Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 15, 2024
What good is it, my brothers and sisters
if someone says they have faith but do not have works?
(James 2:14)
Season of Creation
Each year Pope Francis urges us to celebrate the Season of Creation (September 1 – October 4) by considering what we can do to take better care of the earth. His special prayer intention for this month is: Pray that each of us listen with our hearts to the cry of the Earth and of the victims of environmental disasters and the climate crisis, making a personal commitment to care for the world we inhabit.
There are many resources online to assist with celebrating this special season, including prayers and suggestions for steps to take to reduce our carbon footprints, such as found in this Celebration Guide. There are also helpful and informative videos and webinars. The AUSCP is collaborating with the Catholic Climate Covenant to sponsor 2 webinars which we have advertised for several weeks. One took place on September 11th and another will take place on September 18th. See below for the flyer. If you click on the flyer, it will take you to the registration page.
You can find other resources from the Catholic Climate Covenant, including a special program for the Feast of St. Francis, on their website: https://
Standing in Solidarity with Our Refugee Brothers and Sisters
In light of much false information and demonization of our immigrant population that is being spread through the presidential political campaign, especially about the Haitian population in Springfield, Ohio, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, has issued a letter reminding us that: When we strive to live our Catholic faith and pursue the common good, our work can alternatively be praised or attacked …and sometimes both at the same time. He goes on to state: Now, we are facing vitriolic backlash online and even in some mainstream media for our care for our migrant brothers and sisters who, like everyone else in our communities, are children of God.
There is now a rash of bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio, and some parents are afraid to send their children to school. Pray that respect for each human being and love of neighbor can prevail, restoring the dignity and respect that each and everyone deserves. Most refugees come to the U.S. looking for safety and well-being. How can we help to welcome them?
Archbishop Schnurr ends his letter with… always remember your deepest calling as Christians: “whatever you did for one of these least brothers [and sisters] of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
You can read Archbishop Schnurr’s letter HERE.
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
FOR THE 110th WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES – Sunday, September 29, 2024
God walks with his people (Click on title.)
In the spirit of this year’s theme, USCCB’s Office of Resettlement Services, Justice For Immigrants, and the Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees & Travelers (PCMRT) are inviting dioceses and parishes to learn about an exciting opportunity to participate in a powerful ministry through the Welcome Corps.
Please join us in an informative webinar on Thurs., Sept. 19th, at 3 PM ET by registering here.
Making Good Come From a Parish Closure
AUSCP member Fr. Ted Tempel was pastor of St. Theresa Parish in Evansville, Indiana, for 14 years before he retired. A recent article in NCR online, Rising from the razing: Catholic sister helps community rethink church, praised the parish for what they did with their property when the parish was closed. The article features Benedictine Sr. Jane Michele McClure who shepherded the new project with Habitat for Humanity.
A former parishioner gave credit to Fr. Ted’s leadership also, saying: “I call it like it was Camelot. We had a charismatic priest, and he had a team that worked at the parish that matched his energy. We were a faith community, but it was more than that. Father Ted (Tempel) had this mission. He expected parishioners to do things, that stewardship be shown through time, talent and treasure.” You can read the article HERE.
Fr. Ted celebrated his 60th Jubilee this year. Bill Jackson wrote a book about him called The Holy Tempel: The Extraordinary Ministry of Father Ted Tempel.
Voting Videos
AUSCP Executive Director, Fr. Steve Newton, has recorded several informative videos on voting that are now posted on the AUSCP Facebook page and website. This includes comments on the Presidential Debate of 9/10/24. You can access them at:
https://www.facebook.com/
Or, on the AUSCP website at: https://auscp.org/catholic-
Please share these videos on your own media sites.
Reserve your spot! Women and Priests–Conversations in the Spirit
Interactive webinar series hosted by AUSCP Women in the Church Working Group
Should she stay or should she go now? How could the church walk more closely with young women?
Join us September 18th, 2024 at 1 PM EST for an interactive webinar dedicated to St. Phoebe and hosted by the Women in the Church Working Group for AUSCP. Women, bring your clergy! Clergy, bring women from your parish. Julia Oseka is the keynote speaker. Julia is a Polish native and young adult synod delegate and was chosen as one of ten non-bishop voting members from the United States and Canada who will be at the upcoming Synod on Synodality in October. Your input matters!
Registration link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/
Special Note: Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, NM, and Synod delegate Cynthia Bailey Manns will join our conversation.
We need volunteers to be Synodal Facilitators. Indicate your interest when you register. Synodal facilitators will receive online training and will be a part of a pre-call briefing on September 16, 2024 from 7-7:45 PM.
| Our Mission: LEAVENING HUMANKIIND in TODAY’S WORLD
by Living the Gospel a la` Vatican II
New Webinar Series: 4 PM on Wednesdays, October 2, 9, 16, 23 followed by a November 6 Summary Review Hosted by Fr. Bob Bonnot and presented by Dr. Joe Torma Lumen Gentium is the first of two Dogmatic Constitutions that were promulgated by Vatican II on December 4, 1963, both now listed among the 16 documents adopted by the Catholic Church’s second Vatican Council from 1963-1965. This document merits 4 presentation sessions with discussion among us. Lumen Gentium presented the church as a mystery, as a communion of baptized believers, as the people of God, as the body of Christ and as a pilgrim moving toward fulfillment in heaven but marked on earth with … “a sanctity that is real, although imperfect.”
Our Webinar sessions run roughly 60 minutes until formal closure, followed by 15-30 minutes continuing discussion by those interested in engaging in more conversation. There will also be a final wrap-up session as we complete our study and discussion of all 16 Vatican II Documents: four Constitutions, nine Decrees, and three Constitutions. This series will be timely and enriching as we move toward the final three Synodal sessions of Pope Francis in 2024, the Church’s pathway to 2025.
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Videos from 2024 AUSCP Assembly are published here: Eucharist: Sacrament of Encounter Retreat: Bishop John Stowe Speakers: Fr. Tom Reese, SJ, Fr. Michael Driscoll, Dr. Kim Harris ______________________________ |
Other Webinars and Videos of Interest
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