Diocese of Peoria Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC Coadjutor Bishop Louis Tylka

Administrator Father Ryan Mattingly

Confessions

St. Luke Saturday before Mass 3:00 - 3:45 pm

St. Joseph Sunday before Mass 9:15 - 9:45 am Bulletin announcements and calendar changes should be typed and submit-ted by Tuesday to the parish office or

emailed to saintluke.eureka@gmail.com

Catholic Parishes of St. Luke, St. Joseph, and the Salve Regina Newman Center (309) 467-4855

saintluke.eureka@gmail.com www.stsjlj.com

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time September 26, 2021

Dear Parishioners, Our Lord has some strong words today about the dangers of sin, “if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna.” The same goes for the foot and the eye. If we took our Lord’s words literally, one would think a lot more of His followers would be missing body parts. We do all sin, and it is sometimes caused by our body leading us astray. Christ is using hyperbole, or exaggeration, to drive His point home. Sin is really, really bad. It is the worst thing in the world, far worse than missing a hand, or foot, or eye. It’s a powerful image. Imagine the difficulties of hav-ing your foot amputated. You could certainly still survive, but it would be a great loss. Every day would have difficulties and there would be some things we couldn’t do any longer. As terrible as an amputation would be, Christ is telling us it is not nearly as bad as sin. A physical ailment may affect our ability to get around, but a spiritual ailment affects our life directly. Sin is a poison, and the more we imbibe it, the more it erodes away our vitality. The hardened sinner has a dullness to them that can be difficult to describe, but is none the less real. The person free of sin, or at least serious sin, is more truly alive, able to receive and experience all of the good in the world. Why is our Lord warning us to avoid sin at all costs? Because He cares for us. “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (Jn 10:10) Our Lord knows that sin will destroy our happiness in this life and the next and He doesn’t want that to happen. He wants us to live. Sometimes without realizing it, we can think of sin as something desirable but forbidden. As if by avoiding sin, we are missing out. Not only does that turn Christ into a kill joy, but it also keeps our hearts attached to sin. Even if we control our actions, we pine for what we know is wrong. Sin is ultimately a lie that something evil is good and thus desirable. Only in the truth of Jesus Christ can we free ourselves from this lie and live in the truth that sets us free. “Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth.” In Christ, Fr. Mattingly

Mass Schedule & Intentions

Sat, Sept. 25, Vigil for Sunday 4:00 pm at St. Luke Carmon Edwards by Thomas & Lynn Krumholz 5:30 pm at St. Joseph Donna Coffey by Stephen Coffey Sunday, Sept. 26 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time 8:00 am at St. Luke Donna Coffey by Stephen Coffey 10:00 am at St. Joseph Pro Populo Mon, Sept. 27, St. Vincent de Paul 8:00 am at St. Luke NO MASS Tue, Sept. 28, St. Wenceslaus, Martyr 8:00 am at St. Luke NO MASS Wed, Sept. 29, Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels 8:00 am at St. Luke NO MASS Thu, Sept. 30, St. Jerome 8:00 am at St. Joseph Donna Coffey by Stephen Coffey Fri, Oct. 1, St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus 8:00 am at St. Joseph Donna Coffey by Stephen Coffey Sat, Oct. 2, Vigil for Sunday 4:00 pm at St. Luke Pro Populo 5:30 pm at St. Joseph Donna Coffey by Stephen Coffey Sunday, Oct. 3, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 8:00 am at St. Luke Intention of the Celebrant 10:00 am at St. Joseph Donna Coffey by Stephen Coffey

Upcoming Events

There will be no weekday mass this week on Mon-day, Tuesday or Wednesday. Monday, Sept. 27 8:30 am Rosary group (St. Luke) Wednesday, Sept. 29 6:30 pm Weekly Rosary (St. Joseph) Sunday, Oct. 3 9:00 am Faith Formation (St. Luke & St. Joseph) 9:00 am “The Creed” Bible Study (St. Luke) 11:00 am Potluck (St. Joseph) Make sure to check the bulletin and calendar on line for upcoming events and masses.

ACT will be meeting Sunday, Septem-ber 26 from 6:30—8:00 at St. Jo-seph’s. This week, we will be having s’mores and beginning our journey in prayer. All high school students are invited to attend.

2021 Annual Diocese Appeal

(ADA) results: St. Luke has a goal of $19,645, with $11,810 (61%)

PLEDGED

22 of our 89 families pledged this year.

