Thank you for praying with us and supporting our mission!

In this newsletter you will find the following:

Mother Cabrini's Feast Day - November 13
First Friday - November 7 - Mass, Cenacle Morning of Prayer
Thoughts on Thankfulness from our Director, Laurie Halaska
Cabrinian Reflection by Sister Laura Baldini, MSC, To Fall in Hope
September Benefit update from our Director of Development, Barb Willis
Thanksgiving Vigil Mass - Wednesday, November 26 - blessing of food

We are a designated pilgrimage site for the Jubilee of Hope

Click the poster above to find out about the pledge.

Click on the image of Mother Cabrini's room below

to select a time slot for your visit

Executive Director Corner

Dear friends of the Shrine,

November is a month where we tend to remember the things we are thankful for, and it is good and necessary to be thankful. Personally, I am thankful for so many different things in my own life. Yet, oftentimes the things listed after family and friends are material things which will eventually diminish in their value and need.

Mother Cabrini said “Our whole life should be an act of thanksgiving because we constantly receive infinite benefits from God”. Mother Cabrini emphasized that despite suffering and difficulties, one should not complain and should maintain faith and gratitude. I think we would all agree that Mother Cabrini lived her own life in this manner

However, did you really read what Mother’s quote says? “Our WHOLE life should be an act of thanksgiving because we CONSTANTLY receive infinite benefits from God.” So … does this mean we have to give thanks in those times when life isn’t going like we planned it or when something bad happens? I believe we do.

We all know that life throws us many challenges. Illness comes to us and those we love, material items will change, feelings will be hurt by those we call our friends, and relationships are going to go through tough times and may even lead to a break-up. It may be hard to see these as times to give thanks … but they are.

AND HERE’S WHY …

Mother Cabrini showed us how to live a life of thanksgiving. She showed us how to give thanks in all circumstances by the way we live. The bad things of life do not come from God. Mother Cabrini understood that our earthly life is temporary and eternal life is what matters. This is why we need to be thankful in all circumstances because no matter what we are facing in life … God is still in control and God’s presence is still with us. This means that His love, His mercy, His compassion, and all the other wonderful things God is and does are still with us. They are with us because we are His dearly loved children. And to prove that, God sent Jesus, His only Son, so that anyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.

So in this month of reflection on what it is we are thankful for … the thing I’m most thankful for is this … that God continues to be with us, wherever it is that we go. It is my personal prayer that no matter what we experience in life, that we remember that He is there with us and that we can lean on Him all the time.

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you and your families. God Bless.

Development Corner

Barb Willis, Director of Development

Thank You For Sustaining The Shrine’s

Mission & Ministry

We are thrilled to share the incredible success of our 2025 Benefit Event with our entire community! We are deeply thankful and eternally grateful for the generosity and enthusiasm of our attendees, sponsors, and those who supported us from a distance. A remarkable achievement of over $145,000 provides core funding that sustains our mission and programs throughout the year.

A special highlight of the evening was our paddle raise, which benefited over $20,000 and is dedicated to replacing the chapel sound system. We are excited to announce that installation is already underway, and we look forward to an enhanced visitor experience – improving our Masses, deepening moments of personal reflection, and enriching our community gatherings.

Mother Cabrini devoted her life to building communities of faith and compassion. Your partnership in this work honors her legacy and empowers us to continue it with renewed purpose.

Cabrini Spirituality Corner

A Cabrinian reflection by Sister Laura Baldini, MSC

"To Fall in Hope"

As a Spanish-speaking sister in an English-speaking community, I am constantly learning new expressions. English did not shape my childhood or my first prayers, so writing in it feels vulnerable. Yet maybe that is a gift, because paying attention to language teaches me to pay attention to the heart.

Recently, I noticed how often English uses the word "fall" to describe deep movements of life: fall in love, fall asleep, fall silent. These small phrases reveal something true — many important moments unfold when we let go. That is when the expression fall in Hope found me.

Hope in the Christian life rests in grace.

Hope brings us fully into reality with courage and light.

Hope allows us to land where the Heart of Christ already waits.

Hope is surrender.

It is the courage to let go of what we cannot grasp.

It is the quiet confidence that the Sacred Heart receives us.

We fall in Hope when

– our efforts become trust,

– rest becomes prayer,

– patience becomes courage,

– vulnerability becomes openness,

– caring for others becomes offering dignity,

– beginning again becomes possibility,

– welcoming newcomers becomes embracing community,

– uncertainty becomes space for grace,

– trying once more becomes resilience.

Faith welcomes availability. Presence becomes strength.

Mercy grows in every open space.

Mother Cabrini lived this truth. She moved through uncertainty with confident love, trusting that Providence would meet her on the ground. She let herself fall into Christ’s Heart, and grace carried her forward.

“Letting go becomes falling in Hope. Falling in Hope becomes resting in Love. And resting in Love becomes becoming who we are called to be.”

As we prepare for the Feast Day of Mother Cabrini on November 13, may we follow her example and fall in Hope, confident that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is already waiting.

When we fall in hope, we fall into Christ.

“When difficulties arise, raise your gaze higher — grace is already prepared above you.” — St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

—Sr. Laura Baldini, MSC

FIRST FRIDAY and FIRST SATURDAY

The Sacred Heart of Jesus - The Immaculate Heart of May

Join us on Friday, November 7, for Sacred Heart Devotions at 11:45am, Mass at 12:00 Noon, followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.

The celebrant of the Mass is Fr. Joe Tito; Benediction begins at 2:45 with Deacon William Pyrek

Join Bishop Daniel Turley on November 1 for our First Saturday program. Confessions are available from 9:15am to 9:50am. The Rosary begins at 9:30am. Mass is at 10:00am, followed Community Service: Uncle Pete's Lunch Bag, and hospitality.

Cenacle Sisters' Morning of Prayer

This Friday, November 7 - register now!

The Cenacle Sisters return on First Friday, November 7, for the second in a new series of prayer and reflection. Sessions begin at 9:30AM, and participants attend the noon Mass in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Click on the picture to register.