Dear Parishioners,

      This weekend we have Oktoberfest in downtown St. Charles and I’ve been excited because I’ve heard great things about it. Of the many things that you can say about Oktoberfest, the most obvious one is that it means October is near.

      Next Sunday we begin the month of October which is a month filled with the memorials of great saints. In October we celebrate the guardian angels, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Faustina. We celebrate St. Teresa of Avila, St. Luke, the North American Martyrs, St. John Paul II and many more.

      This week I’d like to point you to the saint we celebrate on October 1st, St. Therese of Lisieux, who has been called the greatest saint of modern times. What makes St. Therese so great is that she was little, and I think her littleness speaks to us in our time today. When St. Therese says she is little she means that she realizes her limitations and her inability to make herself holy.  However, she didn’t let that get her down because she also recognized the greatness of God and cast herself trustingly on His merciful love. Her Little Way is one of absolute trust in Jesus and it is what we desperately need in our time.

      There are so many problems in our world and in our church and they can all seem overwhelming. To make matters worse we realize our own problems and sins and our inability to change them. This can lead us into the darkness of deep anger and despair, which is why we need Therese’s Little Way of trust in God. Jesus came because we were little and weak. Jesus came because we were sinful and couldn’t fix and save ourselves.

      Like Therese we need to cast ourselves on the Lord, trusting that He will make up for what we lack, that He will fix what we cannot, that He will heal and forgive the wounds of sin in us and in our world.

      St. Therese’s Little Way gives us hope and confidence, because it points us to the only One in Whom we can hope. What a great saint for us to get to know more about during October. What a great saint to help us navigate the difficulties of our lives and of our world.

      Another important thing that happens next weekend is the St. Charles Borromeo Parish Picnic. Please join us next Friday through Sunday for some great fun and fellowship. All are welcome!

      There are still plenty of opportunities to volunteer if you hear the Lord tugging at your heart to help out…we need it! I hope to see all of you out there sometime next weekend as we celebrate our great community!

Blessings,

Fr. Jim Theby