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| | October Respect Life Events | | | Date & Time | Event | Description | | Sunday, October 4, 2026 | Respect Life Sunday | This day kicks off the month with homilies, prayers, and bulletins focused on protecting human life. | | October 22 to October 30, 2026 | Respect Life Novena | A nationwide prayer event featuring daily pro-life intentions, reflections, and actions. | | September 23 to November 1, 2026 | 40 Days for Life | Peaceful prayer vigils, fasting, and community outreach at locations across America | | | Being Pro-Life Means Protecting Unborn Life | | ChatGPT AI Generated Image by the NBCC | |
Pro-life and pro-Black: Meet a woman who’s changing the conversation about racism and abortion
By Gloria Purvis/America Magazine
In their conversation, Gloria and Cherilyn debunk myths around Black women, Black motherhood and Black poverty. They also talk about how the voices of Black people are often overlooked or tokenized within the pro-life movement and how pro-life stances have become entangled with partisan politics. Finally, Gloria and Cherilyn question the racist stereotype that Black women are more eager to get abortions than other women.
| | Adobe Stock Image licensed to the NBCC | |
The reality of the abortion pill
By Katie Yoder | OSV News
Elizabeth Gillette still remembers seeing her baby’s body after swallowing the abortion pill more than a decade ago.
“Locked in the bathroom, I experienced tremors, I experienced sweats, I started to vomit — and when the bleeding started, it was so profuse (that) there wasn’t enough towels or anything else to mop up the blood,” I watched her say at a congressional press conference held in March. “I felt in between my legs and pulled out a perfectly formed amniotic sac with my baby floating inside it with recognizable eyes, limbs and earbuds.”
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Respect Life Prayer
& Action Newsletter
By USCCB Respect Life
May the Blessed Mother teach us to respect human life in every stage and circumstance.
Sign up for monthly prayer emails at: www.respectlife.org/prayer-and-action.
| | | Why Being Pro-Life Includes Opposing Capital Punishment | | NOTE: In February 2018, a revision was made to the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding the death penalty. No. 2267 now states that although the death penalty was long considered an appropriate response to grave crimes and a means of safeguarding the common good, an increased awareness of the dignity of the human person and effective systems of detention, among other factors, have led the Church to teach that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person, and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.” | | |
Father Dustin Feddon from the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee tells CNA what it was like to walk with Darryl Barwick to his
execution
By Francesca Pollio Fenton | EWTN News
Darryl Barwick was 19 years old when he killed 24-year-old Rebecca Wendt on March 31, 1986, at her Panama City, Florida, apartment. After watching her sunbathe by the pool, he followed her back to her room where he stabbed her 37 times. He was convicted of first-degree murder, armed burglary, and attempted sexual battery in November 1986. A jury unanimously recommended death in a 1992 retrial.
Thirty-seven years later, on May 3, 2023, Barwick was killed by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison at the age of 57.
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Enduring Injustice: The Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Death Penalty
A Report By The Death Penalty Information Center
As this report was being written, tens of thousands were marching on streets across the world shouting “I cannot breathe!”; “No justice, no peace!”; “Black lives matter!”; and “Hands up, don’t shoot.” These are the cries of people exhausted and enraged by a global pandemic that has taken a deadly toll on people of color while videos capture African Americans being killed by law enforcement and former law enforcement officers. After the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, watching a police officer nonchalantly kneel on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes proved too much to bear.
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October 1-9
Novena to End the Death Penalty
By Catholic Mobilizing Network
Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN) prays the Novena to End the Death Penalty each year for the first nine days of Respect Life Month, leading to World Day Against the Death Penalty, celebrated on October 10.
| | | A Pro-Life View on End-of-Life Care | | Adobe Stock Image licensed to the NBCC | | |
Church Teachings on Euthanasia
By Brian Clowes, PhD | Human Life International
Evidence from Scripture
There can be no doubt that euthanasia is contrary to the will of God. Scripture is replete with references as to how God created us; how He has a purpose for each of us; how He reserves the right to call us home; how He cares for us; and how our suffering in this life purifies us and prepares us to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. The Holy Bible paints a complete picture of the arc of our lives and how we should expend them in the service of God.
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"Once any human being becomes worthless or expendable, all are reduced from an absolute to a relative value and no two human beings would be of equal worth, thus demolishing the very foundation of moral order….By devaluing life ― the life of the unborn, the elderly, the comatose patient, the handicapped ― we are, quite literally, digging our own graves."
