St. Paul of the Cross, Pray for Us.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I’d like to touch on a topic today that is not just a contemporary one, for it seems to pop up from time to time throughout history; namely, priests and politics. Please contemplate the true story below!
Should Priests Stay Out Of Politics? A True Story:
“Though born in this country, at the age of ten, my mother had the great misfortune of being moved from the bustling city of Providence in Rhode Island, to a tiny hamlet in the mountains just outside of Naples. … Almost a century later, I still sleep on the lamb’s wool pillows from her lambs. But the pillows are not all I have left … I also have her true stories and the characters in them. And the character that stood solidly athwart all her stories, was the local parish priest, Don Modesto. Striding around in his black cassock, he seemed a giant of a man when she arrived there in the Twenties. But he never seemed more fearless than when the Nazis came and occupied the town. One day in 1944, one of the Italian partisans hiding in the mountains killed a German soldier. Immediately the Nazis rounded up 10 men in the town, the usual procedure being to shoot ten men for every German soldier killed. Since all the able-bodied men were either hiding out with the partisans, or already lost to the war, that leI only old men and young boys for the Nazis to collect.
Immediately, their wives, daughters and mothers flew to Don Modesto to beg for his intercession with the Nazis. Don Modesto didn’t hesitate for a moment. With his cassock flapping around him, he ran to the local barracks where the Nazis had taken up their quarters and demanded to speak to the commander in charge. When faced with the man in charge and his interpreter, Don Modesto explained that, if the Germans wanted to punish the whole town, they should shoot him. “I am the only priest – the bishop will not be able to replace me for months or years. If you shoot these old men and boys, you punish only 10 families. If you take me, you punish the whole town.” Don Modesto must have been pretty persuasive because the German commander let the old men and boys go and took him into custody. My mother said that no one ever knew if it was the sound of the approaching Allied guns, if the commander feared a general revolt among the locals, or if the commander himself was uneasy about shooting a priest, but, for whatever reason, Don Modesto was not shot, and he lived to see the liberation of the town by the Allies. But my mother’s story didn’t end there. In 1948, a general election happened in Italy, and it was the Communists against the Christian Party. Don Modesto was standing around in the town square attempting to persuade people to vote for the Christian Party. To the general applause of the men standing around him, one of the local pundits called out to the priest, “Hey Don Modesto! You’re a priest – you’re not supposed to get involved in politics!” Don Modesto calmly turned to face the men. “Oh?” He said, “I’m not supposed to get involved in politics? And when your mothers and wives came running to me to save your fathers and your sons, was I not supposed to get involved in politics then?” Sheepishly the men lowered their heads and leI the square. The Christian Party carried the town by a landslide. It was my mom’s favorite story.”
—Fr. Epperson
Announcements
ADORATION FOR OUR NATION Catholic parishes around our nation are organizing a special day of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, on November 3rd. Our nation is so terribly divided and anxious about the up-coming election; therefore, let us spend, on election day, at least 15 minutes before the Lord, to humbly ask for healing of our nation and an election result that is pleasing to His Will. Because the Adoration Chapel remains closed, adoration now takes place outside of the east entrance/window of the PLC, in the parking lot area, from 8:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Please come and pray as though your life depended on it, for it very well may.
ROSARY NOVENA AT THE GROTTO Join us at the Fatima Grotto near the East Entrance of the Cathedral at 6:00 p.m. from October 26 – November 3, in praying a Rosary for our Country and our Church.
MONTH OF ALL SOULS November is the month that we remember our beloved dead. Memorial envelopes were made available at all Masses last weekend. Please bring the envelopes back this weekend, October 24-25, and place them in the collection basket (there will be only one collection taken this weekend.) You can also drop them off at the Parish Office by noon, Friday, October 30th. All envelopes collected will remain on the altar throughout the entire month and those whose names are on them will be remembered in prayer each day.
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