It promises to be a rainy weekend as we experience the remnants of what was one Hurricane Ian. We pray for those who lost their lives and the ones who mourn them, for all who lost their homes and businesses, and for all who have been harmed by this devastating storm. May they know the Lord's power and mercy. As for us, we will still have our blessing of animals at 12 noon at the office entrance. There will be another blessing of animals on Tuesday at 4:00 PM if it's too rainy today.

October is the Month of the Rosary throughout the Universal Church. It is a glorious devotion to both our Lady and our Savior as we pray to her and meditate on the mysteries of the life of Christ. I encourage everyone to pray the Rosary daily, and families to pray the Rosary together. You can find out how to pray the Rosary here. The Legion of Mary places Rosaries for the taking by their display table in the rear vestibule of the Church.

Here in the United States, October is Respect Life Month. It has been a blessed year as Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision was overturned, removing the federal legalization of abortion in our nation. In the years since the Roe vs. Wade decision was made in 1973, an estimated 63 million children in the womb had their lives taken from them in the United States. Of course, abortion still exists in this country and throughout the world, and so we continue to promote an end to this tragic practice of ending an innocent human life, and work to promote the care of support of mothers in need, women in crisis pregnancies, their children, and families.

After all Masses this weekend, we will have a bake sale/used book sale whose proceeds will support our Family and Respect Life ministry and Religious Education program at St. Andrew the Apostle. For those who would like to donate tasty treats or religious books, please contact Patty Laing (plaing@st-andrew.org) and bring them to Hannan Hall before Mass.

The Arlington Diocese 40 Days for Life Campaign began this week, which calls for Catholics throughout the Diocese to pray and fast for an end to abortion. It also involves witnessing through prayer outside of the abortion facility in Falls Church (900 S. Washington St.). Information may be found here. When I was at St. Leo's, we used to pray outside of the abortion facility in the parish boundary in Fairfax. It is now closed. Those from St. Andrew's may remember praying outside of the abortion facility in Manassas that closed and is now the Mother of Mercy free clinic.* Our prayers are powerful when combined with God's saving grace! Please join us for the 40 Days for Life.

*In that link, notice the priest holding the prayer and holy water for Bishop Burbidge as he blesses the clinic. This was from my time as the Bishop's Secretary. This photo is a reminder to me that I need to smile more - or at least not actively look miserable - so that I don't ruin beautiful events like this.

The annual Life Chain for the protection of the unborn has been postponed for a week because of the rain this Sunday. It will now be on Sunday, October 9, from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM. Our location will be on Sudley Road in Manassas between Rolling Rd. and Godwin Dr. in front of Miller Toyota. Join us in a prayerful and public witness to the dignity of human life, and I think Mike Spicer for once again organizing this effort. Next Sunday is also the first event of our 2022-2023 St. Andrew's Concert Series at 4:00 PM, so it promises to be a full day!

The victims of abortion are not only the children whose lives are taken from them, but also those parents who remain. I know that many people suffer alone, uncomfortable or afraid to talk about their past with others, especially a priest. The Lord desires to forgive all people, and there is no sin too great for his infinite mercy. The Diocese of Arlington provides ministry for post-abortion healing through our Project Rachel ministry. They will host a retreat on October 15. For confidential inquiries and registration, please call (703) 841-2504 or email info@helpafterabortion.org.

Some people falsely claim that the Catholic Church is only interested in ending abortion but makes no effort to help those children who are born. It's a ridiculous claim that has no basis in fact. The Church has been at the forefront of care for the needy since the early Christians, and will always hold such merciful care as the center of her mission. I will speak of the programs we have for mothers with crisis pregnancies and those to help families in need in a future newsletter this month, for such care completes and complements the ministry to protect human life in the womb. You can see the Diocesan ministries in this effort here and here....

For those who have attended receptions after special parish events such as our Mass on St. Andrew's Feast Day (November 30 at 7:00 PM: Mark your calendars) and organ concerts, you have enjoyed the fruits of our Called By Name ministry. I strongly urge those who have a gift for hospitality and bringing people together, please consider joining this group so vital to the parish. For more information or to join our Called By Name ministry, please contact Mary Ralston at marylralston@gmail.com....

