October 2025

Industrial Revolution: 
Work from a Catholic/Salesian Perspective

by Fr. Michael S. Murray, OSFS

Respect Life Month Statement

October 2025

Most Reverend Daniel E. Thomas, Bishop of Toledo

Chairman, USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities 

With great joy we celebrate October as Respect Life Month amid the Church’s Jubilee Year of Hope. This Jubilee Year “offers us the opportunity to appreciate anew, and with immense gratitude, the gift of the new life that we have received in Baptism, a life capable of transfiguring death’s drama.”[i] The life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of our hope. Through Christ, our sins are forgiven, death is overcome, and life is victorious.

Yet, the daily headlines remind us of how desperately our world is thirsting for the hope that only God can provide. Every day we witness the overwhelming disregard for human life: through rising rates of abortion and assisted suicide; the killing of innocent school children, even at prayer; the mistreatment of our immigrant sisters and brothers as they endure an environment of aggression; and political and ideological violence inflicted against unsuspecting victims. These attacks threaten life precisely when it is most vulnerable and in need of protection.

Despite these realities, the gift of human life exists as a sign of hope to our world today, defying the powers of darkness and the culture of death. It is of the utmost importance that we work to ensure that every life, in every stage and circumstance, is protected in law.

Earlier this year, history was made when Planned Parenthood and other big abortion businesses were banned from receiving federal Medicaid dollars for one year. I thank Catholics across the country who have embraced a nationwide call to prayer for the end of all taxpayer funding of abortion centers, and I ask that we continue those prayers throughout the month of October.

This Jubilee Year we are challenged to be agents of hope to those whose hearts are burdened by trial, difficulty, or suffering, offering them the hope that comes from Christ Jesus alone. Walking with Moms in Need and Project Rachel Ministry are just two examples of how the Church continuously reaches out with love, compassion, and mercy to those most in need of a message of hope.

As we begin Respect Life Month, together we embrace the words of Pope Leo XIV, “How important it is that each and every baptized person feel himself or herself called by God to be a sign of hope in the world today.”^[ii] Each of us is called to be a witness to the Gospel of Life, proclaiming in word and deed the innate goodness and dignity of every human person.

For information on Respect Life Month, visit here.

[i] Pope Francis, Spes non confundit, 20.

[ii] Pope Leo XIV, Vatican News, May 26, 2025



Blessed by Animals

by Elizabeth Connell Wright

"May the power and the light of the grace we have received also be evident in our relationship to other creatures and to the world around us. In this way, we will help nurture that sublime fraternity with all creation which Saint Francis of Assisi so radiantly embodied.” — Pope Francis

Our relationship with animals is interwoven into our history from the beginning: “God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and everything that creeps upon the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:25) Then God made man and appointed him to care for creation. (Genesis 1:28) Scripture proceeds to mention over 120 animal species, and that isn’t even touching the passenger manifest for Noah’s ark! There are even two instances in Scripture of talking animals: The snake in the Garden of Eden, and one of my favorites, Balaam’s talking donkey. (Numbers 22:28-30)

On October 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi is celebrated, and as the patron saint of animals and the environment, this is traditionally a time when the Blessing of Animals is held in parishes worldwide. St. Francis was born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone in Assisi, Italy, in 1181, to a prominent silk merchant. He enjoyed a life of privilege and extravagance, but after a yearlong captivity resulting from a military expedition against Perugia and an enlistment in the army of Walter III, he had a dramatic change of heart and denounced his lavish lifestyle, taking a vow of poverty and changing his name to Francis. In 1209, he led 11 followers to Rome to request permission for a new religious order, the Franciscan Order, and in 1210 this was granted, and soon after Francis was ordained a deacon. 

Francis had a profound appreciation for creation and recognized the divine origin of all animals, who he was known to call “brothers and sisters.” In 1225, St. Francis wrote the well-known song of praise, “The Canticle of the Sun,” which gives thanks for all God’s creation. Today, we often find gardens adorned with statues of St. Francis surrounded by birds — similar to the one in front of our own church. He is said to have preached sermons to swallows, quieting their chirping and offering blessings to them, which began the foundation for the today's widespread tradition of blessing animals. Another tale has Francis establishing peace between the townspeople of Gubbio and a wolf who was attacking their livestock. According to the “Little Flowers of St. Francis,” written at the end of the 14th century, Francis blessed the wolf and forged a pact with him to live peaceably with the townspeople Finally, it is St. Francis who first began the tradition of staging the nativity scene complete with live animals. In December 1223, outside of Greccio, Italy, this beloved tradition was born.

