Fr. Vincent will lead an outdoor Rosary procession after 10 am mass at St. Mary of the Rosary. Please join us for a luncheon in the parish hall after the procession! Sandwiches and cake will be provided. Everyone's welcome! More information is in this week's pastor letter from Father Vincent.

Dear Parishioners,

We are so blessed here in Chewelah that our parish is named in honor of Our Lady under the title of St. Mary of the Rosary. It is a long tradition that a parish or town celebrate its patron’s feast day. In Europe and elsewhere the parish or town would have a procession and celebration on its patron’s feast day. Our parish feast day is Oct. 7, which is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. This feast is on Friday. I will not be available to celebrate mass that day so we are going to have a rosary prayed at 9 a.m. in the place of mass. We will celebrate our parish feast on Sunday, Oct. 9.

I would like to begin a tradition here of honoring Our Lady and celebrating her feast as a parish. After the 10 a.m. Mass on Oct. 9 we will begin a Rosary Procession directly after mass. We will process a statue of Our Lady outdoors to five different stations on our property and pray a decade of the Rosary at each station. Between each station we will sing as we process. At the end, the parish will provide a luncheon for all those who participate in the Rosary Procession.

The Rosary is a beautiful gift from Mary our mother to us her children. The gift is to reflect and mediate more deeply on the mysteries of Our Lord’s life, death and resurrection by using the twenty mysteries of the Rosary which is summary or compendium of Our Lord’s life. As St. John Paul II said: the Rosary is a mini-Gospel. I would encourage everyone this week, in preparation for our parish feast day, to pray the Rosary or a part of the Rosary, each day. October is the month of the Rosary and Our Lady promises blessings and intercession to those who pray the Rosary.

For many years I have been using and promoting a publication called the Magnificat. It is a monthly publication that follows the church’s daily liturgy. It can be used as a missal at mass but has much more. It highlights saints, has religious art, has morning and evening prayers, daily meditations and much more. I have ordered a limited amount of the Magnificat monthly publication and would like to make it available to those parishioners who would like to go deeper into their devotional and spiritual lives. I will be placing Magnificat publications at the back of all of our churches. Please feel free to take one if you feel you will use it. It is a publication that one can also make a personal subscription too. I have found this publication consistently personally enriching and inspiring and of the highest quality.

I will be away the latter part of this week so therefore there will be no daily masses Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 5-7. Also, Matt Cobb will be presenting at the adult faith formation on Wednesday for Faith Night. Matt will be will be keeping in line with the topic of "pilgrimage" by speaking about "Pilgrimage to . . . The Interior Life."

Fr. Vincent has celebrated Mass at St. Joseph's at Jump Off Joe every Sunday this summer. The Oct. 2 mass will be the final one for the season. The 8 a.m. Mass will return to Holy Ghost in Valley on Oct. 9. However, the 8:30 a.m. Monday mass will continue to be celebrated at St. Joseph's.

Faith Night is a chance for everyone to share a meal together followed by faith formation for all ages. There will be no confession or mass before the Oct. 5 Faith Night. Matt Cobb will be presenting at the adult faith formation. Matt will be will be keeping in line with the topic of "pilgrimage" by speaking about "Pilgrimage to . . . The Interior Life." Matt will share about his pilgrimage to Washington D.C. to visit Fr. Thomas Dubay's gravesite and will share how his writings have impacted his prayer life. There will also be a series of videos that are produced by EWTN shown by Fr. Thomas Dubay on his many books of prayer. Please join us to hear Matt. When Fr. Vincent returns for the Oct. 12 Faith Night, he will continue with showing slides and narrating his pilgrimage on the Camino to Santiago.

On The Menu 10/5: The Ladies Auxiliary will serve Chili, Hot Dogs, & Cornbread.

Father Vincent is unavailable to celebrate weekday Mass, or Wednesday Confession, this Wednesday through Friday, Oct 5-7.

Although Mass is canceled, there will be a rosary prayed on Friday, Oct. 7 at 9 a.m. at St. Mary of the Rosary in honor of the Feast Day for Our Lady of the Rosary.

The Ladies Auxiliary is planning the annual Crystalline Luncheon, a popular women's gathering at our parish, for Saturday, Nov. 19 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary's parish hall. Please let Kellie Trudeau know if you would be interesting in hosting a table or volunteering in any way. Each table host, or cohosts, can set up their table however they like using their nicest china or most creative decorating skills. It's up to you! There is always door prizes, delicious food, and even a fun contest to vote for audience favorites. Tickets are $15 and will be available by Oct. 14. Let us know if you would like to join the Ladies Auxiliary! Our next meeting is Friday, Oct. 14 at 10:30 a.m. Contact Kellie for more information.

St. Mary of the Rosary Parish will host EWTN television and radio host, and award-winning author, Michael O’Neill, on Saturday, October 15 at 5:30 p.m. in the parish hall. O’Neill’s talk on “How the Catholic Church Investigates the Supernatural” will include a question-and-answer session. Copies of O’Neill’s books will be available for purchase after the talk. Please invite your friends and family to this activity. No registration is required, and the event is free of charge. Michael O’Neill is the creator of the popular miracle-tracking website, MiracleHunter.com.

The Sacred Heart Springdale Parish Council will meet Saturday, Oct. 15. There will be a potluck dinner following Mass - open to all. The meeting will follow the potluck dinner.