Today is the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Readings:

Amos 6:1, 4-7
Psalm 146:7-10
1 Timothy 6:11-16
Luke 16:19-31

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa (Courtesy of Zenit)

St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)

St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

On the weekend of October 13th and 14th, there will be a reverse collection for the Food Pantry. At that time, you will be able to pick up a slip of paper which lists items that are needed for the Food Pantry.

Until then, please consider bringing the following items: tuna, peanut butter, soup, canned fruits, canned vegetables, toilet paper, and shampoo. All of these are much needed in order to keep up our supply.

Today is the memorial of St. Vincent de Paul who is the patron of our diocese.

St. Vincent de Paul was a great apostle of charity, and brought a great revival of the priesthood in the 17th century. He was born near Dax in the Landes (France) in 1581. As a young priest he was captured by Moorish pirates who carried him to Africa. He was sold into slavery, but freed in 1607 when he converted his owner.

Having returned to France, he became successively a parish priest and chaplain to the galley-slaves. He founded a religious Congregation under the title of Priests of the Mission or Lazarists (now known as Vincentians), and he bound them by a special way to undertake the apostolic work of charity; he sent them to preach missions, especially to the ignorant peasants of that time, and to establish seminaries.

In order to help poor girls, invalids, and the insane, sick and unemployed, he and St. Louise de Marillac founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity, now better known as the Sisters of St. Vincent.

St. Vincent worked tirelessly to help those in need: the impoverished, the sick, the enslaved, the abandoned, the ignored. He died in 1660 at St. Lazarus's house, Paris. His motto: "God sees you."

"Let us love God; but at the price of our hands and sweat of our face." Source

Here is a prayer to him.

Dear Saint, the mere mention of your name suggests a litany of your virtues: humility, zeal, mercy, self-sacrifice. It also recalls your many foundations: Works of Mercy, Congregations, Societies. And the Church gratefully remembers your promotion of the priesthood. Inspire all Charitable Workers, especially those who minister to the poor - both the spiritually and the materially poor. Amen Source

More Information:

From the Catholic Encylopedia

From the Catholic Calendar of Saints

From EWTN

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Tomorrow, September 26th, will mark the beginning of 40 days of prayer, fasting, peaceful vigil, and community outreach to help bring an end to abortion. Men, women, and children from various backgrounds and faiths will unite together in Charlottesville to provide a witness to the Gospel of Life. The Charlottesville community will be united with our brothers and sisters across the nation in 89 cities in 33 states who are participating in similar 40 Days for Life campaigns.

A goal of the campaign is to peacefully reach out to the community and share a point-of-view about abortion that considers both the woman and her child.

We believe we can love both women and babies and that abortion is not a real solution to women's problems of poverty, lack of partner support, fear of losing a job, or fear of giving up the chance at education.

We want our neighbors to think about how we treat the vulnerable--women in crisis pregnancies and unborn children--and think about ways we can better support women who would like to keep their babies or who would like to put them up for adoption but for economic or social reasons feel they have no choice but abortion.

If a woman chooses abortion because she fears losing her job, due to inflexible policies at that company, is it really a choice? If a woman chooses abortion because her boyfriend or husband will throw her out of the house, is that a free choice? If a woman chooses abortion because she doesn't want to interrupt her education, we ask, why must she choose between her baby and her education?

We challenge our society to love them both--to love both women and babies--and to enact policies and social programs that show that love. We ask our faith community to step up and support the non-profit groups that we already have in our area that provide housing, economic support, food, diapers, clothing, parenting classes, job skills classes, help with education, and other services to women (and babies) in need. We ask our local businesses and schools to rethink their policies that relate to pregnant women in the workplace and to working mothers and fathers and to ask if their policies support a truly free choice for women. Women should not have to choose between their children and their job or their education. Source

At the heart of the campaign is prayer. Accordingly, there are specific intentions for prayer that everyone can remember during the day whether they are able to physically be present at the vigil or not. Today's campaign prayer intention is:

Pray that the Body of Christ unites together in prayer and fasting across America -- and around the world -- through 40 Days for Life.

For more information, visit the 40 Days for Life Charlottesville Web site where you can sign up to participate.

Today is the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Readings:

Amos 8:4-7
Psalm 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8
1 Timothy 2:1-8
Luke 16:1-13

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa (Courtesy of Zenit)

St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)

St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

September 29th is the Feast of the Archangels. Here are three novenas to the archangels St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael.

To learn more about these three archangels, click here.

