Welcome to our November 10, 2019

St. Francis of Assisi Parish Family

Sharing the love of Jesus in the north Georgia mountains, and beyond……

Archdiocese of Atlanta Deacon Larry Casey Mass Times: Sat: 4:30 pm - Vigil Deacon Paul Dietz Sun: 8:30 am, 11:00 am

Deacon J.P. McGuire – Administrator 1:00 pm (Spanish) Business Manager Communion Svc: Mon - Fri: 9:00 am

Jim Gioia ____________________________________________Sacrament of Reconciliation:

Office Assistant Sat: 3:00 pm – 4:15 pm Lisa Howard Eucharistic Adoration:

Finance Manager Mon. – Fri. 9:45 am – 12 noon Rita Baker Church Office Phone: (706) 745-6400 Dir. Of Religious Education 3717 Hwy 515 Joe Kwiatkowski Blairsville, GA. 30512 Adult Faith Formation Colleen Orchanian Office Hours: Mon – Thurs: 10:00 am – 4:30 pm Music Director E-mail: office@stfrancisblairsville.com Marianne Engelmann Website: www.stfrancisblairsville.com

November 10 , 2019 PRAYER FOR PRIESTS

Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the gift of our priests. Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments. 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.

WEEKLY CALENDAR Nov 10 th – Nov 16th

Sunday 9:00-1:00pm Knights Breakfast Marian Hall9:45 am Catechism Lower Marian Hall 9:45 am Bible Chat Room 115:00 pm Youth Group Marian Hall8:00 pm Sp. Catechesis Lower Marian Hall

Monday 10:00 am Ephesians Bible Study Marian Hall

Tuesday9:50 am Weight on Lord Room 11

Wednesday9:00 am Dec’d Knights Mass Church10:00 am Prayer Group Room 11 6:00 pm R.C.I.A. Room 11 6:00 pm Young Adults Room 7 7:00 pm Spanish Prayer Grp. Church Thursday10:00 am SVdP Meeting Conference Room2:00 pm Koffee Klatch Marian Hall6:30 pm Knights Meeting Conference Room

Friday No Activities

Saturday No Activities

Offertory Oct. 31 / Nov. 2 & 3First Collection $ 9,365.00Online Giving: $ 1,925.00Second Collection $ 2,275.00 - Debt Reduction

Readings: The Week of Nov 10 th – Nov 16 th Sunday

2 MC 7:1-2, 9-14 2Thes 2:16-3:5 LK 20:27-38Monday – St. Martin

WIS 1:1-7 LK 17:1-6Tuesday – St. Josaphat

WIS 2:23-3:9 LK 17:7-10Wednesday – St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

WIS 6:1-11 LK 17:11-19Thursday

WIS 7:22B-8:1 LK 17:20-25

Friday – St Albert the Great, Bishop & DoctorWIS 13:1-9 LK17:26-37

Saturday – St GertrudeWIS 18:14-16; 19:6-9 LK 18:1-8

Prayer RequestsRalph Conti Mary PiersonDavid Drake Fr. Gary BurkhartChris Seager Barbara LewisBruce & Stephanie Miller Elizabeth SmithKen Voss Jeanine VisageMadilyne Kooper Jean Hiler, ofsPat Smith Roseanne DenchyRobert Hafer Julie WaltzJack Gallagher Nita StoneBuddy Mawyer William McConnellJoan Tufford Donald ElyardBev Schutt Irene TisdaleJulie Waltz Adam ChedisterAmy Varnell-Miller John PlankyTodd Smith Ray YoungPat Pierce Victoria HamelGeorge Ponzio Bob WilsonJohn Engelmann Megan Harrell

Names will be removed after 30 days unless requested to remain

Prayer for HealingAlmighty and merciful Father, by the power of yourcommand, drive away from them all forms of sickness and disease. Restore strength to their bodies and joy to their spirit, so that in their renewed health, they may bless and serve you, now and forevermore.

Mass IntentionsSat. 4:30 PM Ray Thompson

By Joan FurstSun 8:30 AM Vocations to the Priesthood

By Parishioners of St. FrancisSun 11:00 AM Seminarians of the Archdiocese

By Parishioners of St. FrancisSun 1:00 PM People of St. Francis of Assisi

Please note that during this time of transition, when we do not celebrate Mass during the week, existing Mass intentions have been moved to available Masses. If you had a scheduled Mass, and would

like to know the revised date, please contact the office.

Adopt – A - SeminarianGod, our Father, we turn to You in this time of great need. We trust in Your loving kindness and ask You to hear the prayers we offer for Your Church. Through your grace, we seek men and women willing to generously offer their lives to You in the priesthood and religious life, for You to inspire and bring to fulfillment every good intention.