Lord Immanuel Jakobovits, former Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom, a fugitive from Nazi Germany
| | Where Does Your State Stand on Pro-Life Issues? | | |
Understanding U.S. State Policies on Abortion, the Death Penalty and Medical Aid-in-Dying
This map provides a snapshot of how U.S. states differ in their laws concerning abortion, the death penalty, and medical aid-in-dying (MAID). The colors and patterns show where these policies overlap. Yellow indicates states where abortion is generally legal within gestational limits; blue identifies states where the death penalty is legal and active; and green represents states where MAID is legal under specific requirements. The striped patterns indicate states where two of these policies overlap, while the gray areas identify states where all three policies are permitted. States shown in light gray generally do not have legalized MAID. The map also includes Alaska and Hawaii and identifies the District of Columbia.
Because these laws can change through legislation and court decisions, the map should be understood as a general overview rather than a current legal guide. Its broader purpose is to encourage reflection on how different states approach questions of human life, dignity, medical decision-making, and the role of government in life-and-death decisions.
| | Adobe Stock Photo licensed by the NBCC | | |
From Charity to Justice: Walking with Those on the Margins
From NBCC Staff
"Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me." — Matthew 25:40
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus calls His followers to see Him in the hungry, the homeless, the stranger, the sick, the imprisoned and all those who are vulnerable or forgotten. The Catholic Church has responded to this call through countless ministries that feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, welcome immigrants and refugees, visit prisoners, care for the elderly and advocate for people whose voices are often unheard.
But Catholic outreach is about more than providing assistance. At its best, it moves from charity to accompaniment to justice. These three dimensions of Catholic social ministry are not competing approaches. They are interconnected ways of responding to the dignity and needs of our brothers and sisters.
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USCCB Prayer for Migrants and Refugees
Lord Jesus, when you multiplied the loaves and fishes, you provided more than food for the body, you offered us the gift of yourself, the gift which satisfies every hunger and quenches every thirst! Your disciples were filled with fear and doubt, but you poured out your love and compassion on the migrant crowd, welcoming them as brothers and sisters.
Lord Jesus, today you call us to welcome the members of God's family who come to our land to escape oppression, poverty, persecution, violence, and war. Like your disciples, we too are filled with fear and doubt and even suspicion. We build barriers in our hearts and in our minds.
Lord Jesus, help us by your grace,
- To banish fear from our hearts, that we may embrace each of your children as our own brother and sister;
- To welcome migrants and refugees with joy and generosity, while responding to their many needs;
- To realize that you call all people to your holy mountain to learn the ways of peace and justice;
- To share of our abundance as you spread a banquet before us;
- To give witness to your love for all people, as we celebrate the many gifts they bring.
We praise you and give you thanks for the family you have called together from so many people. We see in this human family a reflection of the divine unity of the one Most Holy Trinity in whom we make our prayer: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Black Catholic Ministry commission seeks unity in diversity
By Joe Ruff | The Catholic Spirit
An Archdiocesan Commission of Black Catholic Ministry has been reestablished in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, with a mission to meet the spiritual, educational and cultural needs of African American and African diaspora communities.
Priorities include evangelization, promoting social justice and cultivating leadership, especially among young Black Catholics, its leaders said, all in alignment with Church teaching, and with initiatives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Black Catholic Congress.
| | Lynette Graham. Photo by Dave Hrbacek of The Catholic Spirit | | Photo Credit: OSV News photo/courtesy Regis University | | |
Interview: the first Black woman to lead a Jesuit university on the true meaning of diversity
by Will Martino | America Magazine
In a quiet, woodsy patch of land just five miles from downtown Denver, Colo., Shawna Cooper Whitehead welcomed students back to campus for her historic first year as president of Regis University.
Dr. Cooper Whitehead officially began her tenure as president of the Jesuit university on July 1, and students began classes on Aug. 24.
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With 66 seminarians in formation, Archdiocese of Baltimore sees vocations surge
By George P. Matysek Jr. | The Catholic Review
The Archdiocese of Baltimore is preparing for a milestone not seen in more than half a century: the ordination of 12 new priests in a single year.
One seminarian is expected to be ordained in January and 11 more in June, as the archdiocese’s number of men in priestly formation continues to climb.
