Funeral Mass - Deacon George Stewart

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for the repose of the soul of Deacon George Stewart on Saturday, October 15 at 10:00 a.m. Please pray for him and for his family. Deacon Stewart previously served as Deacon at St. Columba. His son, Father George Stewart, is Pastor of St. Augustine - Our Lady of Victory Parish in the Bronx.

Funeral Mass - Michael McHugh

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for the repose of the soul of Michael McHugh on Friday, October 14 at 10:00 a.m. Please pray for him and for his family.

Funeral Mass - Dina Scecchitano

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for the repose of the soul of Dina Scecchitano on Monday, October 3 at 10:00 a.m. Please pray for her and for her family.

Respect Life Sunday

Faith the size of a mustard seed – great things can happen.

Life begins with a seed, doesn’t it? And something amazing begins to happen:

-          5 weeks – the heart begins to beat

-          6 weeks – the nose, mouth and ears begin to take shape

-          7 weeks – hands and feet are forming

-          8  weeks – baby is moving

-          10 weeks – all organs and structures are in place, ready to grow

-          13 weeks – the baby has fingerprints and foot prints.

This child – all children, are uniquely loved by God.  On this Respect Life Sunday, we are reminded that They deserve our love and protection.

Today we welcome the Little Sisters of the Poor. They essentially began on a cold winter night in 1839 when Jeanne Jugan noticed an old woman out in the cold with no place to go. Jeanne took her into her apartment and put the old woman in her own bed. People began to notice, people wanted to help, and the Little Sisters of the Poor were born.

They try to make sure the neediest of the elderly have a home. They are welcomed as Christ.

These last two years they have received much national attention. They told our government that, while providing medical coverage for their employees, that do not want to pay for anything that might destroy human life.  The government insisted that they must and the Little Sisters appealed right up the Supreme Court.  This past March, the Supreme Court instructed lower courts to work with the Sisters to make sure their religious beliefs were not violated. 

We thank you Sisters for standing up for the truth and teaching us how to Respect Life – from conception until natural death.

We at St. Columba, want to support the Sisters in their work. We also want to continue our good works on behalf of Life.  We are grateful to all parishioners who are involved in:

-          Our Respect Life efforts, including 40 Days For Life

-          Our SVDP Food Pantry, which feeds 100’s of individuals each month.

-          Our Ministry of Care, which shows that a simple phone call can make all the difference in the world.

-          Our Midnight Runs to assist the homeless poor.

Please consider taking home a Baby Bottle today and filling it with change this October. You gift, no matter how big or small, will help your parish put into practice our faith – all human life is sacred and loved by God. 

Mercy

The painting is called “The Last Supper” by Leonardo DaVinci. It is said that while Leonardo was painting it, he was in the middle of a nasty feud with a fellow painter. To take revenge, he decided to use the face of his enemy for Judas. As he continued to work on the painting, he seemed to have no problem with the faces of the Apostles. But he could get nowhere with the face of Jesus.  Why?

Today we read from the Chapter 15 of Luke – the Chapter of Mercy. We have become so used to the stories, we forget how unusual they are.

-          Search of a lost coin. This coin is worth about 5 cents. When I was little, we were happy to pick up a penny – gum ball machine. Not any more. No one cares. Turn your house upside down for a coin? No way!!

-          Search of a lost sheep. Has 100. He has lost one. Not bad at all. USA 1.5% stolen. This is only 1% loss. Write it off. You are going to risk losing more if you go off to search.

-          Lost son.  Really, would you bother after he has told you to drop dead. But since you are not yet dead, give me my share of the inheritance now!    Yet, this crazy father is waiting, looking watching – robe, ring, shoes.

Pope Francis keeps teaching us – this is the mercy of God – and our worth to him.

So now – in turn – forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us! As we have received mercy – we are to show mercy.

Mercy First to God. Yes God.  Some of us hold God accountable for everything, every bad thing, every sickness. Yet God loved us so much He gave us the gift of free will, which includes enormous risks. Some choose a dark path, and it affects all of us.  Can we forgive God for loving us in this way, and trust in that love?

Forgive others. I did not dare speak of mercy after Sept 11. It was too raw. And it still hurts. And it will always hurt. What should our response be – more hate, more anger, more bitterness? Do we want to become like them? Mercy.

Forgive self. I read in the paper today about a man, Aaron McClamb who loved firefighters. And, when Ladder 115 left Brooklyn to go to the World Trade, he took pictures. His famous picture is of Ladder 115 on the Brooklyn Bridge. It symbolized all who gave their lives. No one on that truck returned. For 10 years after he suffered survivor’s guilt.  

There are lots of thing we wish we said, would have done or should have done. Learn to let go! You see, today is the day, today is the gift.  Today is the opportunity to make a difference. Will we?

What did DaVinci have to do? In time, he began to understand what was wrong. In order to paint the face of Jesus, he had to change the face of Judas. He had to show mercy. He had to become like Jesus. 

Anna O'Connor

Our prayers are with Anna O'Connor as she leaves our parish to discern if she has a call to Religious Life as a Sister of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George. We promise her our love and prayers and, if it be God's Will, she may become a Sister!

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was made a saint this morning. It had no effect on her. It was done for us – that we might learn from her holiness.

When I was growing up, if you asked the question – who is the holiest person on the planet – we would all have said Mother Teresa.

Born in what is now Albania, she began to consider religious life at age 12. At 18 she joined the Sisters of Loretto, studied in Dublin, Ireland and went to Calcutta, India to serve as a teacher and as a principal.

At one point, she made a promise to Jesus – to do whatever he asked. Well, September 10, 1947, she experienced her “call within the call” while traveling to a retreat.  Would she give up everything to serve the poor?

She began in Calcutta with an open air school and a home for the dying. By her death, almost 5,000 sisters were serving as Missionaries of Charity in over 100 countries, including NYC.

I met her once, a junior in college. She was tiny as could be. As she spoke at our college graduation, you could hear a pin drop. She did not speak long, but we listened to every single word.

Her secret – as she met the poor = every single one of them was Jesus in disguise. This had a huge impact on me – especially when I was working with the poor, homeless and the sick – look beyond to see Jesus.

Many of her sayings still have a great impact:

-          Let us meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.

-          Spread love wherever you go. Let no one come to you without leaving happier.

-          Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do . . . but how much love we put into that action.

-          If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each another.

-          It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.

-          What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.

-          We ourselves feel that we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

-          In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.

-          If you cannot feed 100 people, then feed just one.

-          One, by one, by one, by one . . .

-          I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.

-          When we die and it comes time for God to judge us, he will not ask: how many good things you have done in your life? Rather: how much love did you put into what you did?

-          Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not come yet. We have only today. Let us begin.

-          SVDP        ST. TERESA PRAY FOR US!