Who is Called to be a Saint?

07-28-2019Weekly ReflectionRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

The best news about saints is that everyone, including you, is called to be a saint.

Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a saint because you have not done anything great.

That’s no excuse. The saint whom Pope Pius XI called the greatest saint was Thérèse of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun who lived in a cloister and died at 24. What made people all over the world admire her is precisely that she did nothing the world called important but found holiness in everyday things.

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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

07-21-2019Weekly ReflectionRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

Isn’t Having Statues or Pictures of Saints Idolatry?

Perhaps, as you are reading this, you have in your wallet pictures of your loved ones, such as your wife, husband, mother, father, son, daughter or pictures of your grandchildren. Maybe you carry their pictures to remind you of people you love, to help you feel that they are close to you when you are not together, or to share with people you meet. But you probably would not say that you worship them.

These are the same reasons we have statues and pictures of Saints. Seeing a statue of Saint Therese of Lisieux, who lost her mother when she was a child, might make us feel less alone when we are grieving. A picture of Saint Francis of Assisi might remind us of how much he loved God’s creation and make us more aware of our environment.

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Updates from the Pastor’s Desk

07-14-2019AllRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

Repairs and Capital Improvements:
The St. Peter’s church building, the parish office as well as the rectory roof have been leaking in many places thereby causing damages to the physical buildings. We have had it rough this spring season. As I mentioned in the past, we had to put a bucket in my office space, as well as the guest room on the third floor of the rectory building to collect water dripping from the leaking roof.

After several meetings with the parish building committee (comprised of engineers, builders and architects) and the parish finance council, we engaged the services of Denis O’Sullivan to inspect the affected areas. Based on his findings, we asked him to put together bid proposals with the description of the work to be done for the above projects.

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When Did the Church Begin to Honor Saints?

07-07-2019Why do we do that?

Many people think that honoring saints was something the Church set up later, but it was part of Christianity from the very beginning. As a matter of fact, this practice came from a long-standing tradition in the Jewish faith of honoring prophets and holy people with shrines. The Church began to honor saints by AD 100. The first saints were martyrs, people who had given up their lives for the faith because of the persecution of Christians.

How Does the Church Choose Saints to Honor?

At first, saints were recognized by popular acclaim. This was very democratic, but it led to problems. Some people honored saints who were only legends or made up stories about saints. So, by the tenth century, the bishops and pope took over the authority for approving saints. The procedure the Church uses to name a saint is called canonization.

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