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| Recent high school graduates take notes during a talk on June 18 by Father Erik Arnold, pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park. The discussion focused on relationships and was part of the Quo Vadis Beyond experience. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff) | | |
Those who oppress the poor revile their Maker,
but those who are kind to the needy honor him.
Proverbs 14:31 NABRE
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Messengers, Guardians, Companions
Angels watching over us
From The Word Among Us
We humans are interesting.
Blessed as we are with a natural curiosity, we have plumbed the depths of the earth and sent satellites millions of miles into space. We have explored the tiniest of atoms and the most majestic of mountains.
But for all our delving into the physical world, we are still strangely uninterested in the spiritual world.
We are taught in our catechism that our lives are surrounded by the “watchful care” of angels (Catechism, 336), but apart from the few people who follow false New Age philosophies, most of us go through life with hardly a thought about these powerful spiritual beings.
| | AI Image created by the NBCC | | |
What does the Catholic Catechism say about Guardian Angels?
335 In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance (in the Roman Canon's Supplices te rogamus. . .["Almighty God, we pray that your angel..."]; in the funeral liturgy's In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . .["May the angels lead you into Paradise. . ."]). Moreover, in the "Cherubic Hymn" of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels).
336 From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.202 "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life."203 Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.
| | AI Image created by the NBCC | | |
Praise, Petition, and Contrition: Uncovering the Deeper Meaning of the Lord’s Prayer
by Sophia Institute Press
A Reflection from “Ineffable” by Allison Auth
The Our Father is the recipe Jesus taught His disciples that includes all the ingredients of prayer needed to grow in a relationship with God. It starts secure in our filial covenant, calling God “Father” and progresses through praise, petition, and contrition. Let’s look at the individual words of the prayer as laid out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraphs 2779–2855) to uncover their deeper meaning, as they can guide us in all types of prayer.
Father
When Jesus invites us to call God Father, it evokes in us a spirit of humility to come before Him as His children. What father wouldn’t give good gifts to his children?
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“Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him”
Matthew 7:9–11, NABRE
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The Mystery of Divine Mercy
How Does God Reveal His Love to Us?
By Joe Difato | The Word Among Us
I spent much of my time in the early 1980s working on a doctorate in theology. My mentor was Fr. Francis Martin, an internationally known Scripture scholar and a leader in the Charismatic Renewal movement. Fr. Francis was very patient with me as he reviewed, adjusted, and corrected my work. Every time he pointed out a weakness in a paper I had written, he made sure to build me up far more than he would tear down my work.
| 'Reprinted with permission of The Word Among Us, 7116 Guildford Dr #100, Frederick MD 21704, wau.org , 301-874-1700, October 2026 issue." | | | |
Proverbs 4:23 ESV
[23] Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Reflection by: Nicole Salmon
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Dr. Ansel Augustine hosts the six-part documentary series
CatholicTV to Premiere Black Catholics: Footsteps to Sainthood During Black Catholic History Month
CatholicTV will premiere Black Catholics: Footsteps to Sainthood on November 2 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, during Black Catholic History Month. The six-part documentary series begins with the story of Venerable Father Augustus Tolton, a pioneer of Black Catholicism in the United States whose life of faith, perseverance, and service continues to inspire the Church.
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Saints on their way
By Jenna Mattern| Catholic Review
EMMITSBURG – The path to sainthood has something in common with a trial: There is testimony, evidence, historical investigation and a formal tribunal. But in the Church’s process of canonization, the goal is not to find someone guilty or innocent. It is to uncover evidence of holiness.
| | Bishop Roy E. Campbell gives a blessing at the Saints on Their Way Festival in Emmitsburg. (Courtesy National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton) | | |
In Times of Suffering, Dr. Ansel Augustine Reminds Us: “God Is Not Finished”
By BCM Staff | Black Catholic Messenger
In a reflection shared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Dr. Ansel Augustine draws on Scripture to offer hope amid suffering and remind Catholics that their stories are not over yet.
| | | St. Pio of Pietrelcina, better known as Padre Pio, at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Rome, Italy on Feb. 3, 2016. | Credit: Alexey Gotovskiy/CNA | | |
Padre Pio: 13 facts about St. Pio of Pietrelcina to know and share
By Alyssa Murphy | EWTN News
Padre Pio is known for his deep wisdom, his stigmata, miraculous reports of his bilocation, being physically attacked by the devil, and mastering the spiritual life.
