Hello everybody! I’m sure by now, you’ve heard the news that Bishop Brennan has been appointed by the Holy Father to be the next bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn. It was quite the surprise to hear it yesterday morning, especially since he has been our bishop for only 2-1/2 years and we are in the middle of the Real Presence, Real Future diocesan initiative. He said in an interview that the RPRF should and can continue because a lot of the work now is in our hands. However, the plan was that after all the feedback from the parishioners, it would be the bishop who would make the final decision on what changes to make. Therefore, it is even more urgent for you, the parishioner, to participate in the RPRF Parish Consultation Sessions where you will see proposed draft models of the future of our parishes and can then give feedback on them. The models will be modified based on the feedback. The new bishop, whoever he is, will need to rely heavily upon our feedback to make his decisions. Our feedback will be a gift to the new bishop. Please see the RPRF message below and sign up for a session. 

Let us pray for Bishop Brennan as he moves on to the Diocese of Brooklyn at the end of November, pray for our own diocese, and pray for our future bishop. 

October is considered the Month of the Rosary. October 7^th is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary which was instituted by Pope Pius V in thanksgiving for Mary’s intercession during the Battle of Lepanto. That 1571 battle involved the Ottoman Empire which had terrorized Europe and the Holy League (made up of Catholic states). The Holy League was badly outnumbered, so Pope Pius V called upon Christians to pray the rosary asking for the Blessed Mother’s intercession. The Holy League miraculous prevailed and Pope Pius V attributed it to Mary’s intercession. Later, Pope Leo XIII declared the entire month of October to be the month of the rosary. When it seems that the odds are against you, pray the rosary, not just once, but every day. You will soon find that Our Lady does a lot of the work! Perhaps it would be good to pray fervently to the Blessed Mother for an end to this pandemic!

While we pray for an end to this pandemic, the Lord desires for our cooperation in helping to bring an end to this pandemic. God works through the nature. He has given us medicines, doctors, hospitals, etc. and expects us to use them for our benefit. In addition, our work, which might come by the sweat of our brow, helps us to grow in virtue. So, if our work means thinking about the issue of vaccinations, doing the research, wearing a mask, etc. then that work will help us to grow in the virtues of patience, compassion, and charity towards others. 

Last week, I shared with you a letter from the CEOs of the 6 children’s hospitals in Ohio giving us the data of the increased number of children being hospitalized with Covid, many of them in the ICU, telling us that their staffs are strained at unprecedented levels, and asking and urging all Ohioans to protect our children by doing our part. They had 3 items on their list to do: 1) Get vaccinated, if eligible. 2) Wear a mask, particularly during school and indoor gatherings. 3) Social distancing. 

This week, I am sharing with you a letter from the CEO of the Ohio Hospital Association (which covers all the hospitals in Ohio) who wrote to Governor DeWine to alert him to the overall reality that is happening in the hospitals. I ask you to look it over and see the data which is the reality due to Covid. 

I share these with you because there is indeed a lot of misinformation out there making people think things like: “The virus is not that bad” “Most people recover from it” “We don’t know if the vaccines really work” “We don’t know if masks really work” “We don’t know which scientists/science we can trust.”

Even if there is doubt about which scientists/people we should trust, it’s always a good thing to look at the reality on the ground. If we are hearing that the hospitals are overwhelmed with Covid patients, that many of them are children or young healthy adults in the ICUs, that most Covid patients in the hospitals are unvaccinated, then these realities can tell us what we need to know. If most Covid patients in the hospitals are unvaccinated, then perhaps we can conclude that the vaccinations do work. If we see that doctors and nurses routinely wear masks in surgeries and have done so for centuries, then perhaps we can see that masks do work in the prevention of the spread of germs, and that they are safe. I’ve heard people say that the number of those infected is quite low compared to the general population. However, that is amid a pandemic when people have been social distancing, masking, and vaccinating. Imagine what the numbers would be had we not been doing all this. 

Obviously, I do believe what we are told about the virus being real, that it is serious, and the proper health precautions we should take, because it matches the reality we are seeing on the ground. For that reason, I do ask you to consider the part that you can play to help bring an end to this pandemic, for the sake of charity towards others. St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Philippians, “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others. Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus.”

I do ask that you wear a mask at Mass and at indoor gatherings. It is not mandated because we do not want to be the mask police. Many schools and organizations do not want to mandate it because they do not want to “kick people out,” especially young students. So, ending this pandemic is dependent upon our charity and goodwill towards others. Thank you! 

