BIG C CATHOLICS

According to the 1962 Missal of Saint John XXIII, October 19th, is the feast of Saint Peter of Alcantara, (1499 -1562) the 16th century priest known for his gifts of contemplation and the virtue of penance. He was one of Saint Teresa of Avila's spiritual directors who perceived in her a soul chosen by God for a great work. He counseled and encouraged St. Teresa in her reformation of the Carmelite Order. Peter, surnamed Alcantara after the town of his birth, was eminent among the saints of the sixteenth century for an extraordinary spirit of penance and for attaining the heights of contemplation. He was a great mystic. At the age of sixteen he entered the Order of Friars Minor. He was an apostle of spiritual reform in his own community and aided St. Teresa in her reform of the Carmelites. God revealed to her that no one would remain unheard who begged in Peter's name. Thereafter Teresa was most eager to have his prayers and honored him as a saint while he was still alive.

Since 1926, the third Sunday of October has been set aside for the Catholic Church the world over to renew its commitment to the task of evangelizing all nations, as called to by Christ. World Mission Sunday, the annual worldwide Eucharistic celebration for the Missions and missionaries of the world, will be on October 22th. The collection on the next-to-last Sunday in October is a unique, global effort for the entire Church to provide for the building up of over one thousand local churches in Asia and Africa, the Pacific Islands, and parts of Latin America, Europe [and the United States]. Through the work of these churches, and their witness to Christ, the poor receive practical help and experience God’s love, mercy, hope and peace. This year, Pope Francis reminds us that mission is at the heart of our Faith. St. Therese of Lisieux. Patroness of Missionaries, pray for us.

Father Charles Irvin observes that Luke's Gospel is unique: "Of the four Gospel accounts written by Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, St. Luke’s has been characterized by some scripture scholars as the most beautiful of them all. St. Luke’s Gospel contains accounts of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth, for instance. Mary, the mother of Jesus has a special place in his Gospel. Moreover, St. Luke has a special regard for women, for the hurting, the outcasts, and those who were seen to be at the bottom of the social heap in those days. The tender and compassionate heart of Jesus is prominent in St. Luke’s accounts of His life." Saint Luke’s Gospel is distinctive indeed. It contains information not found in any other account of Jesus’s life, both canonical and non-canonical. Where did Luke get his stories about the conception, birth and infancy of Jesus Christ? Many believe this information came from none other than Mary, the Mother of God. Who but Mary could hav

Aid to the Church in Need is a papal charity of the Catholic Church, supporting the Catholic faithful and other Christians where they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. The organization recently published its report  Persecuted and Forgotten? 2015-2017 , detailing how Christians are oppressed for their Faith. The report's findings are chilling. It found that the persecution of Christians is today "worse than at any time in history." Christians in the Middle East are most at risk. In 2016 alone, some 600,000 Christians were persecuted worldwide. From the report's executive summary: "While firm numbers are hard to come by … there is little doubt that the level of Christian persecution remains extremely high in a great number of places around the world … In many countries the situation was already so severe, it could scarcely get any worse, and yet it did – the obvious exception being Saudi Arabia, where a long-established pattern of some of the wo

Saint Luke came from Antioch, was a practicing physician and one of the initial converts to Christianity. He accompanied Saint Paul, who converted him, on his missionary journeys and was still with him in Rome when St. Paul was in prison awaiting death. We hear no more of him afterward and nothing is known of his final years. The Church venerates him as a Martyr. The Gospel he authored is principally concerned with salvation and mercy; in it are preserved some of our Lord's most moving parables, like those of the lost sheep and the prodigal son. Dante calls St. Luke the "historian of the meekness of Christ." It is also St. Luke who tells us the greater part of what we know about our Lord's childhood (as relayed by Our Lady). The Evangelist considered his Gospel and the Book of Acts to be one account in two parts. In Acts of the Apostles, we follow Luke's journey in Christian ministry. Much of Acts is written in the third person. However, occasionally, Luke c

Saint Ignatius of Antioch lived at a time when the Church endured systematic persecution. The Church is persecuted still today. Pope Paul VI’s words are instructive: "It comes as no surprise to the Church that she, no less than her divine Founder, is destined to be a 'sign of contradiction.'" Given the Church’s divine mandate, Saint Ignatius’ stark insight is as profound as it is succinct. Christianity is greatest when it is hated by the world. — Saint Ignatius of Antioch _________________________________ Prayer for St Ignatius of Antioch’s Intercession Almighty ever-living God, who adorn the sacred body of your Church with the confessions of holy Martyrs, grant, we pray, that, by the intercession of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, we may grow in our love for the things of God and live in imitation of Christ. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, our Divine Savior. Amen.

Memorial - October 17th On this day, the Church commemorates one of the most significant Apostolic Fathers of Christian antiquity, who lived less than a century after Christ. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, (c. 35 – 107) a disciple of the Apostle John, was the third Bishop of Antioch (a city in present day Turkey) from 70 to 107, the date of his martyrdom. Tradition holds Ignatius, as a child, was blessed by Our Lord. He is patron of the Catholic Church in the eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. Ignatius is credited with coining the term 'Catholic' in reference to the universal Church. "Wherever Jesus Christ is", he observed, "there is the Catholic Church" (Smyrnaeans, 8:2). He is best known for the seven letters he wrote to six early Christian communities and to Saint Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, defending orthodoxy, urging unity and warning against heresy as he journeyed to his death from Antioch to Rome — a treasure passed down from the 1st century