St. Joseph has a goal of $8,922, with $3,180 (36%)

PLEDGED

9 of our 79 families pledged this year.

THANK YOU for your generosity!

CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF PEORIA

ACCOUNTANT - OFFICE OF FINANCE

The Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Office of Finance, is currently seeking an individual with previous experience to fill a full time accounting position. This position re-quires a detail oriented person to handle billings, cash receipts, deposit and loan accounts, endowment ac-counts and other accounting duties as needed. Salary commensurate with experience includes an excellent benefits package. Applicants may mail or e-mail their resume with salary expectations to: Catholic Diocese of Peoria Attn: Human Resources 419 NE Madison Ave Peoria, IL 61603 or Email: humanresources@cdop.org

Subject: Accountant

The Chapel at St. Luke’s is open 24 hours a day. It is a place turn off the noise and stress of the world and spend time in the mercy, love and peace of Jesus. There is a sign on the west side of church pointing the way.

The first Faith, Food & Fellowship potluck will be on October 3 after the 10 am Mass at St. Jo-seph’s. Hosts Kam and Mike Blunier will be serv-ing barbeque. Feel free to bring a dish to share. We look forward to seeing you there!

“Michael: Help us in our battle – each of us has a battle to fight in our lives; Gabriel: Bring us news, bring us the good news of salvation; Raphael: Take us by the hand and lead us forward without taking the wrong turns. Al-ways walking forward, but with your help!” Pope Francis 9/29/2017

Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the gift of our priests.

Through them, we experience your presence in the sacra-ments.

Help our priests to be strong in their vocation. Set their souls on fire with love for your people.

Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.

Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel. Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.

Help them to become instruments of your divine grace.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest. Amen.

Priesthood Sunday is September 26. If you would like to give Father Mattingly a note of thanks, encourage-ment or prayer, you can place it in the box/basket in the gathering room of each church. They will be there until October 3. "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus. When you see a priest, think of our Lord Jesus Christ." St. John Vianney

Magnificat If you subscribed to the Magnificat, the October issue is ready for you to pick up in the Gathering Room at church.

40 Days for Life: Sept. 22, 2021- Oct. 31, 2021

You can protect mothers and children by joining this worldwide mobilization to pray and fast for an end to abortion! 40 Days for Life is an internationally coordinat-ed 40-day campaign that aims to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and a peaceful all-day vigil in front of abortion businesses. Please contact Karen Guth (Director): 309-453-7493, email: godshelperkaren@yahoo.com; Laurie Wilkinson: 309-232-1996, email: louise107@yahoo.com; Kay Robin-son: 630-212-5423, email: kayrob@juno.com. Here’s how to take part in 40 days for Life in our community: sign up at: https://www.40daysforlife.com/en/peoria VIGIL LOCATION: Outside planned Parenthood, Pub-lic right-of-way outside, 2709 N Knoxville Ave Peoria, IL

2021 PUBLIC SQUARE ROSARY CRU-

SADE Please join the 2021 Public Square Rosary Cru-sade. Our nation is in great need of public pray-er, repentance and conversion. We ask God to save America through the Rosary of His Most

Holy Mother.

Please join us in praying for our nation on OCTOBER 16, 2021 AT 12:00 NOON

The local Public Square Rosary Rally will take place at

HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH

3720 N STERLING AVENUE

PEORIA, IL 61615 Please contact Darlene Anstett at (309) 686-

0051 for more information.

Have you missed the Italian American Society of Peoria Festa Picnic the last two summers? The food, the fellow-ship, the fun.... We've missed it, too! The Society will host a carry-out spaghetti dinner on Sunday, October 3, 2021 from 1-5pm at the Knights of Columbus (7403 N Radnor Rd, Peoria). Meals are $10 each or you can pur-chase a family meal that serves four people for $35. Each meal consists of spaghetti, bread and salad. To help us plan we are asking people to place orders in advance. If you have questions, email italianamericansocietypeoria@gmail.com or con-tact Rhonda Parker (309-645-5285) or Sara Schlueter (309-397-3587). To place your order, pay or for more information go to www.italianamericansociety.com/activities The proceeds from the Festa and this event go to our annual scholarships offered to local students (https://www.italianamericansociety.com/scholarships)

'You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them." St. Thérèse