St. Michael the Archangel, loyal champion of God and His people, I turn to you with confidence and seek your powerful intercession. For the love of God, Who made you so glorious in grace and power, and for the love of the Mother of Jesus, the Queen of the Angels, be pleased to hear my prayer. You know the value on my soul in the eyes of God. May no stain of evil ever disfigure its beauty. Help me to conquer the evil spirit who tempts me. I desire to imitate your loyalty to God and Holy Mother Church and your great love for God and people. And since you are God's messenger for the care of his people, I entrust to you this special request: (Mention your request).

St. Michael, since you are, by the Will of the Creator, the powerful intercessor of Christians, I have great confidence in your prayers. I earnestly trust that if it is God's holy Will, my petition will be granted.

Pray for me, St. Michael, and also for those I love. Protect us in all dangers of body and soul. Help us in our daily needs. Through your powerful intercession, may we live a holy life, die a happy death, and reach heaven where we may praise and love God with you forever. Amen.

---

St. Gabriel the Archangel, I venerate you as the "Angel of the Incarnation," because God has specially appointed you to bear the messages concerning the God-Man to Daniel, Zechariah, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Give me a tender and devoted Mother, more like your own.

I venerate you also as the "strength from God," because you are the giver of God's strength, consoler and comforter chosen to strengthen God's faithful and to teach them important truths. I ask for the grace of a special power of the will to strive for holiness of life. Steady my resolutions, renew my courage, comfort and console me in the problems, trials, and sufferings of daily living, as you consoled our Savior in His agony and Mary in her sorrows and Joseph in his trials. I put my confidence in you.

St. Gabriel, I ask you especially for this favor: (Mention your request). Through your earnest love for the Son of God-Made-Man and for His blessed Mother, I beg of you, intercede for me that my request may be granted, if it be God's holy Will.

Pray for us, St. Gabriel the Archangel. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us Pray. Almighty and ever-living God, since You chose the Archangel Gabriel from among all the Angels to announce the mystery of Your Son's Incarnation, mercifully grant that we who honor him on earth may feel the benefit of his patronage in heaven. You live and reign for ever. Amen.

---

Holy Archangel Raphael, standing so close to the throne of God and offering Him our prayers, I venerate you as God's special Friend and Messenger. I choose you as my Patron and wish to love and obey you as young Tobiah did. I consecrate to you my body and soul,all my work, and my whole life. I want you to be my Guide and Counselor in all the dangerous and difficult problems and decisions of my life.

Remember, dearest, St. Raphael, that the grace of God preserved you with the good Angels in heaven when the proud ones were cast into hell. I entreat you, therefore, to help me in my struggle against the world, the spirit of impurity, and the devil. Defend me from all dangers and every occasion of sin. Direct me always in the way of peace, safety, and salvation. Offer my prayers to God as you offered those of Tobiah, so that through your intercession I may obtain the graces necessary for the salvation of my soul. I ask you to pray that God grant me this favor if it be His holy Will: (Mention your request).

St. Raphael, help me to love and serve my God faithfully, to die in His grace, and finally to merit to join you in seeing and praising God forever in heaven. Amen.

In the most recent bulletin, Fr. Dennis mentioned how the capital campaign money that has already been received is being used to provide much needed upgrades to the existing parish facilities.

Thanks to your generosity our Capital Campaign has provided the funds to begin our renovation and repair phase. We have repaired the church roof and gutters. An exterior wall of the Commons that was causing water to cascade into the basement has been repaired. We are under contract to have the church doors stripped and refinished. A set of temporary doors will be hung while the work is being completed. An office for Bernie has been created. Her office, my office and the reception area has been painted; carpeted and new ceiling tiles have been installed. New furniture has been purchased and new blinds will be installed within a few weeks. The first floor bathrooms have been repainted. The meeting room downstairs is being divided. Both rooms will be used for meetings. When we are able to purchase property, the smaller room will become the music office. These two rooms have had dry wall placed over the cinder blocks and will be carpeted. New chairs have arrived. The chapel is now ready to serve the over flow from Mass. The chapel has been painted and a monitor has been installed. New chairs have been ordered.

When we have acquired property, the nursery will be created behind the back sanctuary wall and the downstairs will have a large storage room for outreach and the dividers will be removed.

Thank you for your continued support of our Capital Campaign.

We would like to welcome the new music minister William Polhill, III. Bill, as he prefers to be called, has a B.A. in Architectural History from the University, and he also holds a Masters of Music from the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. He is accomplished in the piano, oboe, voice, and of course, the organ. Bill brings a wealth of experience in directing church and school choirs. He also has performance experience from his organ and voice recitals. He will begin his ministry at our parish on the first weekend of October.