Thanks to Deacon Mike who has taken the initiative to begin the rosary prayer before the weekend Masses at OLL, inspired by those doing so at ICC. Because this weekend is October, the month of the rosary, it is fitting for us to begin this weekend. Deacon Mike will set out a sign-up sheet in church for a leader to lead the rosary before each weekend Mass in October. 

The First Saturday Mass at ICC is this Saturday, October 2^nd. Mass at 9am, followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and confessions from 9:30-10:30am and ending with Benediction.

Because we had little interest in candidates wanting to become Catholic, we decided that we would still offer the RCIA classes, but that we would gear it for the parishioners to attend. This would be a great way for you to further your own education of your Catholic faith. RCIA is the program for those who want to become Catholic to learn about the Catholic faith and eventually to become Catholic at Easter. However, each of us can always learn something more about our own faith. Each week has a different topic that is geared towards a particular aspect of the Catholic faith. If you desire to learn more about your own Catholic faith, you are encouraged to attend. 

OLL will have the RCIA sessions on Sundays from 6:30-7:30pm beginning October 10^th in the church hall. 

ICC might do the RCIA sessions online as the few inquiries we’ve had stated that they preferred to attend online rather than in-person. More info to come as we determine if this is doable.

Commitments for attendance is not required. However, if you desire to attend, please email the respective offices so we know how many people would be interested. For OLL, office@lourdesada.org and for ICC, office@icckenton.org .

The Knights of Columbus will be serving coffee and donuts on Sunday, October 3 after the morning Mass in the St. Anthony Center.

The annual blessing of animals in commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi’s Feast Day will take place on Sunday, October 3, at 1pm at ICC. All are welcome to bring your pets to the front of the rectory for the blessing.

At OLL, the blessing will take place on the day itself, October 4^th at 5pm in the church courtyard.

There will be a Festival Meeting on Monday, October 4 at 6:30pm in the St. Anthony Center. All interested parties are invited to attend. Bring your ideas and suggestions for next year.

Our Increased Offertory Program with the theme “Deepening Our Love For God and Neighbor” has begun. This effort is important as we move forward with the mission and vision of both of our parishes. We, as parish families, have changed so many lives in our communities! In order to continue our mission and ministries, I encourage all parishioners to spend time in prayer and discussion with your family, reflecting on the work we do. We will have a special Commitment Weekend which will be celebrated this weekend, October 2nd and 3^rd for ICC, and October 9^th and 10^th for OLL, where we will ask each parish family to turn in commitment cards for the offertory for the next year. 

For ICC, you may have received your commitment card in the mail this week. Please fill it out and bring it with you to Mass this weekend.

For OLL, I will be preaching at the Masses this weekend, specifically on the increased offertory program, in preparation for the Commitment Weekend Oct 9^th and 10^th. You should be receiving commitment cards in the mail next week. 

During the month of October, ICC will be participating in Heartbeats Baby Bottle Boomerang. The bottles will be in the back of church. You are asked to put extra change in the bottle and return it to church at the end of the month. All monies will go to Heartbeat of Hardin County to help with the cost of Heartbeat and their programs. All money stays in Hardin County.

In October, parishioners will have the ability to see proposed draft models of the future of our parishes. These are proposals only, given to us by the consulting firm, CLI. This is your opportunity, as the parishioner, to give feedback to these proposed models. The Parish Consultation Sessions will be online, so you would need a computer and internet connection and preferably a microphone and camera, though you may be able to give feedback by typing. CLI will be showing us data and models, so it is recommended to join the meeting via computer rather than by phone. 

Please plan to participate and invite others to do the same. You only need to attend one session to give your feedback.

The sessions for Our Lady of Lourdes are scheduled for October 11th and October 13th from 6:30pm – 8:30pm. 

The sessions for Immaculate Conception are scheduled for October 18th and October 20th from 6:30pm – 8:30pm.

Registration is required by going to www.realpresencerealfuture.org , then going to Parish Consultation Sessions, then click to sign up. Even if you are not able to participate, register anyway. All registrants will receive a link to the recording via email after the session.

For more information, here are some FAQs: https://realpresencerealfuture.org/parish-sessions-faqs/

Attached are the bulletins.  

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!       

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, pray for us!    

God bless!       

Fr. Ed