Padre’s Points to Ponder 9/12/25
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
The recent canonization of St. Carlo Acutis and St. Pier Giorgio Frassati has me thinking all the more about the whole Communion of Saints, the “great crowd of witnesses” that the author of the Bible’s Letter to the Hebrews speaks of. The saints aren’t relics of the past, simply giving us the example and witness of their lives…they are with us now, interceding for us, involved by God’s providence and grace in our lives.
The month of September has some incredible “heavy hitters” on the Liturgical calendar.
The 3rd of September was the celebration of Pope St. Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church.
On the 5th, we celebrated St. Teresa of Calcutta, affectionately known as Mother Theresa, the foundress of the Missionaries of Charity, dedicated to the loving service of the poorest of the poor, taking her cues on growth in holiness from St. Thérèse the “Little Flower” to do small things with great love.
On the 8th, we celebrated the Nativity (Birthday) of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I promise she won’t mind a rosary offered as a belated birthday gift! She gets another celebration on the 12th as we celebrate The Most Holy Name of Mary.
The 9th had us celebrating St. Peter Claver, the “missionary to the slaves,” who ministered to Africans so horribly captured and sold in the Atlantic slave trade.
The 13th is the celebration of the “Golden Mouth” St. John Chrysostom because of his powerful preaching.
The next day, the 14th, is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a feast day celebrating the fact that Christ has conquered death by death, that the Cross, a symbol of cruelty, violence, and death, is now a sign of victory.
The 15th is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, a day recalling that as the Mother of the Lamb of God, Mary’s heart would also be “pierced” as she accompanied her Son through His saving mission.
We celebrate the Apostle and Evangelist St. Matthew on the 21st.
St. Padre Pio, the mystic Franciscan priest has his feast day on the 23rd. Later that week on the 27th is the celebration of St. Vincent de Paul, a proudly influential and beloved minister to the poor. St. Wenceslaus, the “Good King” from the Christmas song, is celebrated the next day on the 28th.
On the 29th, we get a “three for one” in the Feast of the Holy Archangels, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael, these messengers of the highest degree.
Finally, on the 30th, we lift up St. Jerome, whose dedicated study of ancient languages gave us the composition of texts we now call “the Bible”. Taking the manuscripts handed down from 300 years, he compiled and translated them all in Latin and called the book Biblia Vulgata, meaning, “the collected works in the modern language”.
We stand on the shoulders of GIANTS! I even had to leave some out for the sake of space, but may all the saints of the month of November spur us on to holiness, to becoming more like Christ Our Savior.
Praised be Jesus Christ, King of All Saints, now and forever!
All you holy saints of God, pray for us!
Peace in Christ,
Fr. Michael Silloway
Pastor