The memorial of St. Vincent de Paul is September 27th. Here is a novena in honor of this saint who is the patron of our diocese.

O Glorious Saint Vincent de Paul,
the mention of your name suggests a litany of your virtues:
humility, zeal, mercy, self-sacrifice.
It also recalls your many foundations:
Works of Mercy, Congregations, Societies.

The Church gratefully remembers your promotion of the priesthood.
Inspire all Charitable Workers,
especially those who minister,
to both the spiritually and the materially poor.

O Lord, give us the grace that You bestowed upon,
your servant St. Vincent de Paul,
to relinquish the temptation of material things,
in our holy effort to minister to the poor.

Amen.

One Our Father, One Hail Mary, One Glory Be

There will be a 40 Days For Life meeting today Monday, September 17th at 7:30 p.m. in Room 12 at St. Thomas Aquinas. The meeting will provide information about the 40 Days for Life campaign in Charlottesville.

Briefly, the 40 Days for Life Campaign is an ecumenical movement of prayer, fasting, peaceful vigil, and community outreach in defense of life. Over the days from September 26th through November 4th, people from throughout the Charlottesville area will come together as a community to pray and fast for an end to abortion in our city and throughout the nation. The peaceful vigil will be held outside of the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic on 2964 Hydraulic Road in Charlottesville.

To keep up with the latest on the campaign, contact Diane Gigantino Baltz at cvillerespectlife@gmail.com or by calling 760-2916 or visit the Charlottesville 40 Days for Life Web site. On the site, you can sign up to receive regular email updates.

Here are some of the upcoming events for September 17th through September 23rd. Click here to view the parish calendar for this month.

Note, there is no 8:00 a.m. Mass on Monday, September 17th.

• Finance Council Meeting: Tuesday, September 18th, 4:00 p.m.


• Catholic Moms United in Prayer: Wednesday, September 19th, 11:00 a.m.


• Worship Committee Meeting: Thursday, September 20th, 4:30 p.m.


• Christian Formation: Sunday, September 23rd, 9:30 a.m.


• RCIA: Sunday, September 23rd, 9:30 a.m.

Today is the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Readings:

Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa (Courtesy of Zenit)

St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)

St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

The bulletin for September 16, 2007 is available by clicking here to view it.

Listed below are a few of the items from this week's bulletin. See the bulletin for more details and to read all of the announcements.

If you would like to receive the parish bulletin via email, click here.

CHRISTIAN FORMATION: Catechists are still needed for a number of teaching positions. Please see the bulletin for more details about how you can help with passing on our Catholic Faith. For more information about volunteering, contact Teresa Ritzert, Coordinator of Religious Education, by calling 295-6559 or via email at tritzert@holycomforterparish.org.

WORSHIP: Greeters are needed for the 5:00 PM Saturday mass and the 8:30 AM Sunday mass. Training is provided. For more information, call Jim Morrisard at 973-6570 or, call the parish office at 295-7185.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS: The next meeting of the Knights of Columbus will be Monday, September 17th at the Stone Chapel on the grounds of the Church of the Incarnation (located behind Toys 'R' Us on Route 29). The recitation of the Rosary will be at 7:15 PM followed by the business meeting at 7:30 PM. Plan to come and bring a brother Knight. NOTE: If you are interested in becoming a knight or learning more about the Knights of Columbus, call Jim Morrisard, Tom O'Rourke, or Joe Murray.

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP: The continuing discussion of Pope Benedict's book, Jesus of Nazareth, will meet Friday, September 21st at 2 PM at Barbara Morin's house. New members are invited. Call 973-7721 for directions and/or any additional information.

HAITIAN RETREATS: Two diocesan immersion retreats to Haiti are being planned for 2007/2008. The trips are designed for individuals to be immersed into Haiti by giving them the opportunity to learn about its history, culture, economics, politics and religion and to begin establishing relationships with the people of Haiti. Taking this trip to Haiti is not a tourist visit but rather it is a pilgrimage. It is the carving out in our lives a holy space and time to be open to the gifts of Haiti and the transformation of God. The first trip will be Dec. 1-9 2007 and the second will be July 12 - 19 2008. For an application and more information please call or email Patrice Schwermer at 804-622-5129 or pschwermer@richmonddiocese.org

FOOD PANTRY: The monthly food collection will resume in October. In the meantime, please continue to be generous and drop off non-perishable food and toilet articles to help those in our community who are in need.

