On Monday September 22nd at 5:30pm in Seton Hall (lower level of the parish office), there will be a meeting for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to the sick and homebound.  New volunteers are always welcome.  If you are eligible to receive Holy Communion, then you are also eligible to distribute it.  This ministry could involve home, hospital or nursing home visits, and perhaps leading a Communion Service at a residential care facility from time to time.  Training is provided.

When people are no longer able to come to church, we want to be able to bring church to them.  It is always a struggle for us to find enough volunteers to keep this up and the demand always outweighs the supply.  All this really requires is a love for Jesus and a willingness to listen and encourage those who have crosses to bear. 

Please consider coming to this meeting to find out more and see if this would be a good fit for you, especially if you have been struggling to find some ministry that suits you here in this big parish where there is so much going on.

Each time we think we are done with portrait appointments for the parish directory, we discover more people who want to be in the book who missed the deadline.  Therefore, we have added two more days and that will be it for this edition.  You can call or stop by the Queens Parish Office for portrait appointments on either Monday September 29 or Monday October 6.  You can also book your own appointment online:

www.ucdir.com

Church code:  mi1901

Password photos

This weekend is Catechetical Sunday.  We will bless all of our Faith Formation catechists during the Sunday 9am Mass.  Queens School teachers are encouraged to participate also.  This year’s theme is “Always be ready to give an explanation… for a reason for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15). 

It is not too late to enroll in Sunday Faith Formation.  Classes take place in Queens School from 10:30 – 11:45am.  We offer instruction for public school and home school children in Pre-K thru 8th grade.  There is a modest cost but financial aid is available.  Stop by the school office Sunday morning between 10 and 10:30 or contact

Betsy Koval, Faith Formation/OCIA Director

bkoval@queenschurch.com

If you want a fun and easy way to learn more about the scriptures, consider taking part in the Bible Timeline:  the Story of Salvation, a new 24-week scripture series from Ascension Press.  The class is forming now. 

This was set to begin on September 30th but we are going to delay it a couple weeks as we just found out the whole series has been redone with new materials and we want to get it hot off the press.  If the materials arrive in time the Timeline Bible Study should begin on October 21st in Vincentian Hall at 6:30pm.

The class will be broken up into three 8-week sessions lasting until Spring of 2026.  This is a low-cost, easy way to learn more about the Bible using a mix of video learning, lecture and table discussion. 

St. Jerome who translated the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament into the Latin Vulgate in the 4th century said ‘ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.’  We can understand our Catholic faith so much better when we see how biblical it is.

Come make friends.  Come make a difference in your faith.  Use the link below to register as so many others already have:

Knights of Columbus Council 609 are having an Exemplification starting around noon this Sunday in Vincentian Hall to initiate new members in the first, second and third degree of knighthood.  This is open to the public.  Any Catholic male age 18 or above is eligible to become an active member of the council . . . and should!

The ladies of the St. Maria Goretti Circle of the Queens Women’s Guild invite you to come browse and shop at their Fall Rummage Sale in the Rectory Garage, Saturday October 4, 8am to 5pm. 

Your $150 ticket gets you dinner for 2 and many chances to win great prizes including the grand prize of $10,000!  Tickets will be on sale by the elevator after some Masses and at the parish or school office during the week. 

The September 10 murder of conservative campus activist Charlie Kirk has been a lightning rod for political controversy for the last 10 days, exposing deep divisions in our country, in the culture, and even in the Church.  Priests who did preach about Charlie last weekend were accused of being partisan, while those who didn’t mention him are thought by some to be cowards.  I fell into the latter category.  I made a vague reference in the homily and directed two of the petitions toward uniting the country and bringing an end to the political violence, but I did not mention Charlie’s name. Part of me feels badly that I didn’t, while the other part of me believes it would have just angered those who do not agree with what Charlie stood for.

Many people didn’t know who Charlie Kirk was, but immediately took sides after his death.  For those who did know of him, there was no in between.  You either loved him or loathed him.  Charlie was a young husband and dad.  Aside from anything else we might feel about him, we mourn the loss, pray for his wife and ask God’s blessing upon his children.  Charlie recently confided to a Catholic Bishop that he was ‘this close’ to converting to the Catholic faith. His widow was raised Catholic and they had been see more and more in recent months attending Mass where Charlie was developing a love and respect for the Blessed Mother.  

Charlie’s last interview did not air until after his death.  In it, he quoted St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans:  “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).  Let us all pray that God can make some good come from this and from every tragedy that befalls us and our fellow man.  

I read an article earlier today in the New York Post from Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York.  He called for all sides to calm down and come together, realizing that what unites us as Christians in America is far greater than what divides us.  I encourage you to take two minutes to read his inspiring and calming words:

You are welcome to attend this Vigil Monday evening at 5:30pm at the Crucifix on the ball fields of Lumen Christi.  I cannot attend due to meetings at Queens and then out at St Catherine Laboure. 

This is not a political rally or a protest.  It is a prayer vigil.  Please treat it as such.  Note, it is not just about Charlie Kirk.  You can also see the Annunciation Church sign where the children were shot at a school Mass on August 27th.  There is a picture of Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zarutska stabbed to death on a commuter train in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 22nd.  There is too much violence.  Life is not being treated as the precious gift that it is.  This is a prayer vigil to bring us all together at the foot of the cross to save, protect and preserve the dignity of life, the very fabric of our nation. 

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching” (Heb 13:8-9).

Fr. Tim MacDonald

Pastor