October Devotion

10-02-2020Weekly Flocknote MessageFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

Welcome to the beautiful month of October. The month of October is quite unique for several reasons. Living here in Arizona, the month of October has become one of my most favorite months of the year, mostly because of the beautiful weather that is neither too hot or too cold. In the Catholic Church, the month of October is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Month of the Rosary, commonly known as “October Devotion.” The Church encourages every Catholic to make an effort to pray the Rosary every day throughout the month of October. There is a very rich history behind the October Devotion. This can be traced back to the origin of the Rosary in 1206. At that time, the Church was in crisis as the result of the influence of Albigensian heresy. It was then that the Blessed Mother introduced the Rosary to St. Dominic in a vision as a powerful weapon to defeat the heresy that plagued the Church.

As a result of the pandemic, our parish Rosary Group is not able to pray the Rosary in person before the daily Mass this year. However, I still encourage everyone to remember to pray the Rosary daily, individually or as a family.

There are several events taking place throughout the Diocese during the month of October. Significant among them is the Catholics in the Public Square Legislative Seminar to be hosted virtually by Bishop Olmsted on October 3rd. This event will be livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.

Another significant event is the Arizona Rosary Celebration taking place on Sunday, October 18 from 2:00-4:00pm. The Theme for this year is, Celebrate Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. Bishop Olmsted will be presiding, and the event will include a recorded message from Auxiliary Bishop Rodriguez of the Archdiocese of Denver. Due to the pandemic, the Arizona Rosary will be virtual this year. Find out more here: dphx.org/event/arizona-rosary-celebration.

Blessing of Pets

October 4th is the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, a day when many people traditionally have their pets blessed. Unfortunately, October 4th falls on Sunday this year. As a result, our St. John Bosco School community will observe their symbolic blessing of pets on Friday, October 2nd, right after the morning Mass. We will have the general blessing of pets for all parishioners on Saturday, October 3 at 10:00am on the north side of the church. Please hold and stay with your pets. Remember to bring cats and dogs in particular on a leash or be ready to separate fights.

The blessing of pets on the feast of St. Francis is not an official practice of the Church but more of a private devotion. It originated from the biography of St. Francis which shows that he loved animals so much that he calls them brothers and sisters. There are so many stories about St. Francis’s friendship with animals. One of the most famous stories about him holds that he tamed a wolf that used to terrorize the people of Gubbio village by just appealing to the wolf and asking it to be friendly with the people. Find out more here: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-francis-of-assisi/.

Click here for a list of our upcoming events.

Have a wonderful weekend and Remain Blessed.

Fr. James Aboyi, VC
Pastor