Reflections from Our Pastors

Thursday, October 5, 2023

Celebrating St. Francis of Assisi



Many Catholics worldwide celebrate the Feast of St Francis of Assisi on October 4 each year. The feast commemorates the life of St Francis, who was born in the 12th century and is the Catholic Church's patron saint of animals and the environment. Saint Francis first blessed animals early in his ministry sometime between 1210–1215 and this tradition has

continued for more than 800 years.

Francis of Assisi OFM, was an Italian mystic and Catholic friar who founded the Franciscans. He was inspired to lead a life of poverty as an itinerant preacher. One of the most venerated figures in Christianity, Francis was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on July 16, 1228. He is usually depicted in a brown habit with a rope around his waist with three knots, symbolizing the three Franciscan vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

As someone who saw God reflected in nature, St. Francis was a great lover of God's creation. In the “Canticle of the Sun” he gives God thanks for Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wind, Water, Fire, and Earth, all of which he sees as rendering praise to God. Through the lessons that can be extracted from his life, St. Francis challenges each of us to be present: to be present to ourselves, to one another, and to all of creation. By being present to all around us, we are being present to the God who created us all from God's abundant love.

Today Saint Francis of Assisi belongs to the world, not just to Catholics and other Christians. His statue can be found in many public and private gardens, usually surrounded by animals and with a bird

lighting on one of his hands. The Humane Society of the United States devotes a full page to Saint Francis on its website, and many ecologists and activists view him as the originator of what has now become the worldwide environmental movement.

Animals from Trinity, St. Paul’s, and Mary of Magdala were blessed yesterday in honor of Saint Francis and our God, the Creator of all that is. If you were unable to bring your pet for a blessing today, you can pray this blessing over your pet in your own home.

Creator God,

We thank you for the gift of our beloved pet (name).

Your creatures bring us so much joy and love, and we are grateful for their

companionship and loyalty.

May we treat this creature with kindness and affection and strive to learn its

language.

We ask you, God, to bless (Pet’s name) with good health and vitality and protect

them from harm.

In the name of St. Francis and Jesus, our Brother, we pray.

Amen.

Mother Rosean

Friendly Reminders

We STILL need Mary of Magdala volunteers for the Oktoberfest on Oct. 22nd!

On Sunday, October 22nd, the 301 Faith Partners will celebrate together at 10:30 am. Oktoberfest will follow the service and include beer, brats, potato salad, and all the best of Oktoberfest!

Mary of Magdala is in charge of cleanup after the meal. Please sign up HERE to volunteer. On the sign-up sheet, scroll down through the list of volunteer opportunities to find "clean-up items". Click on the option(s) and to submit the form, go to the bottom and hit "continue" to fill in your name. THANK YOU ALL!

Together we can share faith, fellowship, help our neighbors, and have fun! EIN PROST!

Program for Students with Food and Housing Insecurities

With the shortage of housing for students in our community, a number of them are considered housing insecure or homeless. LuMin (Lutheran Campus Ministry) is working to respond to this need in our community.



For the 2023-2024 school year, they have placed twenty-one financially challenged students in affordable housing and are providing additional assistance with a grant to subsidize the cost of rent. In addition, they will provide mentors from the Fort Collins community, establish peer support groups, and help connect students to other assistance through a social work intern.

Faith communities in Fort Collins are asked to provide food for dinners on Tuesdays when the students gather. Our 301 Faith Partners have helped with this ministry the last 2 years and plan to continue.

What we need: We are asking our 301 Faith Partnership to help with creating a dinner meal on October 10 and assist on October 17th. Typically, 15 students participate. 

Responses to this ministry by the students served has been overwhelmingly positive. They are grateful. In many cases, they would not be able to attend the university without this service.

Questions? Email Weltha at weltha@hotmail.com

If you are interested in helping out, click below.

Sign Up here to Assist with a Meal!

Please send prayer requests to marymagdalafc@gmail.com. Prayers will be listed for one month unless requested for longer. Prayers for the repose of souls will be listed for six months unless requested for a longer time.

Celebrating the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Celebrate with Fr. Teri Harroun presiding on October 1st. The video of the homily and readings is available here.

Mass Schedule

Sunday Oct 8 at 12:30 pm

• Mother Rosean Amaral is presiding. In-person and with Zoom

Weekly Mass Wednesday, Oct 11 at

11:00 am

• Weekly mass in the Fireside Room
• No Zoom available

Sunday Oct 15 at 12:30 pm

• Father Michael Nicosia is presiding. In-person and with Zoom

Weekly Mass Wednesday, Oct 18 at

11:00 am

• Weekly mass in the Fireside Room
• No Zoom available

Did you miss an article or announcement?

Past e-bulletins posted here



• Ongoing Giving Opportunities in Fellowship hall; see list here

• ECC House of Laity, NEWSLETTER, August 2023, read here

• Dedicating Altar Flowers? Contact Joan Stepleton at JoanStepleton@gmail.com or 864-650-2816. A $25 dollar donation is kindly requested.

• The purpose of the Mary Magdalene Society is to financially support aspiring and current priests and encourage the development of youth in their spiritual journeys. Read more here.

Mary of Magdala Parish Community

Members: Need to view, update information or download a copy of the member directory? Just click here.

If you would like to contribute to Mary of Magdala, here are ways to schedule a single or recurring Sunday offertory.

All are invited and ALL are welcome to join our parish community. Here is the webpage with more information on membership

The ECC Regional Website is now live - View here.

Newsletters of Trinity Lutheran Church and the St. Paul's Episcopal  

Click here for the Trinity Lutheran Church monthly newsletter, "Tidings". And here is St Paul's weekly bulletin.