At St. Mary’s we remember in prayer those who are ill in various ways. We have our Parish Prayer Line, the members of which continuously pray for those who have requested prayer. We also have our Prayer Shawl Ministry, whose participants pray for those who will receive the shawls they knit or crochet as they are making them. We remember the sick too in the Prayers of the Faithful at Mass and in the Parish Bulletin. Click the title to read more about how we remember the sick.

November 1st in our Church Calendar honors All Saints and is one of our Holy Days of Obligation. Throughout the year, the Church celebrates the memorials of canonized saints who have particular feast days on the Church’s liturgical calendar. All Saints Day commemorates the “great multitude, which no one could count” (cf. Rev. 7:9), those holy men and women from every age who are with God in heaven, including those canonized saints of the Church who do not have a particular liturgical feast day. This vast throng of unnamed saints could also include our deceased parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, spouses, children and friends – people we actually knew in this life who lived holy lives. Because we cannot know for certain all those who have attained sainthood, we set aside this day each year to honor all those saints known only to God. Click the title to read more.

This past week in the news, the Supreme Court was considering the reinstatement of the death sentence on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted of assisting in carrying out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. That bombing killed three people and injured 260, no doubt a heinous crime that was planned and executed with clear intent to harm, maim and kill. Could there be a more appropriate application of the death penalty? Click the title to read more.

Parishioners are invited to join our Faith Formation Program’s (K-6) participation in Cross Catholic Outreach - Box of Joy program by providing 100 boxes for children around the world. The kick-Off is on Sunday, October 17. We will hand out boxes to participating families: Faith Formation families, a sign-up genius was sent to request boxes; for our parishioners, email Kathy Piggott to request the number of boxes you would like. Click the title to watch a video with more information.

Buy delicious Lyman Orchard Pies and yummy Otis Spunkmeyer Cookies for the upcoming holidays and support St Mary’s School. Easy ordering online or order forms are available in the school office or Magowan Center. Order by October 20, pick up on November 15 in the Parish Center. You can also donate pies to Eno Hall in Simsbury to benefit their Senior Center. Click the title for the online link.

Continuing our reflection during this Respect Life month, let us focus on yet another area that we often don’t readily associate with being a threat to life: violence. Violence to persons, whether it be from war or terrorism, gang or drug related violence, mass shootings in schools, workplaces or shopping venues, or domestic violence, threatens the gift of life. Often such violence begins with a lack of respect for one’s self on the part of the perpetrator. If I don’t value my own life, how can I value the lives of others? Having a healthy self-image and self-respect goes a long way in decreasing potential violence against another. Click the title to read more.

In last weekend’s column, I mentioned October as being “Respect Life” month and noted that the protection of life in the womb is foundational to all other rights we have as human persons. Once a person is born though, he or she becomes vulnerable to other threats against his or her life. As we progress through this Respect Life month, I’d like to focus on some additional threats to life besides abortion that we may not always think of, so that we might be attentive to them as we seek to respect and protect all life from womb to tomb. Click the title to read more.