"Preparing for Lent" by Fr. Chris House

Happy Feast of Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome! Often when we think of Mother Church for us as Catholics, we might think of St Peter’s in Rome. The Mother Church for us as Catholics is actually St. John Lateran, which is the Cathedral of the Pope since the 3rd century. The feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran is celebrated by the entire Church. It marks the dedication of the cathedral church of Rome by Pope Sylvester I in 324. This church is the cathedra (or chair) of the bishop of Rome, who is the Pope. A Latin inscription in the Church reads: “omnium ecclesiarum Urbis et Orbis mater et caput.” Translated, this means, “The mother and head of all churches of the city and of the world.” The basilica was originally named the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior. However, it is called St. John Lateran because it was built on property donated to the Church by the Laterani family, and because the monks from the monastery of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Divine served it. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/dedication-of-st-johnlateran-650 The 1st Reading for this Feast emphasizes the prophecy of new springs of grace pouring out from the Temple to the nations. We see this prophecy fulfilled through Jesus’ Death and Resurrection. The waters of grace spring forth from the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Water and Blood flowing from the cross are the wellspring of the Church Sacraments. Reminder that our Pre-Advent Mission is coming up on Nov. 9 and 10 at 6:30pm. You can find details in the bulletin. Dennis will present on Mary, our Blessed Mother, and I will present on St. Joseph. Candlelight Masses for Advent will be offered on December 3, 10, and 17 at 5:30pm. We will have a few lights in the Church to provide light to get to the pews and Holy Communion. In the sanctuary, there will only be Candlelight as we await the light of Christ at Christmas.  Military Weekends Dec 5-7 and Jan 10-11

Happy All Souls Day! All Souls Day falls on November 2 each year and we have the great privilege of celebrating this commemoration on Sunday this year. Each All Souls Day, we are invited to honor and pray for our beloved dead - our friends and family. A common practice in most parishes is to have a Book of the Dead, where we write down names of people that we want to pray for during November. Our Book of the Dead is located by the Baptismal Font. Feel free to add names of those you want to honor and pray for in a special way. Also as a Parish Family, we will honor and pray for our beloved parishioners who passed away this past year at a special Mass of Remembrance on November 5. Another great practice for the first days of November is the following Novena prayed during the first 9 days of November in a cemetery. https://www.praymorenovenas.com/souls-daynovena. Traditional Prayer when visiting a grave: Eternal rest grant unto him/her, O Lord, and let Your perpetual light shine upon him/her. May his/her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Below, you can see another change to my military schedule. The on-going changes are due to the federal government shut down. Reminder that our Pre-Advent Mission is coming up on Nov. 9 and 10 at 6:30pm . You can find details in the bulletin. Dennis will present on Mary, our Blessed Mother, and I will present on St. Joseph. Candlelight Mass for Advent will be offered on December 3, 10, and 17 at 5:30pm. We will have a few lights in the Church to provide light to get to the pews and Holy Communion. In the sanctuary, there will only be Candlelight as we await the light of Christ at Christmas. Military Weekends Dec 5-7 and Jan 10-11

