One great opportunity is to join Fr. Joseph and myself tomorrow (Friday, October 6) for a very special Candlelight Rosary Procession from the State Capital to the Cathedral of St. Paul. Line up begins at 6:30 pm and the procession starts at 7:00 pm. Following the Rosary Procession, at approximately 8:30 pm join fellow Catholics from around the Twin Cities for Cor Jesu, an evening of Adoration and Benediction with Archbishop Hebda presiding, worship, music, and Confession. Plus, you will have an opportunity to venerate first-class relics of St. Thérèse and her parents, Saints Louis and Zelie Martin.
We also honor St. Therese of Lisieux this month as it is the 150th anniversary of her birth. We recently had a donation of two new stained glass windows of St. Therese as well as of her parents, St. Louis and St. Zelie Martin. These two windows will be blessed by Bishop Izen at the end of the 10:30 am Mass on Sunday, October 15. (See below for more details.) These inspiring saints help us to see that holiness is meant to be lived out in the family. Parents are to help their children become saints and children are to help their parents become saints. As we see growth in the number of families at Mass, especially on Sunday mornings, and growth in our School, we entrust our SJB family to the saintly Martin family. May we all grow in holiness as we reflect the love of Christ in the home as they did.
Not only are families a place for growth in holiness, so are small groups. We began at the end of September the Small Group Leader Training formation for seventy-one parishioners and staff. It is exciting to see their willingness to learn the skills to share their faith and support others growth in holiness. Please pray for all those going through our formation, that they may be formed and equipped to share the love and goodness of Jesus Christ with their circle of influence.
For the last three years, I have been part of men’s small groups at SJB and it has truly blessed my ministry and me personally. Three of men from the small groups joined me for a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. It was beautiful to pray together with these men as well as fish and enjoy God’s creation. I’m very grateful the Lord blessed us with good fishing and I brought home some fresh walleyes for a fish fry with my own family.