St. Francis of Assisi, however, is one of numerous saints who had special companionship with God’s creatures. January 17, the feast day of St. Anthony the Abbott, another patron of animals, is also celebrated with the blessing of animals in many places. The fourth century hermit was likewise born into a high position in society, which he disavowed, selling all his belongings before retreating to the desert. He is known for his animal companions who visited him during his long periods of fasting and prayer. St. Anthony the Abbott (also known as St. Anthony of Egypt) is often pictured with a pig, who legend says was healed and befriended by Anthony, who was a vegetarian. 

St. Benedict of Nursia, father of the Benedictine order, is said to have had a crow for a companion, one he regularly fed at his table and once disposed of poisoned bread served to Benedict by a rival priest. In St. Gregory the Great’s famous “Dialogues” (written in 593), he writes, “The man of God again and again bide him (the crow), saying: ‘Take it up without fear, and throw it where no man may find it.’ At length, with much ado, the crow took it up, and flew away, and after three hours, having dispatched the loaf, he returned again, and received his usual allowance from the man of God.” The crow is such an integral part of Benedict’s story, that the bird is emblazoned next to the saint’s image on the powerful Benedictine medal known for its use as a protective sacramental.

St. Gerasimus was a monk in the 5th century living in a monastery near the Jordan River. One day he was approached by a lion, limping due to a splinter of wood embedded in his paw. Gerasimus removed the splinter, but the lion refused to leave the monastery. Gerasimus and his brother monks accepted the lion into their home where the lion became the official protector of their donkey. He is said to have led the donkey by his bridle to fetch water each day. When Gerasimus eventually died, the lion reportedly curled up on his grave and passed away as well. This story may sound similar to the story of St. Jerome, but it is widely believed that it was inadvertently attributed to Jerome over time.

The legend of a crab with a cross-shaped marking on its back surrounds St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary. As the tale goes, Xavier was off the eastern coast of Indonesia when his ship was caught in a dangerous storm. From his neck Xavier removed his crucifix to calm the raging waters, but the sacramental slipped from his grasp into the ocean depths. The next day, as the ship neared dry land, a crab with the crucifix in it claw, approached Xavier returning it to him.

St. Gobnait, believed to have lived in the 6th century, in Ballyvourney in County Cork, Ireland, was sometimes called Deborah, which is the Hebrew word for bees. Escaping persecution as a teen, God gave Gobnait a vision: she should seek a stream running through a meadow that contained nine white deer grazing. When she encountered this scene, she was to stop and build an abbey, and that is precisely what is said to have happened. She built up the abbey and tended to bees which helped her with healing. She used both prayer and her bees to protect the land from both the plague and thieves trying to steal their cattle.

After living for 14 years as a hermit, St. Corbinian set off to Rome. Legend has it that along the way, a bear attacked and killed his pack horse. In response, Corbinian commanded the bear to carry the dead horse’s load the remaining distance to Rome. Once they reached their destination, the bear was freed to lumber back to the forest. From Rome, Corbinian was sent to Bavaria in 724 and erected a Benedictine monastery on a mountain near Freising. To this day, the saddled bear is a symbol of Freising, and Pope Benedict XVI, who served as the Archbishop of Freising-Munich, incorporated the bear with his saddle on the coat of arms he used as bishop, cardinal, and pope.

St. Giles, a 7th century Greek hermit in the South of France, was known to keep a single companion, a deer who he had tamed. One day, a king was hunting and shot an arrow at the deer, but the animal was shielded by St. Giles who was pierced through his hand as he protected his companion. The king was impressed by the holy devotion of Giles and returned many times before he convinced him to become the abbot of a Benedictine monastery to be built in the valley.

The patron saint of dogs, St. Roch, lived in France in the early 14th century and was born with a red cross-shaped birthmark on his chest. Like St. Francis of Assisi, he was born into wealth and inherited the governorship of Montpellier by the age of 20, but he gave away all his worldly wealth before journeying to Italy as a pilgrim, healing the sick and infirmed through his prayers and gifts of healing. His only companion was a dog who is said to have brought him food. St. Roch is usually pictured with sores, representing the plague he contracted while ministering to the sick, and his loyal canine companion.

St. John Bosco (Don Bosco), priest and founder of the Society of St. Francis de Sales, dedicated his life to the education and caring for vulnerable and neglected young boys on the streets of Turin. He used Salesian spirituality along with magic tricks, acrobatics, and eloquent speaking to win the hearts of boys for the Lord. He headed a grammar school, a church, and a technical school, however, not everyone trusted Don Bosco’s intentions. On the streets of Turin there were threats to his safety, but Bosco had a guardian angel in the form of a large gray dog he called Grigio. Many believed the animal, who only appeared at times of imminent danger, to be an angel sent from God to protect Don Bosco.