If you signed up to receive the weekly bulletin email and you are no longer receiving it, it might be because your email is rejecting the weekly bulletin email.

To correct this, you should add the email address subscribe.news@holycomforter.org to the list of accepted email addresses in your email. This is the email address from which the weekly bulletin emails are sent. Once you add this email address to the list of accepted email addresses, your email should stop rejecting the weekly bulletin emails.

If you have any questions, send an email to subscribe.news@holycomforter.org.

For information on how to receive the bulletin via email, click here.

On Wednesday, September 26th, the St. Anselm Institute will present a lecture entitled The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Christian Life presented by Mother Assumpta Long, O.P. The lecture will be held at 5:00 p.m. at Monroe Hall, Room 110, on grounds at the University.

Mother Mary Assumpta Long, O.P. is the Prioress General and one of four founding members of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Community has grown from four to 73 sisters since its foundation ten years ago in February 1997, and presently has sisters teaching in three dioceses. Mother Assumpta holds a S.T.L. in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. She has formerly served as President of the Forum of Major Superiors and has also served on various boards, including the Institute on Religious Life. (From the St. Anselm Institute)

This is the first in a series of lectures to be hosted by the St. Anselm Institute during the 2007-2008 academic year. For more information, click here.

For a map of the University, click here.

This past spring during Lent and Easter, videos by Fr. John Corapi on the Catechism of the Catholic Church were shown as part of Adult Formation. If you enjoyed those videos and would like to see them again or you have heard about them and would like to view them, you might consider the Catholicism 101 group at St. Thomas Aquinas:

CATHOLICISM 101: A study group on the Catechism of the Catholic Church with video presentations by Fr. John Corapi meets selected Saturdays at 10 AM in the Community Room of St Thomas Aquinas Church. The next sessions will be "Virtue and the Reality of Sin" on the 15th of September and "Sin and Human Vocation" on the 6th of October. For info contact sackandpam@comcast.net.

For more information on Fr. John Corapi, visit his Web site by clicking here.

As was noted in a previous post, you can help support Charlottesville Catholic School (CCS) simply by shopping at your local grocery store.

There is only one simple step to take in order to have local stores' give money to CCS. For each store card that you use, you must designate CCS as the school associated with your store card. Even if you did this last year, you must do it again this year because there is no carryover of school designation from one academic year to the next.

To help support CCS, visit the customer service counter at the grocery store or visit the following Web sites:

• Food Lion


• Giant


• Harris Teeter (Enter School Code 2627)


• Kroger (Check with Customer Service)

Here are some of the upcoming events for September 10th through September 16th. Click here to view the parish calendar for this month.

• Justice & Peace Committee Meeting: Monday, September 10th, 7:00 p.m.


• Pastoral Council Meeting: Monday, September 10th, 7:00 p.m.


• Pastoral Care Ministry Meeting: Tuesday, September 11th, 9:00 a.m.


• First Week of Christian Formation: Sunday, September 16th, 9:30 a.m.


• First Week of RCIA: Sunday, September 16th, 9:30 a.m.


• IMPACT Meeting, Sunday, September 16th, 9:30 a.m.

Today is the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Readings:

Wisdom 9:13-18
Psalm 90:3-6, 12-17
Philemon 1:9-10, 12-17
Luke 14:25-33

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa (Courtesy of Zenit)

St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)

St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

The bulletin for September 9, 2007 is available by clicking here to view it.

Listed below are a few of the items from this week's bulletin. See the bulletin for more details and to read all of the announcements.

If you would like to receive the parish bulletin via email, click here.

CHRISTIAN FORMATION: Catechists are still needed for a number of teaching positions. Please see the bulletin for more details about how you can help with passing on our Catholic Faith. For more information about volunteering, contact Teresa Ritzert, Coordinator of Religious Education, by calling 295-6559 or via email at tritzert@holycomforterparish.org.

WORSHIP: Greeters are needed for the 5:00 PM Saturday mass and the 8:30 AM Sunday mass. Training is provided. For more information, call Jim Morrisard at 973-6570 or, call the parish office at 295-7185.

JUSTICE & PEACE: Two IMPACT Listening Sessions will take place this weekend: Saturday, September 8th at 4 p.m. and Sunday, September 9th at 9:30 a.m. The sessions are held at the parish and will finish in time for Mass. Please participate in one of the fall Listening Sessions. It is through the input of members that we determine which justice issues will be addressed in the 2007-08 season.

