Join the Knights of Columbus on Saturday, October 12th in saying the Rosary for the end of abortion at noon, outside of Holy Redeemer Church. Join them in this Rosary Rally rain or shine! St Joseph Church is hosting a Living Rosary on Sunday, October 13th. A Living Rosary is prayed as a church community with each person representing a bead. Please call the St Joseph Parish office at 814-723-2090 to sign up.

The weekend of October 28th & 27th students attending NCYC will be handing out mini M&M tubes as their annual fundraiser for their trip. Thank you for your generosity and prayers!

Our Faith Formation program will celebrate our saints and our loved ones who have died. We will be creating a memorial space for photos of our loved ones. Families, please bring in a photo or two of a loved one. Please label who it is and the relationship to our student or Warren County Catholic parishioner. You can bring in a framed photo as well. This is a project that is being put together by the Faith Formation classes but is open to everyone to bring photos in to celebrate our loved ones through this memorial. You are welcome to drop off photos in the basket beside the parish office at Holy Redeemer or send them in with a student in Faith Formation, but we must have them by October 20th. The memorial will be set up until Advent. Thank you!

Holy Redeemer Choir will delay the start of the season due to illness. Our first rehearsal will be Monday, October 7. It is not too late to sign up! The choir is open to 7th Grade to Adult singers, and no audition or prior experience is required. Service hours awarded for participation. Interested singers can contact Rachel Harvey at 814-706-2262 or [email protected]. Sing. Play. Pray. Join us today!

Join Jennifer on Monday, October 14 at 2:00 pm at Holy Redeemer for ORDINARY ANGELS. A struggling hairdresser finds a renewed sense of purpose when she meets a widowed father working hard to care for his two daughters. With his youngest critically ill and waiting for a liver transplant, the fierce woman single-handedly rallies an entire community to help. Starring Alan Ritchson and Hilary Swank. Popcorn and drinks served. Bring a friend!

NCYC Long Beach is fast approaching and we have a really large group of young men and women and adult chaperones going. We will be doing a fundraiser at the end of October and we have some other avenues of income in the works but if anyone would like to sponsor a room for a night, we are going to need help with our lodging. $50 per kid or $200 per night. Any amount will help us. Please make checks payable to CCY and drop of at either parish office or put in the collection basket in a clearly marked envelope. Our youth love these experiences of our universal Church and they love meeting other Catholic youth from around the country. Thank you for helping us engage more fully in this incredible encounter with Christ and His Church.

TABLE TALK with Toby & Tony will resume on Tuesdays beginning October 1st- November 19th (off November 5th). We will explore how to live our Catholic faith to its fullest. We will be using the book THE ART OF LIVING by Dr. Edward Sri. Cost is $15. Sign up today at [email protected].

The Holy Redeemer Choir season begins soon! The first rehearsal is Monday, September 30th at 6:30 PM. The choir is open to 7th Grade to Adult singers, and no audition or prior experience is required. Service hours awarded for participation. Interested singers can contact Rachel Harvey at 814-706-2262 or [email protected]. Sing. Play. Pray. Join us today!

Last weekend, our parish took up a second collection to help support the lifelong faith formation and educational needs of our parish and diocese. Many parishioners responded generously. Thank you! If you missed last week’s Catholic Education Collection, please consider a donation by using the envelope provided in your offertory packet. Envelopes may be placed in the collection basket or mailed to the parish office.

St. Luke Rummage Sale Saint Luke's rummage sale will be held October 3rd, 4th, and October 5th. It is sponsored by the St. Luke Altar Society. Hours are: October 3rd & 4th from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm October 5th from 9: 00 am till noon. Also Saturday is one dollar a bag day. Any donations can be dropped off in the lower back entrance of the church up to the day of the sale. between the Hours of 9:00 am-5:00 pm.

Welcome Fr. Baiju YOUR SUPPORT CAN MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ! Together, we have the opportunity to bring the uplifting message of Jesus to those in need in India. The Vincentian priests serving in the North Indian Missions rely on your generosity to continue their vital work. Your prayers and financial contributions play a crucial role in spreading the Gospel and providing assistance to the poor and needy. This upcoming weekend, September 7th and 8th, we are honored to welcome Fr. Baiju Kidaagen VC, a dedicated missionary from the North Indian Province - St. Thomas Province of the Vincentian Congregation. He will be sharing more about the important work being done in North Indian Missions and seeking your support for the Missions. We humbly ask for your kind and generous donations to support this noble cause. Your contributions will directly impact the lives of those in need and help spread hope and love to communities in North India. Thank you for considering how you can help make a difference through your prayers and support. (Please write checks to Holy Redeemer, note India on check or place in a separate envelope)