Animals are no less special to humans today than they were to St. Francis of Assisi and many other saints. According to Forbes Advisor, as of 2024, 66% of U.S. homes – more than 86 million – own a pet. Interestingly, just as solitude inspired many saints to form animal companionship through the ages, pet ownership surged during COVID-19: 78% of pet owners report they adopted a pet during the pandemic. We clearly feel both comforted and blessed by the companionship of God’s gift of animals.

On October 5 at 1 p.m., you can bring your pet to SJN for its own blessing in the tradition of St. Francis of Assisi. Meet at the flagpole with your animal companions for a short prayer service and special blessing with holy water.

Note: There are several other saints who had special animal companionship. If you would like to read about saints and their cats, click here for a newsletter article from August 2024.

Click here for more pictures of cute animals as CRS celebrates St. Francis of Assisi and animals around the world.

Spreading the Gospel 
With Cookies

by Bill Eager

I first became involved in the Kairos Prison Ministry when my friend Patrick asked me to attend an information session about it. That "information session" turned out to be the first team meeting for a Kairos Weekend to be held in Powhatan State Prison in southern Virginia. Before I knew it, I was inside prison for the very first time! Eleven years later, Pat and I are still on a Kairos team currently serving Sussex 1 State Prison in Waverly, VA. Over these past years many parishioners have served in both the men's and women's prisons and so many parishioners continue to bake the thousands of cookies we bring into the prisons. I went into prison to give but I got so much more than I gave. EVERY time I come out of prison, I realize EVERYTHING I have is a gift. 

Kairos, which is Greek for "In the Fullness of Time" or "God's Special Time," is an international ecumenical Christian ministry, serving incarcerated men, women and youth in 37 states and 13 countries in over 500 men's, women's, and youth facilities. Through the work of over 30,000 volunteers, Kairos offers present residents and their families God's forgiveness and the opportunity to grow in a Christian community with the light of Christ. The Kairos ministry here at SJN consists of a Men’s and Women’s Inside Teams and a team of Blessed Bakers. The Men’s team serves in Sussex 1 State Prison in Waverly, Virginia, and the Women’s Team serves in Virginia Correctional Center for Women (VCCW) in Goochland, Virginia. The SJN teams have served both of these prisons for the past eight years.

The Blessed Bakers team is comprised of parishioners and others who bake the homemade cookies that each inside team member brings into the prison. Cookies are a tangible way we bring God’s love and the love of neighbor inside the prison. Residents rarely see a cookie, and these treats are very much appreciated. For the last men’s weekend, the blessed bakers made over 700 dozen homemade cookies that we took with us into the prison. Every resident in the facility was given a dozen cookies. More than one resident has shared that they came to Kairos just for the cookies but instead found Christ.

The Kairos Inside Program consists of the 4-day “retreats” held each year in each prison, one in the spring and one in the fall. These are called “4- days” and were developed directly from the Catholic Cursillo Program. During the retreat, residents listen to talks, pray together, and have fun activities. At the end of this time, there is a closing. Residents who have already made the Kairos retreat and people from the outside community are invited to attend. At the closing, the residents share what Kairos has meant to them. Closings are always powerful and uplifting. 

The 4-day retreat is only the beginning. The Kairos graduates can attend regular Prayer and Share Meetings where they gather in small groups to continue growing in faith through prayer and fellowship. There are also monthly reunions where the entire Kairos Community of the institution celebrates together through teachings, prayer, and oh, yes — singing.

If you would like to learn more about Kairos, serving on a team, making cookies, and/or attending a closing, please contact Pat Schambach at pat.schambach@gmail.com. If you would like to bake cookies for the next Kairos weekend, we invite you to join our Cookie Bake Day on October 14 starting at 9 a.m., please email twesthues@yahoo.com. You may also consult the bulletin for details on baking cookies at home and bringing them for our upcoming Kairos Men's Weekend in November. Please keep the Kairos team and all who will attend the November Kairos weekend in your prayers.



Celebrating El Señor de los Milagros (Lord of Miracles)

by Elizabeth Connell Wright

Positioned at the convergence of two tectonic plates on the infamous Ring of Fire, Peru has experienced hundreds of earthquakes, varying in level of devastation. On October 28, 1746, the massive Lima-Callao earthquake, estimated to be between 8.6-8.8 on the Richter scale, devastated the area with extensive death and destruction. In fact, until 1970, this was the most destructive earthquake in Peru’s history. In the aftermath of the disaster, amidst the rubble, a single adobe wall remained untouched. What is most astonishing of this structure is that it had already survived two other punishing earthquakes in 1655 and 1687. This is not an ordinary adobe wall, for upon it is an image of Christ or Cristo Moreno (Black Christ) with the Holy Spirit, God the Father, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene.