Happy 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time! Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel of the importance of humility. He uses the powerful image of a tax collector to convey the virtue of humility. It is an odd image since tax collectors were not seen as examples of virtue. They were often worldly men who stole and cheated through the tax system of the day. The tax collector’s action in the Gospel today Is what we live out at the beginning of every Mass with the Penitential Act – Lord have mercy on me a sinner! I am away this weekend at Good News Conference in Florida. https://www.goodnewsconference.com/ If you are interested in signing up for a Mass ministry, sign-up sheets available in the back and the Parish Office will reach out for training. Next weekend, Nov 1, All Saints, is not a Holy Day of Obligation this year. We will have a special Daily Mass that day at 8am on Nov. 1. For the regular Sunday Masses, Nov. 1-2, we will celebrate All Souls Day, a special day every year that we pray and remember our beloved dead. We will have a special Mass of Remembrance as a Parish on Nov. 5. Before you know it our Patronal Feast Day and Advent will be here. Christ the King Sunday falls on Nov. 22-23. We will have our Parish Breakfast on Nov. 23 after 8am and 10am Masses to celebrate our Parish Feast Day! This year, we will do new things for Advent. On Nov. 9 and 10 at 6:30pm, we will have a Pre-Advent Mission on Advent Journey with Mary our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. This Pre-Advent Mission will consist of a talk each night to prepare us for our Advent Journey to Christmas. On Nov. 9, Dennis Trickey will offer a talk on Mary, our Blessed Mother and help us apply lessons from her life that can assist us with Advent. Following his talk, we will have Candlelight Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour with confessions available. One Nov. 10, I will offer a talk on St. Joseph and glean lessons from his life to assist us with Advent. Following this talk, we will have a social fellowship opportunity in the Parish Center with drinks and snacks. Anyone is welcome to attend this Mission as we prepare for our Advent journeys. Also, during Advent this year, we will have special Masses on Wednesday evenings called Rorate Caeli Mass. It is a Mass honoring Mary’s role in salvation done by Candlelight only, since we are awaiting the light of Christ at Christmas. We will offer these special Masses on December 3, 10, and 17 at 5:30pm. We will have a few lights on in the Church to provide light to get to the pews and Holy Communion. In the sanctuary, there will only be Candlelight as we await the light of Christ at Christmas. Military Drill Nov. 14-16, no Dec drill, Jan 10-11

Happy 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time! Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel of the importance of persistence in prayer. Persistence in prayer is not so much about changing God’s mind, but about us persistently seeking communion with God in prayer. As St. John of Damascus said prayer is lifting up of our heart and mind to God. From that encounter and communion with God, prayer changes us. Prayer transforms our thoughts, feelings, desires, and choices over time as we seek communion with God. Due to the federal government shutdown, I will be here this weekend. My military drill was rescheduled for a later date. My next weekend with the Reserves will be in November I will be away next weekend for the Good News Conference in Florida. If you are interested in signing up for a Mass ministry, sign-up sheets are available in the back and the Parish Office will reach out for training. Before you know it our Patron Feast Day and Advent will be here. Our Patron Feast Day, Christ the King Sunday, falls on Nov. 22-23. We will continue the Parish Breakfast on Nov. 23 after the 8am and 10am Masses to celebrate our Parish Feast Day! This year, we will do new things for Advent. On Nov. 9 and 10 at 6:30pm, we will have a Pre-Advent Mission on Advent Journey with Mary our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. This Pre-Advent Mission will consist of a talk each night to prepare us for our Advent Journey to Christmas. On Nov. 9, Dennis Trickey will offer a talk on Mary, our Blessed Mother and help us apply lessons from her life that can assist us with Advent. Following his talk, we will have Candlelight Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour with confessions available. One Nov. 10, I will offer a talk on St. Joseph and glean lessons from his life to assist us with Advent. Following this talk, we will have a social fellowship opportunity in the Parish Center with drinks and snacks. Anyone is welcome to attend this Mission as we prepare for our Advent journeys. Also, during Advent this year, we will have a special Daily Mass on Wednesdays called Rorate Caeli Mass. It is a Mass honoring Mary’s role in salvation done by Candlelight only, since during we are Advent awaiting the light of Christ at Christmas. We will offer this special Mass on December 3, 10, and 17 at 5:30pm. We will have a few lights in the Church to provide light to get to the pews and Holy Communion. In the sanctuary, there will only be Candlelight as we await the light of Christ at Christmas. Military Drill Nov. 15-16, no Dec drill

