On the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, released the third encyclical letter of his papacy entitled Fratelli Tutti, on fraternity and social friendship. This week is a summary of Chapter 1 by Brendan Gottschall, SJ.
Chapter 1 – Dark Clouds Over a Closed World
In the first chapter, Pope Francis outlines some trends in the world today that he finds running counter to seeing each other as brothers and sisters: the loss of a historical consciousness, the throwaway culture, the stalled expansion of human rights, fear of immigrants, and the superficiality of digital connection that can lead to aggression and polarization. Francis does not intend to produce an exhaustive list of the world’s social ills, but rather highlights how these issues are all connected by an elevation of the individual over concern for the whole of humanity:
“The gap between concern for one’s personal well-being and the prosperity of the larger human family seems to be stretching to the point of complete division between individuals and human community… It is one thing to feel forced to live together, but something entirely different to value the richness and beauty of those seeds of common life that need to be sought out and cultivated” (31).
Candle Memorials
Both masses this weekend will be live streamed, so people can participate in the candle memorials remotely if they wish. Thank you to our live streaming volunteers who make this ministry possible. You can still sign up to carry a candle; please call the Parish Office to RSVP.
Remembrance table
You can bring framed photos of deceased loved ones to place on our Remembrance Table, which will be in the narthex all through November.
You can find this week's Prayers of the Faithful here.
Fr. Mike