One of the most popular Catholic saints of the 20th century, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, commonly known as Padre Pio, was a Capuchin Franciscan friar, priest, and mystic. His tomb can be found in the Sanctuary of St. Mary Our Lady of Grace in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
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Thursday, October 1, 2026
Memorial Day of Ss. Abreha and Atzbeha (Aizan and Sazana)
From Wikipedia.com
Abreha and Atsbeha were brothers and Aksumite rulers who were said to have adopted Christianity in the 4th-century, although this claim is dubious. The story of Abreha and Atsbeha is lifted from that of the historical personages King Ezana and his brother Saizana.
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Friday, October 2, 2026
Feast of the Guardian Angels
From Hallow
The Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels, celebrated on October 2nd, offers a beautiful opportunity to honor the celestial beings God has assigned to guide and protect each of us throughout our lives. This special day invites us to acknowledge the constant, loving presence of these heavenly companions who walk alongside us on our spiritual journey.
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Saturday, October 3, 2026
Permanent Diaconate Discernment Day
"Called to Serve as Christ the Servant"
Sponsored by The Catholic Church of Philadelphia
Location: Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
1400 Evans Road, Ambler, PA 19002
| Click the image above to download a pdf | |
Sunday, October 4, 2026
Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi
From The Catholic Center
Pope Leo XIV Declares 2026 the Year of Saint Francis
The Jubilee Year of Saint Francis proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV takes place from January 10, 2026 to January 10, 2027 on the occasion of the eighth centenary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi. The Apostolic Penitentiary, in accordance with the will of Pope Leo XIV, has issued a decree granting the faithful a plenary indulgence during this year should they fulfill the necessary requirements. The life of the Poor Man of Assisi shows that God’s mercy works in history through people who have opened their hearts to His action.
Who is St. Francis of Assisi?
St. Francis was born in 1181 in Assisi, Italy. Francis’ parents were both wealthy individuals. His father was a wealthy cloth merchant who owned farmland all around Assisi, and his mother was a beautiful Frenchwoman. Throughout his youth, Francis lived a life away from the Church. He was very spoiled and often indulged himself with food, wine, and grand celebrations. By the age of 14, Francis was known around Assisi as the boy who had dropped out of school to party and break city curfew.
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Tuesday, October 6, 2026 | 7:00 PM ET
Black Catholic Flourishing
Faith, Imagination, and Our Shared Future
THE USCCB SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICAN AMERICAN AFFAIRS, THE BLACK CATHOLIC FLOURISHING INITIATIVE,
and THE KNIGHTS OF PETER CLAVER INC.
present A SPECIAL WEBINAR
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Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Our Lady of the Rosary
From Loyola Press
| Many religions use beads to keep track of prayers. Our Rosary, a circle of beads, is like a garland offered to Mary because we pray a prayer on each bead. This well-loved prayer has its roots in the 150 psalms. People who couldn’t read began praying 150 Hail Marys instead, the equivalent of three of our modern rosaries covering the original three sets of mysteries. | |
SHOP NBCC ONLINE STORE:
Congress XII Praying the Rosary Brochures and Rosaries are available for purchase from the NBCC
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Thursday, October 15, 2026
Feast of St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Ávila – Who St. Teresa of Ávila Was, Her Feast Day, Carmelite Spirituality, Prayers & Quotes
From Hallow
Author of The Interior Castle, reformer of the Carmelite order, and pioneer of Christian mysticism, St. Teresa of Ávila is one of the most influential and inspiring saints in the realm of Christian spirituality.
Our team at Hallow also claims Teresa as our patron saint – she is an inspiration to us to help others get closer to God! We celebrate St. Teresa of Ávila’s feast day on October 15.
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Sunday, October 18, 2026
Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist
From Catholic Culture
The Church celebrates the Feast of St. Luke, the inspired author of the third Gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles, was a native of Antioch in Syria and a physician, and one of the early converts from paganism. He accompanied St. Paul on a considerable part of his missionary journey. He was also his companion while in prison at Rome on two different occasions. His account of these events, contained in the Acts, is firsthand history.
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Thursday, October 22, 2026
Feast of St. Pope John Paul
From John Paul II National Shrine
“Everyone knows John Paul II: his face, his characteristic way of moving and speaking; his immersion in prayer and his spontaneous cheerfulness. Many of his words have become indelibly engraved in our memories, starting with the passionate cry with which he introduced himself to the people at the beginning of his pontificate: ‘Open wide the doors to Christ, and be not afraid of him!’
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