Minor Tweaks & Shifts: Starting in September there will be no daily Mass or confessions on Mondays as it is will be my day of. Per diocesan policy priests are granted 1 day of a week (compared to two for the rest of the working world.) Although I am still getting a sense of how the Sacrament of Reconciliation is being utilized, from what I’m experiencing there is sufficient numbers celebrating on the Monday evening hour of confessions that I plan to shift that to Thursday evenings at the same time 5:30-6:30. The main chalice used by the presider and deacon will now be one of the cups used for distribution of Precious Blood to the congregation. Liturgical norms allow for the use of extra cups of the Blood when warranted by practical necessities. At the same time, the sharing of the ‘one cup’ [as much as practical and possible] has always been a symbolic focus from the time of the last supper. This is the reason why the Catholic Church has not gone the route of individual sanitary cups for everyone as some other Christian denominations have done. I think that it is important that main chalice be included in the distribution of the precious blood to maintain that one cup symbolism. This does not change anything in how we will distribute the precious blood, but this is just a heads up in case anyone notices the change and wonders why.

Reception of Communion on the Tongue. Many Catholics remember Communion rails, and the training they received, to say “Amen” to the announcement of “The Body of Christ” and then stick out their tongues with their mouths open. Because the kneeling at a railing provided stability, there was little movement and the tongue was a fairly easy target for the standing priest to place the host on the tongue. Additionally, the moist tongue and the dry light weight host made almost instant adhesion so there was little risk of dropping a host, besides an altar server carrying a paten on the recipient’s chin was a safety net for the Lord. Vatican Council II formalized some of the evolving theology regarding Eucharist. For example, chewing the host had been determined as not offensive or harmful to the Body of Christ. Reception of our Lord in the hand became permissible with the realization that we can and do sin with our tongue as readily as with our hands. Ultimately it is the mercy and grace of God that allows us to consume Christ not some specific piety or posture. The Church allows reception of Communion either in the hand or on the tongue; it is to be the recipient’s choice unless specific circumstances dictate otherwise. For example, in the early stages of COVID, reception in the hand was required given the masking protocols of the time. As a priest, and the ordinary minister of the Body of Christ, I ask folks who still choice to receive Communion in on the tongue to note the following:. 1) Say “Amen”. (This also applies to everyone) 2) Stick the tongue out; the bigger the target the easier and safer it is to place the host securely on the tongue such that it doesn’t get dropped. 3) Stand still, and keep your head still. If there is movement, there is a greater chance of the fingers of the minister to come in contact with the recipient’s mouth/tongue. Granted those who share the cup share a much more substantial risk than the possibility of saliva on the bread minister’s hands, but it is still their choice to receive from the cup or not. Those who are dealing with compromised immune system may only have the choice of receiving the Body of Christ, and we collectively should do our best to keep it as safe as reasonably possible. So just as those who receive in the hand should do so reverently, steadily, with flat palms to ‘receive’ our Lord, those who receive on the tongue should do so with their tongue out, head and body still, to receive the same Lord.

The gospel for this weekend is generically and appropriately labeled as the ‘multiplicaton’ of the loaves and fishes, rather than just the ‘creation’ of more bread and fish. Creation from nothing (creatio ex nihilo for the Latin aficionados) is one of the attributes we ascribe to God; and presumably his fully divine Son. Yet, Jesus makes a point of engaging the disciples, not just as servers at the banquet, but hopefully in their emotional commitment to feed the hungry.

“Come away by yourselves …. and rest awhile.” Jesus says these words to his disciples knowing that they were getng exhausted. It is unlikely that the disciples were working any harder than Jesus, but Jesus had the advantage of being fairly certain about what they were doing, whereas the disciples were largely in the dark. When we are moving forward without certainty it drains our energy. [Driving in a whiteout is more exhaustng than the same path on a clear day.] Jesus wanted the disciples to recharge, not simply to be more efectve at ministry, but to give them down-tme where most physical, psychological and spiritual growth occurs. Summer is short, and whether you travel abroad, or enjoy the healing hills and waters of Warren, come away and rest awhile; if Jesus tells us to do so it we should be able to do it for at least a week guilt free.

I’ll admit that I’m looking forward to this assignment. This fallen away fly fishermen is stunned to now actually live in a place where ‘a river runs through it’. I am even more stunned to be in places of work and worship as inviting as the water. Grateful to be with you. Fr. Mark