CATHOLIC MOMS UNITED IN PRAYER: A prayer group of mothers meets once a week from 11 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays to pray for spouses, children, church, and community. The group uses the rosary and Holy Scripture as guides. If you are interested in being part of this support group, please contact Mary Fran Higginbotham @ 296-1390 or higgyshome@earthlink.net.

HAITIAN RETREATS: Two diocesan immersion retreats to Haiti are being planned for 2007/2008. The trips are designed for individuals to be immersed into Haiti by giving them the opportunity to learn about its history, culture, economics, politics and religion and to begin establishing relationships with the people of Haiti. Taking this trip to Haiti is not a tourist visit but rather it is a pilgrimage. It is the carving out in our lives a holy space and time to be open to the gifts of Haiti and the transformation of God. The first trip will be Dec. 1-9 2007 and the second will be July 12 - 19 2008. For an application and more information please call or email Patrice Schwermer at 804-622-5129 or pschwermer@richmonddiocese.org

FOOD PANTRY: The monthly food collection will resume in October. In the meantime, please continue to be generous and drop off non-perishable food and toilet articles to help those in our community who are in need.

St. Thomas Aquinas is hosting a Catholic Bible Study which traces salvation history from Genesis to Revelation. The study is a 24-week course that uses Jeff Cavins' Bible Timeline course. The study provides the opportunity to learn about Sacred Scripture using video, workbooks, and discussion. Click here to view online information about the materials in the Bible Timeline course.

The Scripture Study will meet Mondays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Community Room. The first session will be on Monday, September 17th.

For more information, contact Charlotte Burns via email at charliefburns@hotmail.com or by phone at (434) 975-1132.

All parishioners should receive a free subscription to the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Virginian.

If you are not receiving the biweekly newspaper, contact the parish office at 295-7185.

If you would prefer not to receive the newspaper or you would like to simply read it online rather than receive it in the mail, contact the parish office at 295-7185 to have your subscription cancelled.

Friday, September 14th is the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. The following is a novena for this feast:

Jesus, Who because of Your burning love for us willed to be crucified and to shed Your Most Precious Blood for the redemption and salvation of our souls, look down upon us and grant the petition we ask for ...( mention here)

We trust completely in Your Mercy. Cleanse us from sin by Your Grace, sanctify our work, give us and all those who are dear to us our daily bread, lighten the burden of our sufferings, bless our families, and grant to the nations, so sorely afflicted, Your Peace, which is the only true peace, so that by obeying Your Commandments we may come at last to the glory of Heaven.

From EWTN

Although Labor Day may have come and gone, many of the important issues that surround the day that honors work and workers remain with us. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has published a Labor Day Statement written by the Bishop of Brooklyn, the Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio. In his statement entitled "Labor Day 2007: A Time to Remember, A Time to Commit", the bishop discusses Catholic Social teaching and the recent national debate on immigration reform. He urges a renewal of the debate based on "reality, civility, morality, and consistency" in order to find a solution that "achieves realistic, practical, and principled steps toward reform". To read the statement click here.

As was noted in the bulletin, there will be a 40 Days For Life meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, September 4th at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas. The meeting will provide information about the 40 Days for Life campaign in Charlottesville.

Also, to learn more about 40 Days For Life, tune in to EWTN tonight, September 3rd at 6:30 p.m. The 30-minute TV special "beingHUMAN: 40 Days for Life" will be shown. The program highlights the successes of 40 Days for Life campaigns in the past and presents information about this year's national campaign, in which Charlottesville is taking part.

If you are not able to view EWTN on cable, you can watch online at the EWTN web site. The program will be shown at the same time that it airs on TV.

At 6:30 p.m., go to the EWTN Web site at http://www.ewtn.com. On the top bar, click "Television" then choose one of the "Live TV" options (English or Spanish) and then select your preferred media player. The show should start in that player.

Finally, to keep with the latest on the campaign in Charlottesville, contact Diane at cvillerespectlife@gmail.com or by calling 760-2916 or visit the Charlottesville 40 Days for Life Blog.

In observance of Labor Day, the parish office will be closed Monday, September 3rd. Normal office hours will resume on Tuesday, September 4th.

Today is the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Readings:

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Psalm 68:4-7,10-11
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24
Luke 14:1, 7-14

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa (Courtesy of Zenit)

St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)

St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

The Holy Father's prayer intentions for September are:

General: That the ecumenical assembly in Romania this month may contribute to the growth of unity among all Christians.

Mission: That following Christ joyfully, all missionaries may know how to overcome the difficulties they meet in everyday life.

Pro-Life Prayer Intention

That God may bless and strengthen the pro-life efforts of college students.