Bless and guide those who are discerning Your call to holiness and service. Give them courage, steadfast love, and a spirit of charity as they seek to respond faithfully to You.

We offer this prayer for the Archdiocese of Atlanta and for the whole Church in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.

Eucharistic Adoration

At this time of transition in our parish, as people wonder “What can I do?” perhaps

the best answer is to spend an hour in prayer before The Blessed Sacrament, praying for Fr. Jaime, for all priests, and especially for the next priest who will become our shepherd,

to lead the sheep of St. Francis of Assisi. Eucharistic Adoration

Daily, from 9:30 am- 12 Noon.

Vocations to the Priesthood

As Pope John Paul II said, “The responsibility for the seminary belongs to the entire Christian community”. We are blessed in this Archdiocese with over 46 men who are responding to a call for priestly service to the people of God in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. For all young men of our parish who are making lifetime choices at this time, we pray that they will include service to the People of God as an archdiocesan priest among their options.

Please note, the Office of Vocations of the Archdiocese of Atlanta has the following upcoming

Fall/Winter events scheduled:

Discernment Retreat: A retreat for men 18-40 who are thinking about the priesthood. December 30-31 @ Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers.

Men’s Discernment Masses: Join us for a !0 am Mass followed by a light brunch and discussion. December 7th @ St Charles Boromeo House, 813 Dalrymple Rd, Atlanta

Come & See: Join us as we visit St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. Jan 31-Feb. 2 @ Boynton Beach, FL (college age or older)

For more information and registration, visit CalledByChrist.com/events or contact:

Fr. Branson HippAssociate Director of Vocations

bhipp@archatl.com404-920-7466

Visiting Priest from UgandaNov. 19-Nov. 30,

2019Due to visa issues, Fr. John Kennedy Kinsambwe, pastor of

Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, in Narozali, Uganda will be unable to join us in residence at St. Francis of Assisi Church from Nov. 19, 2019-Nov. 30, 2019.

However…..Fr. Martin, (pictured above) who visited St. Francis in June, will be visiting in his stead. Fr. Martin will be offering weekend and daily Masses, offering the sacrament of Reconciliation and participating in the parish life of St. Francis of Assisi.

In addition, Fr. Martin and Stephen Smith, founder of TO THE NATIONS will be giving a two-night Parish Mission on Nov. 21-22. The theme is “Mission,” with the first night entitled “Laborers in the Vineyard” and the second night “Practice What You Preach.”

THE WAY FOR MENThe Way for Men is a 3-day retreat for adult male survivors of abuse offered by the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s Victim

Assistance Program. It will be November 22-24, 2019 at Carmel Retreat Center in Hochston, GA. The registration deadline is November 12, 2019. Please contact Sue Stubbs at 404-920-7550 or sstubbs@archatl.com for more information.

At this time, the 9 am Saturday morning Mass and/or Communion Service will be

suspended until further notice.

RCIA CLASSESThose interested in RCIA should contact June Tyler at (678) 642-2805 or by email, at JuneTyler625@hotmail.com

Koffee Klatch

Don’t miss this opportunity to get together to shoot the

breeze, laugh, joke, play games and tell stories with your fellow parishioners. Stop by Marian Hall on Thursdays….. at 2 pm……to be part of the fun!

FOOD PANTRY ASSISTANCEThis past weekend was the weekend in which we typically collect non-perishable food items for our brothers and sisters in need throughout our community. Please be aware that there is a greater need than usual at this time. Therefore, if you

may have forgotten this week, or perhaps are able to assist in some way, in addition, that would be greatly appreciated. Kindly drop your donations off in the kitchen of the church to help support this ministry in which we are blessed to help feed Jesus, who is hungry. Thank you for your support of this vital ministry.

SAFE TRAVELS!!We wish all of our brothers and sisters a safe and spirit filled journey to the Holy Land as they head to

Israel this week. We eagerly look forward to their return, when they will no doubt share amazing stories…and pictures!!!

To Rise Again: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary TimeReadings: 2 Maccabees 7:1–2, 9–14

Psalm 17:1, 5–6, 8, 152 Thessalonians 2:16–3:5Luke 20:27–38

With their riddle about seven brothers and a childless widow, the Sadducees in today’s Gospel mock the faith for which seven brothers and their mother die in the First Reading.

The Maccabean martyrs chose death—tortured limb by limb, burned alive—rather than betray God’s Law. Their story is given to us in these last weeks of the Church year to strengthen us for endurance—that our feet might not falter but remain steadfast on His paths.

The Maccabeans died hoping that the “King of the World” would raise them to live again forever (see 2 Maccabees 14:46).