1. Community is everything. We missed it so terribly during Covid and it has been the best to be a community in the years post Covid. We need each other; we need God. 2. To be an Amazing Parish you must pray! Everything should begin and end in prayer. We must follow his example and keep praying. Pray everyday- everywhere and visit Jesus in the Eucharist always! 3. Reconciliation is a gift. Forgiveness is the key to healthy relationships. Visit the confessional frequently and let God love you. He is a merciful God. 4. Do not let fear or anxiety rule you. We have a God who walks with us each and every minute of each and every day. Let him love you; guide you; and protect you. Be not afraid! 5. Our young people are a treasure and we must hear them; see them; teach them and walk with them. Please, please, please pass on this beautiful faith to our youth. They desire it; they need it; they deserve it! 6. Our elders are a treasure. They have lived, loved and lost. They are wise and they are faithful. They have seen the worst of this world and they have seen the best. Ask them to share their stories and thank them for their gifts and their servant hearts. They faithfully and generously helped to build the Kingdom of God. 7. Service is critical to being Church: service to our God, to one another, to the homebound, to the poor, to the afflicted, to our country, to all! Service is a key component to our happiness. Pour yourself out! 8. There is no right time to discover God or His love. There is no perfect time to receive a Sacrament or say a prayer. Live in these moments; embrace the opportunities that present themselves for you to share the faith; share a glory story; pray for someone; be kind to one another. Don't wait: do it now and never surrender in the face of a challenge. 9. Experience is everything. We must experience God and His incredible love first and then we will want to know Him more. Offer the experiences; support the experiences; engage in the experiences. Our goal should be to turn people's lives upside down with an encounter of the redeeming love of Jesus Christ! 10. We are one (Warren County Catholic Community) We are holy (God is in all we do and all we are.) We are Catholic (Be proud of that.) We are apostolic (Invite to Ignite!).

HOLY REDEEMER: “The Redeemer of man, Jesus Christ, is the center of the universe and of history.” St. John Paul II began his papal magisterium with those penetrating words. Indeed, Jesus Christ must beat the center – at the center of my life and at the center of yours – if we are to experience the human fulfillment that our hearts so long for and desire. Christ must be at the center if we are to realize our greatest hope: life in Paradise for all eternity. Keeping Christ at the center is not always easy, is it? I struggle like you struggle. Together, though, as one family in Christ, even the struggle can be something beautiful. Walking with you over these past five years, I have known the profound beauty which Christ makes possible in communities of faith such as ours. Thank you for welcoming me into your parish and thank you for welcoming me into your lives! In the Liturgy of the Hours (the formal prayers that priests must pray throughout the day), there is a phrase found in the “Common of Pastors” section that always moves me: This is a man who loved his brethren and ever prayed for them. That is the kind of priest and that is the kind of pastor that I have tried to be for you. Admittedly, I have often fallen short. Too many times, I have been impatient in listening, abrupt in responding, or insufficient in my gift of self. No doubt, you could easily add to that catalog of faults! I sincerely apologize for each time I let you down or failed to be the priest that Christ expects me to be. I can say with assurance, though, that it has been a truly blessed five years for me here in Warren County. We have prayed together, worshipped together, laughed together (remember the time the pitcher broke during the Holy Thursday foot washing and everything and everyone got soaked?), cried together, mourned together, and peered into eternity together. In God’s mercy, I can truly say that I am grateful for each moment, even for the ones that were difficult, challenging or frustrating. God uses every one of those moments to draw us closer to himself, does he not? Now, as Jesus himself had to do, I must pack up and move on. I take comfort in remembering the Lord’s very own words: “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom (Lk 4:43).” As I leave our beautiful Catholic Community and travel west to another, I carry each of you in my heart. I appreciate you. I love you. I look forward to that day when we will all be together again in the kingdom of heaven. Once we are there, as we walk the streets of gold and listen attentively to the angel choirs, no farewells will ever again be needed.

EUCHARISTIC REVIVAL: Our Lord, in the Blessed Sacrament, is making his way through many areas of our nation, as weeks-long Eucharistic Processions converge on Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress in July. Our friend, Blessed Carlo Acutis, said that “the Eucharist is my highway to heaven.” Now, Jesus, in the Eucharist, is travelling actual highways, held aloft for the adoration of all. Often, here at church, I notice one or two people deep in prayer before our tabernacle. Maybe those folks feel the weight of heavy burdens? Yet, in prayer before the Eucharist, they are sure to find comfort, solace, and companionship. Remember that during the summer months, our church is normally open from early morning until well into the evening. Please, make a visit to our Lord. Kneel before his Eucharistic presence. Offer him your joys and sufferings. Several of our Warren County friends will be in Indianapolis when the National Eucharistic Congress convenes in mid-July. I am excited for them! But what if we cannot attend? Listen again to the soon-to-be canonized saint, Carlo Acutis: “We can find God in his Body, Soul, and Divinity present in all the tabernacles of the world! If we think about it, we are much more fortunate than those who met Jesus on this earth two thousand years ago, because we have God ‘really and substantially’ with us always. It is enough to visit a nearby church. ‘Jerusalem’ is in every church! No room for despair!”

EMMAUS: The annual priest convocation at St. Vincent College in Latrobe is happening this week from Monday evening through Thursday morning. Both Fr. Rick and I will be in attendance. Priests from the Diocese of Erie have been gathering for Emmaus for close to four decades now, I believe. There are opportunities for fraternity, prayer, Mass, and we are receiving talks from the Most Rev. David J. Bonnar, Bishop of Youngstown. He will be speaking to us on living a holy, vibrant and relational priesthood. Given the recent slew of assignment changes, the most oft heard phrase this week will probably be – “Now where are you moving to again?” Please keep Fr. Rick, me and all of your diocesan priests in prayer.