing His blessing, His “hedge of protection” from us because we, too, are making offerings to the demons Baal and Moloch? Only time will tell but let us not give up hope. Let us continue to fast and to pray for our Church, our country and our leaders, that they will once again follow the will of God instead of the whims of man.
—Fr. Epperson
Praying for our government leaders is an important duty that we all have, especially now that our history seems to be slowly getting erased. The prayer that you see on the left was composed by Archbishop John Carroll, who was the first bishop and archbishop in the United States, serving from 1790-1815. Let us take time every day to pray for our country, that those who govern do so in a manner that observes and respects God’s law.
Announcements
RCIA Do you want to become Catholic? Or are you Catholic but not yet Confirmed? Or do you just desire to learn more about the Catholic faith? If so, those who are 18 years or older, RCIA is the program for you. The new RCIA class will begin Sunday, September 13. Click here to obtain a general information sheet, a class schedule, and an application. You may return the completed application to the parish office before classes begin or bring it with you to the first class. We look forward to seeing you on September 13!
Confessions - Saturday 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. by Jesus statue - white lattice enclosures OR during office hours, by appointment call 542-6984.
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