The Sadducees don’t believe in the resurrection because they can’t find it literally taught in the Scriptures. To ridicule this belief they fix on a law that requires a woman to marry her husband’s brother if he should die without leaving an heir (see Genesis 38:8; Deuteronomy 25:5).

But God’s Law wasn’t given to ensure the raising up of descendants to earthly fathers. The Law was given, as Jesus explains, to make us worthy to be “children of God”—sons and daughters born of His Resurrection.

“God our Father,” today’s Epistle tells us, has given us “everlasting encouragement” in the Resurrection of Christ. Through His grace, we can now direct our hearts to the love of God.

As the Maccabeans suffered for the Old Law, we will have to suffer for our faith in the New Covenant. Yet He will guard us in the shadow of His wing, keep us as the apple of His eye, as we sing in today’s Psalm.The Maccabeans’ persecutors marveled at their courage. We too can glorify the Lord in our sufferings and in the daily sacrifices we make.

And we have even greater cause than they for hope. One who has risen from the dead has given us His word—that He is the God of the living, that when we awake from the sleep of death we will behold His face, and will be be content in His presence (see Psalm 76:6; Daniel 12:2).

Para levantarse de nuevo: Scott Hahn reflexiona sobre el trigésimo segundo domingo del tiempo ordinario

Lecturas:2 Macabeos 7: 1–2, 9–14Salmo 17: 1, 5–6, 8, 152 Tesalonicenses 2: 16–3: 5Lucas 20: 27–38 Con su acertijo sobre siete hermanos y una viuda sin hijos, los saduceos en el Evangelio de hoy se burlan de la fe por la que siete hermanos y su madre mueren en la primera

lectura.Los mártires macabeos eligieron la muerte, torturados miembro por miembro, quemados vivos, en lugar de traicionar la Ley de Dios. Su historia nos es dada en estas últimas semanas del año de la Iglesia para fortalecernos para la resistencia, para que nuestros pies no vacilen sino que permanezcan firmes en sus caminos. Los macabeos murieron esperando que el "Rey del mundo" los criara para vivir de nuevo para siempre (ver 2 Macabeos 14:46).Los saduceos no creen en la resurrección porque no pueden encontrarla literalmente enseñada en las Escrituras. Para ridiculizar esta creencia, se fijan en una ley que requiere que una mujer se case con el hermano de su esposo si él muriera sin dejar un heredero (ver Génesis 38: 8; Deuteronomio 25: 5).Pero la Ley de Dios no fue dada para asegurar el nacimiento de descendientes a los padres terrenales. La Ley fue dada, como Jesús explica, para hacernos dignos de ser "hijos de Dios", hijos e hijas nacidos de Su resurrección."Dios nuestro Padre", nos dice la Epístola de hoy, nos ha dado "aliento eterno" en la Resurrección de Cristo. A través de Su gracia, ahora podemos dirigir nuestros corazones al amor de Dios.Como los macabeos sufrieron por la Ley Antigua, tendremos que sufrir por nuestra fe en el Nuevo Pacto. Sin embargo, Él nos protegerá a la sombra de Su ala, nos mantendrá como la niña de Sus ojos, mientras cantamos en el Salmo de hoy.Los perseguidores de los macabeos se maravillaron de su coraje. Nosotros también podemos glorificar al Señor en nuestros sufrimientos y en los sacrificios diarios que hacemos. Y tenemos una causa aún mayor que la de ellos para la esperanza. Alguien que ha resucitado de los muertos nos ha dado su palabra: que es el Dios de los vivos, que cuando despertemos del sueño de la muerte contemplaremos su rostro y estaremos contentos en su presencia (ver Salmo 76: 6; Daniel 12: 2).

Month of theSouls in Purgatory

As the weather grows colder and the leaves fall, and Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, it is natural that our thoughts turn to those whom we have loved who are no longer with us.

How appropriate, then, that the Catholic Church offers us November, which begins with All Saints Day and All Souls Day, as the Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

In recent years, perhaps no Catholic doctrine has been more misunderstood by Catholics themselves than the doctrine of Purgatory. Consequently, we tend to downplay it, even seem a little embarrassed by it, and it is the Holy Souls who suffer because of our discomfort with the doctrine.

Purgatory is not, as many people think, one last trial. All of those who make it to Purgatory will one day be in Heaven. Purgatory is where those who have died in grace, but who have not fully atoned for the temporal punishments resulting from their sins, go to finish their atonement before entering Heaven. A soul in Purgatory may suffer, but he has the assurance that he will ultimately enter Heaven when his punishment is complete. Catholics believe Purgatory is an expression of God's love, His desire to cleanse our souls of all that might keep us from experiencing the fullness of joy in Heaven.