Happy 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time! Last Weekend, I gave the State of the Parish Homily to give us a snapshot of parish life at Christ the King. Below are some numbers that I mentioned in my homily. I also mentioned some next steps including recruiting more Mass ministers, discerning our Parish Vision/Mission and goals, discerning more fellowship and formation opportunities and campus map of projects upcoming. Those will all come in due time. If you are interested in signing up for a Mass ministry, sign-up sheets are available in the back and the Parish Office will reach out for training. I will be away Oct. 17-19 for military drill with Army Reserves. I also will be away Oct. 24-25, for the Good News Conference. I scheduled this conference before I received my new military schedule. My apologies for being away two straight weekends. Parish Life Numbers (approximate yearly averages) Offertory: $1.2 Million Parish Subsidy to School from offertory: $500,000 Mass attendance total: 1,100 to 1,200 each weekend Baptisms: 25 Funerals: 25 Sacraments of confirmation/Holy Communion: 50 Sacramental marriages: 3 New Catholics: 5 to 7 people coming into the Church each year PSR: 10 to 15 kids a year Grade School total: 472 (93 Pre-K) Mass Ministry numbers: Lectors: 27 Rosary Leaders: 7 Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion: 45 Greeters: 29 Sacristans: 14 Ushers: 15 Servers: 20 Military Drill Oct. 17-19, Nov. 15-16, no Dec drill

Happy 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time! Thank you to everyone for our donations to Guatemala water project. We raised over $6,500! Thank you to all the volunteers who made the St Carlo Eucharistic Display possible. From setting up, opening parish center and locking, plus cleaning up, I am deeply thankful to everyone for helping display the Eucharistic Miracles. As you saw, there have been many Eucharistic miracles through history, and each one has an amazing story with it. This weekend, Oct. 4-5, I will be preaching at all the Masses and giving what I call the State of the Parish Homily. I offer this homily just once a year annually. In the bulletin, you will find our financial report from the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Next week, I will include in the bulletin some key numbers and information outside of the fiscal report. I will be away Oct. 17-19 for military drill with Army Reserves. I also will be away Oct. 24-25 for the Good News Conference. I scheduled this conference before I received my new military schedule. My apologies for being away two straight weekends.

Happy 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time! Thank you to everyone for our donations to Missionary Co-op, KC tootsie roll drive and Guatemala water project. The missionary appeal will help to provide a well of clean water for them. FYI, this is the last weekend, for our collection for Eco-Filters for Guatemala. If you would like to donate, please use the envelopes in back and deposit them in the box. Each filter is $20. I stayed in Guatemala for 3 months back in 2013 and I can attest for the need especially in the small villages for clean water! These Eco-Filters are a great gift to so many. More information in the bulletin as well. This weekend, Sept 27-28, the Parish Center will be displaying the Eucharistic Miracle Display created by St. Carlo Acutis. More info on the website below. I encourage you to stop by after Mass and see them. They are poster boards with pictures and information on each Eucharistic Miracle throughout Church History. It is an impressive and informative display created by St. Carlo himself in 2006. https://www.miracolieucaristici.org/galleria/en/galleria.html Next Weekend, Oct. 4-5, I will be preaching at all the Masses and giving what I call the State of the Parish homily. I offer this homily just once a year annually. In the homily, I review the financial numbers from the previous fiscal year, discuss some future projects, and review parish numbers like baptisms, marriages, funerals, adult faith formation, youth formation, etc. Typically, it is a little longer homily, around 10-12 minutes due to the amount of information. Military Drill Nov. 15-16, no Dec drill

Happy 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time! A warm welcome to the CTK Class reunion of 1982. They will be joining us for Mass on Saturday. This weekend, we also welcome Fr. Linus Umoren. He is currently the Pastor of SS. Peter and Paul down in Waterloo, IL and serves as Mission Superior of Vincentians USA. He will be sharing about the Vincentians mission in his homily. His visit is part of the Missionary Cooperative Partnership that the Diocese does every summer. You will be seeing a couple items in the back of Church very soon. The following weekends of Sept. 20-21 and Sept 27-28, we are bringing the Eco-Filters for the Guatemala project back to CTK. Our last collection was in 2019 and we collected over $25,000 to purchase 782 water purifiers. If you would like to donate, please use the forms in back and deposit them in the box. Each filter is $20. I stayed in Guatemala for 3 months back in 2013 and I can attest for the need especially in the small villages for clean water! These Eco-Filters are a great gift to so many. More information in a bulletin insert coming up in future bulletins. Also on the weekend of Sept. 20-21, our local Knights of Columbus with have their annual Tootsie Roll Drive. They will be present in back of Church if you would like to donate. Proceeds from the drive assist local agencies who assist those with special needs. Finally, this week the Priests will be away for annual Convocation, September 16th through 18th. Deacon Scott Keen will offer Communion service those days at 7am. Military Drill Oct. 17-19, Nov. 15-16, no Dec drill 