There will be no newsletter next weekend. I'm traveling to Rome from October 4 to 11 for a vacation/pilgrimage. If I'm honest, it's more of a vacation than a pilgrimage. The primary purpose of the trip is to visit three of my priest friends from seminary who are currently assigned to positions in Rome. I lived there for five years when I studied theology, so the Eternal City is a comfortable and familiar place to return to. Having friends that live there is a nice, but temporary, luxury that I will take advantage of while I can!

When I was a seminarian in Rome, I had the honor of giving tours of the excavations under St. Peter's Basilica. These were excavations of a necropolis that was covered over to build the Basilica around the years 320-360 AD. This necropolis was the home of the relics of St. Peter, which is why the Basilica was built where it was: the altar was to be directly over the tomb of the great saint. For centuries the relics of St. Peter laid untouched. The Basilica was rebuilt from 1506-1626 AD, and the necropolis and the tomb of St. Peter remained undisturbed. It wasn't until the 20th Century when renovating the grotto under the new St. Peter's, that they found the top of one of the mausoleums that made up the necropolis and began to excavate to find the tomb of St. Peter. There is a lot more to the story, and the best book about it is The Bones of St. Peter by John Evangelist Walsh.

Every two weeks or so, I would lead pilgrims from all over the world - as long as they spoke English - on a tour that would end at the tomb of St. Peter, our first Pope and the Rock on which Christ built His Church. My time as a guide increased my devotion to St. Peter. Because of his prominence as the first Pope, he is mentioned in the Gospels more than any of the other disciples. He's mentioned 191 times. John is a distant second at 48. Because of this, we know him and his personality more than we know the others. Peter is the one who allows Jesus into his boat to teach the crowds on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. He tells Jesus to depart from him because he is a sinful man. He commands Jesus to make him walk on water and then sinks when he takes his eyes off of Christ and begins to fear. He is the only Apostle to proclaim that Jesus is the Son of the Living God, and then rebukes our Lord when he says he is going to Jerusalem to die. He proclaims he will fight to the death and even cuts off the ear of a slave when Jesus is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. He also denies Jesus three times after declaring at the Last Supper that he would never betray him. We see his faults and his brashness. We also see his faith.

The Gospels show Peter's imperfect humanity as he walks with Christ. Our Lord continues to show him mercy, instruct him, and invite him to greater things. When Christ ascends into heaven and the Holy Spirit comes upon the Apostles at Pentecost, we see Peter come alive with faith and courage as he boldly proclaims the Gospel message of salvation through the risen Christ, although he still makes some misjudgments about the Gentiles which are corrected at the Council of Jerusalem.

In Peter, we see a man who is imperfect like us who walks with Christ, listens to him, and knows God's love and power. We cannot walk with Jesus as Peter did, but we know that he is with us, especially in the Sacraments. While Christ was on earth, Peter could only be with him when he was in the same place. Now that Christ has ascended to heaven, he can be with all of us at all times through the Holy Spirit, through the sacraments, through our prayer. We especially embrace the devotion of Eucharistic Adoration here at St. Andrew's, where we can pray before the Lord in the Eucharist and embrace him in the silence of prayer.*

We pray for the intercession of St. Peter that we, like him, may not focus on our faults and sins, but on Jesus Christ, that we may be transformed by his grace, and fulfill the vocation that we are called to through the power of Jesus Christ and the peace that comes through knowing his grace and mercy.

*We are looking for more Eucharistic Adorers to commit to daily or weekly hours of Adoration, especially in the morning hours of 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM. Please consider signing up to take fill these times because we cannot leave our Lord unattended, and I really don't want to end morning Adoration for lack of adorers. It is too precious a gift to our parish to limit.

Be assured of my prayer to you in Rome. I will remember you all at the holy churches and at the precious relics of the saints. Pray for me as well, that this time away with my friends may be restful and spiritually fruitful. And pray for Fr. Smith who will be bearing a greater load with my absence!