As Christians, we don't travel through this world alone. Our salvation is wrapped up with the salvation of others, and charity requires us to come to their aid. The same is true of the Holy Souls. In their time in Purgatory, they can pray for us, and we should pray for the faithful departed that they may be freed from the punishment for their sins and enter into Heaven.

We should pray for the dead throughout the year, especially on the anniversary of their death, but in this Month of the Holy Souls, we should devote some time every day to prayer for the dead. We should start with those closest to us—our mother and father, for

instance—but we should also offer prayers for all the souls, and especially for those most forsaken.

We believe that those Holy Souls for whom we pray will continue to pray for us after they have been released from Purgatory. If we live Christian lives, we too will likely find ourselves in Purgatory someday, and our acts of charity toward the Holy Souls there now will ensure that they remember us before the throne of God when we are most in need of prayers. It's a comforting thought, and one that should encourage us, especially in this month of November, to offer our prayers for the Holy Souls.

The Prayer of St. Gertrude the Greatfor the Souls in Purgatory

St. Gertrude the Great is invoked often, for prayers for the poor souls in purgatory. She had a deep empathy for those souls in purgatory, and would ask God at each mass to have mercy on them. God would reply to St. Gertrude that He would use whatever was offered to Him for the faithful departed, according to His inclination to show pardon & mercy.

St. Gertrude was a Benedictine and mystic writer. She had the gift of miracles and prophecy. Jesus revealed to her His infinite love, and asked her to spread it, with love, for the suffering and for sinners.

The Prayer of St. Gertrude: Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family.

Mother Cabrini’s Story

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini was the first United States citizen to be canonized. Her deep trust in the loving care of her God gave her the strength to be a valiant woman doing the work of Christ.

Refused admission to the religious order which had educated her to be a teacher, she began charitable work at the House of Providence Orphanage in Cadogno, Italy.

In September 1877, she made her vows there and took the religious habit.

When the bishop closed the orphanage in 1880, he named Frances prioress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Seven young women from the orphanage joined her.

Since her early childhood in Italy, Frances had wanted to be a missionary in China but, at the urging of Pope Leo XIII, Frances went west instead of east. She traveled with six sisters to New York City to work with the thousands of Italian immigrants living there.

She found disappointment and difficulties with every step. When she arrived in New York, the house intended to be her first orphanage in the United States was not available. The archbishop advised her to return to Italy. But Frances, truly a valiant woman, departed from the archbishop’s residence all the more determined to establish that orphanage. And she did.

In 35 years, Frances Xavier Cabrini founded 67 institutions dedicated to caring for the poor, the abandoned, the uneducated and the sick. Seeing great need among Italian immigrants who were losing their faith, she organized schools and adult education classes.

As a child, she was always frightened of water, unable to overcome her fear of drowning. Yet, despite this fear, she traveled across the Atlantic Ocean more than 30 times. She died of malaria in her own Columbus Hospital in Chicago.

The compassion and dedication of Mother Cabrini is still seen in hundreds of thousands of her fellow citizens who care for the sick in hospitals, nursing homes, and state institutions. We complain of increased medical costs in an affluent society, but the daily news shows us millions who have little or no medical care, and who are calling for new Mother Cabrinis to become citizen-servants of their land.

St. Albert the Great

Albert the Great was a 13th-century German Dominican who decisively influenced the Church’s stance toward Aristotelian philosophy brought to Europe by the spread of Islam. Students of philosophy know him as the master of Thomas Aquinas. Albert’s attempt to understand Aristotle’s writings established the climate in which Thomas Aquinas developed his synthesis of Greek wisdom and Christian theology. But Albert deserves recognition on his own merits as a curious, honest, and diligent scholar.

He was the eldest son of a powerful and wealthy German lord of military rank. He was educated in the liberal arts. Despite fierce family opposition, he entered the Dominican novitiate.

His boundless interests prompted him to write a compendium of all knowledge: natural science, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, ethics, economics, politics, and metaphysics. His explanation of learning took 20 years to complete. “Our intention,” he said, “is to make all the aforesaid parts of knowledge intelligible to the Latins.”

He achieved his goal while serving as an educator at Paris and Cologne, as Dominican provincial, and even as bishop of Regensburg for a short time. He defended the mendicant orders and preached the Crusade in Germany and Bohemia.

Albert, a Doctor of the Church, is the patron of scientists and philosophers and medical technicians.

An information glut faces us Christians today in all branches of learning. One needs only to read current Catholic periodicals to experience the varied reactions to the findings of the social sciences, for example, in regard to Christian institutions, Christian life-styles, and Christian theology. Ultimately, in canonizing Albert, the Church seems to point to his openness to truth, wherever it may be found, as his claim to holiness. His characteristic curiosity prompted Albert to mine deeply for wisdom within a philosophy his Church warmed to with great difficulty.