Happy 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time! This Sunday is one of great joy for the Church! We as Catholics celebrate two new saints! I personally have a great devotion to both Blessed Carlo and Blessed Pier Giorgio for several reasons that I will share in upcoming homilies and bulletins. Below is some great biographical information on them. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati / EWTN News By Courtney Mares Carlo Acutis: the first millennial saint Acutis, an Italian computer-coding teenager who died of cancer in 2006, is known for his great devotion to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. He became the first millennial to be beatified by the Catholic Church 2020 and is widely popular among Catholics, particularly youth. Known for his deep faith and digital savvy, he used his computer-coding skills to draw attention to Eucharistic miracles around the world. His miracles’ exhibit, featuring more than 100 documented miracles involving the Eucharist throughout history, has since traveled to thousands of parishes across five continents. The Vatican formally recognized a second miracle attributed to Acutis’ intercession on May 23, 2024. The case involved the healing of 21-year-old Valeria Valverde of Costa Rica, who sustained a serious brain injury in a bicycle accident while studying in Florence in 2022. She was not expected to survive but recovered after her mother prayed for Acutis’ intercession at his tomb in Assisi. Born in London in 1991 and raised in Milan, Acutis attended daily Mass from a young age and was passionate about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Shortly after his first Communion at the age of 7, Carlo told his mother: “To always be united to Jesus: This is my life plan.” Carlo called the Eucharist “my highway to heaven,” and he did all in his power to make the real presence known. His witness inspired his parents to return to practicing the Catholic faith and his Hindu au pair to convert and be baptized. Many of Carlo’s classmates, friends, and family members testified to the Vatican how he brought them closer to God. He is remembered for saying, “People who place themselves before the sun get a tan; people who place themselves before the Eucharist become saints.” Shortly before his death, Acutis offered his suffering from cancer “for the pope and for the Church” and expressed a desire to go “straight to heaven.” Known as a cheerful and kind child with a love for animals, video games, and technology, Acutis’ life has inspired documentaries, digital evangelization projects, and the founding of schools in his name. His legacy continues to resonate strongly with a new generation of Catholics. Pier Giorgio Frassati: ‘To the heights’ of holiness Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is also beloved by many today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.” The young man from the northern Italian city of Turin was an avid mountaineer and Third Order Dominican known for his charitable outreach. Born on Holy Saturday, April 6, 1901, Frassati was the son of the founder and director of the Italian newspaper La Stampa. At the age of 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time to taking care of the poor, the homeless, and the sick as well as demobilized servicemen returning from World War I. Frassati was also involved in the Apostleship of Prayer and Catholic Action. He obtained permission to receive daily Communion. On a photograph of what would be his last climb, Frassati wrote the phrase “Verso L’Alto,” which means “to the heights.” This phrase has become a motto for Catholics inspired by Frassati to strive for the summit of eternal life with Christ. Frassati died of polio on July 4, 1925. His doctors later speculated that the young man had caught polio while serving the sick. John Paul II, who beatified Frassati in 1990, called him a “man of the eight beatitudes,” describing him as “entirely immersed in the mystery of God and totally dedicated to the constant service of his neighbor.” The canonization Mass for Acutis and Frassati is expected to take place in St. Peter’s Square. Military Drill Oct. 17-19, Nov. 15-16, no Dec drill