Dear Parishioners,

      This weekend we are celebrating the Parish Picnic at St. Charles Borromeo. Parish picnics and events like it are great opportunities for us all to come together as a community. They are events that, among other things, are about unity. So I’d like to invite all of you to come out this weekend for some great fellowship with our neighbors in Christ in Whom we have the truest unity.

      As we enter the month of October, I thought unity would be a good theme for us. So often in our lives we look to that which divides us, that which makes us different, and in a world and a Church with so much division perhaps we need to look to something or someone who can unite us and the month of October offers us the perfect unifier.

      October, as you may know, is traditionally known as the month of the Rosary, but do you know why?  On October 7, 1571 a great naval battle, the Battle of Lepanto, took place near Greece in which the Christian kingdoms of Europe were vastly outnumbered by the Turks. It looked bad for Europe and for Christendom, but in the time leading up to the battle, the Pope had asked all the Catholics in Europe to pray the Rosary for the preservation of Christendom. United together in prayer with the Blessed Virgin Mary, the people of Europe won the great battle against great odds, which is why we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7th.

      In our time and in our place, we also stand against great odds. So much distraction in society, so many lies are leading countless people away from the Church. It can seem at times like we are fighting a losing battle with the culture. That is why we need to turn to Mary our Mother. No matter what our differences are, Mary unites us and leads us to her Son Jesus.

      As we begin this month of the Rosary let us renew our dedication to our Mother through praying the Rosary.  Together with Mary’s help we can meet the problems of our time and place with confidence and faith. United together we can become a strong force for evangelization in our broken culture which is in desperate need of Christ Jesus.

Have a blessed week,

Fr. Jim Theby