By Fr. Sébastien Sasa
Special to the Intermountain Catholic
ST. GEORGE — The St. George Parish community will live the month of October in a special way by responding to the call of Pope Francis for an Extraordinary Mission Month “with the aim of promoting greater awareness of missions and taking up again, with renewed fervor, life and pastoral activity.”
The pope specified four dimensions to live more intensely the journey of preparation for the Extraordinary Missionary Month:
1. A personal encounter with Jesus Christ alive in His Church through the Eucharist, the Word of God, personal and communal prayer;
2. Testimony: missionary saints, martyrs and confessors of the faith, as an expression of the Church scattered throughout the world;
3. Missionary formation: biblical, catechetical, spiritual and theological;
4. Missionary charity.
Therefore, St. George Parish’s missionary month of October will have three axes: Prayer, Reflection and Concrete Actions.
On weekdays throughout October, the missionary rosary will be done with petitions for all the continents and will end with the 7 p.m. Mass. Also, every Saturday and Sunday (after the Spanish Mass) the rosary will be held at the homes of the families that sign up for the openings of the four weekends.
On Friday, Oct. 11 will be a youth activity alongside a teaching from a religious sister from the Misioneros Servidores de la Palabra (MSP) from California. The theme will be “Announce the Gospel.” The day will end with a bilingual Mass.
Friday, Oct. 18 will be the vigil of World Mission Day. All are invited. The event will have two parts. The first part will be the testimonies of Father David Bittmenn, pastor, who will speak about the Catholic Church in Utah: Problems and Hopes for the Future; Carole Drake, who will speak about the missionary commitment of a lay person; and Ruth Ann Pilney, who will speak about the missionary experience of a consecrated wife. The second part will be Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, during which the children will present all five continents to Jesus and pray for them.
Sunday, Oct. 20 is World Mission Day. A special collection for the Church and the missions will be taken up at all Masses.
On Friday, Oct. 25 there will be a moment of reflection and formation that will end with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In the context of the centenary of the encyclical of Pope Benedict XV, Father Sébastien Sasa, parochial vicar, will talk about the evangelization in Africa.
On Sunday, Oct. 27, will be a special Eucharistic celebration in the San Pablo Mission in Beryl Junction at 9 a.m., followed by a moment of celebration of the Mission of Christ with the help of the brothers and sisters of the group of Missionaries of Jesus and Mary.
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, immediately after the 7 p.m. Mass will be a small pilgrimage around the church. Participants will pray for the Church and for all the priests who have served the parish community.
The parish community will end October, which is also Respect Life Month, with the missionary rosary Thursday, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. in the church, followed by a bilingual Mass.
Father Sébastien Sasa is parochial vicar of St. George Parish.
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