Painted in 1651 by a man named either Benito or Pedro Dalcon, who was enslaved in Peru after being taken from what is now the nation of Angola, it is said to have been originally painted on a wall in the building where he lived in poverty with a brotherhood of Angolans. After the earthquake of 1655, many who survived left the area and abandoned the surviving mud wall. Within a few years as rebuilding began, locals were astonished at the wall they found standing in rubble and constructed a small chapel around it. Shortly after the chapel was complete, another earthquake struck on October 18, 1687, and again, all of the structure collapsed except the painted wall. As time went on, the image gained association with miracles and word spread of its ability to miraculously withstand earthquakes. After this second disaster, King Charles II of Spain declared the painting be named El Señor de los Milagros (Lord of Miracles), and soon after processions began to be practiced as devotion to the Lord of Miracles.

After miraculous healings at the site, huge crowds began to flock to the image, and soon local authorities were concerned about the commotion. It is said a painter was sent to scrape the wall and repaint where the image had been, but reportedly, he was overcome with tremors each time he climbed the ladder to begin work. Another man was sent to assume the task, but once he approached the image, he refused to continue. Finally, a soldier was ordered to complete the mission. He claims that when he gazed upon the image it gleamed and transformed before his eyes causing him to also abandon the painting untouched. At this point, local officials relented under the objection of the masses and the wall remained as a sacred site to many.

After the third major earthquake in 1746, Sanctuary of Las Nazarenas was completed in 1771, and there the original painted image of Christ still hangs as the centerpiece of the sanctuary altar.

Increasingly pilgrims began to flock to the painting seeking miracles of their own. One such pilgrim was Josefa Marmanillo, who was an enslaved woman known for her gift of cooking until she was struck by an illness that paralyzed both arms. Deemed no longer of use, she was emancipated. Without hope for employment, she turned to the Lord of Miracles for healing. After praying before El Señor de los Milagros, she returned to her hometown and regained use of her arms. In thanksgiving, Josefa returned to Lima on October 28, the feast day of El Señor de los Milagros, with a special pastry she created called Turrón de Doña Pepa. Until her death, she faithfully returned with the confection each year; her daughter and granddaughter continued the tradition that is said to continue with a descendant of hers to this day. 

Turrón de Doña Pepa, which consists of layered shortbread enriched with lard, ground sesame, and aniseed that are fused together by rich caramel perfumed with sweet spices and fruit and then garnished with colorful sprinkles, candies, and dried fruit, has become an essential part of the feast day celebration.

In October, thousands of Peruvians and pilgrims from across the world will process from Las Nazarenas following a replica altar of the painting throughout Lima. While the feast is celebrated throughout October, there are processions on the first Saturday of October as well as October 18, 19, and 28. The “portable” version of the painting is enshrined upon an altar, weighing nearly two tons and requiring 32 men to keep it aloft. The men are known as La Hermandad del Señor de los Milagros (the Brotherhood of the Lord of the Miracles), which is an honor often passed down through generations. Likewise, women who are “incense burners” follow in white mantillas burning incense, and they too pass their sacred duties on through generations. The entire month of October is widely known as “Mes Morado” (Purple Month) as a tribute to the brotherhood, who don festive purple robes while carrying the revered image of Christ Jesus.

The centuries old devotion to El Señor de los Milagros is deeply engrained in the identity of the large Catholic population of Peru and thousands of faithful, as well as spectators, flock to Lima each October in one of the world’s largest processions, perhaps seeking their own miracles.

Visit here for a beautiful video of El Señor de los Milagros procession in Lima.

October is the Month of the Holy Rosary
Pope Leo XIV: Invitation to Pray Daily Rosary for Peace

October is traditionally the month when we honor the holy Rosary. This month, Pope Leo XIV encourages the faithful to pray the Rosary for peace. Whether you can just pray one decade or the whole Rosary each day, take some time this month to pray the Rosary for peace through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Pope's Intention for

Prayer and Action for October

 For collaboration between different religious traditions

Let us pray that believers in different religious traditions might work together to defend and promote peace, justice, and human fraternity.

Current Mass Times

Saturday: 5 p.m.

Sunday: 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m. (Spanish), 5 p.m.

Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.

Wednesday & Friday: 12:10 p.m.

Watch a livestreamed or recorded Mass

Confession

Saturday: 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m. (English)

Sunday: 3 p.m.- 4 p.m. (Spanish)