Menu
Cart

Daily Updates

OCTOBER

The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated on October 7. October falls during the liturgical season known as Tempus per Annum or Ordinary Time (formerly Time After Pentecost), which is represented by the liturgical color green. Green is a symbol of hope, as it is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection. The liturgical color green is worn during the praying of Offices and celebration of Masses of Ordinary Time.

The Holy Father’s Intentions for the Month of OCTOBER 2026

The Holy Father’s Intentions for the Month of OCTOBER 2026
For mental health ministry: Let us pray that the mental health ministry be established throughout the Church, helping to overcome the stigma and discrimination of persons with mental illnesses. (See also http://www.popesprayerusa.net/)

The gifts received by us from God are derived not from ourselves but from the Holy Spirit, and are to be used, in a spirit of humility, in the service of the Church and of our brothers.

DAILY PRAYER
 
“Lord Jesus, You have given me so much and entrusted me with many blessings. Help me to use them well and not lose sight of what You ask of me. Teach me to serve others with a generous heart and to be faithful in both the big and small things. May I always be ready when You call and eager to do Your will. Amen.”

“Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

Luke 12:39-48

 

OCTOBER 21st

Wednesday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
 
Other Commemorations: St. Hilarion, Abbot (RM); Saints Ursula and Companions, Virgins and Martyrs (RM) ; Other Titles: Hilary;
 
Today the Roman Martyrology commemorates:
—St. Ursula, virgin and martyr and companions (d. 238). In medieval times her legend developed into many versions; but all that may be said with certainty of these martyrs is that they suffered martyrdom at or near Cologne, and were sufficiently well known to have had a church built in their honor during the fourth century.
—St. Hilarion, Abbot (291-371), who was born of pagan parents near Gaza in Palestine toward the close of the third century. He studied at Alexandria and became a Christian at the age of 15. Following the example of St. Anthony in Egypt, Hilarion resolved to become a hermit in the desert, and Anthony himself trained the youth. He gave all his possessions to the poor, and became the father of monasticism in Palestine and Syria, famous for his miracles and sanctity. He lived to be over 80, dying on the island of Cyprus in 371.
 
Sts. Ursula and Companions
According to a legend that appeared in the tenth century, Ursula was the daughter of a Christian King in Britain and was granted a three-year postponement of a marriage she did not wish to a pagan prince. With ten ladies in waiting, each attended by a thousand maidens, she embarked on a voyage across the North Sea, sailed up the Rhine to Basle, Switzerland, and then went to Rome. On their way back they were all massacred by pagan Huns at Cologne in about 451 when Ursula refused to marry their chieftain.
According to another legend, America was settled by British colonizers and soldiers after Emperor Magnus Clemens Maximus conquered Britain and Gaul in 383. The ruler of the settlers, Cynan Meiriadog, called on King Dionotus of Cornwall for wives for the settlers, whereupon Dionotus sent his daughter Ursula, who was to marry Cynan, with eleven thousand noble maidens and sixty thousand common women. Their fleet was shipwrecked and all the women were enslaved or murdered.
The legends are pious fictions, but what is true is that one Clematius, a senator, rebuilt a basilica in Cologne that had originally been built, probably at the beginning of the fourth century, to honor a group of virgins who had been martyred at Cologne. They were evidently venerated enough to have had a church built in their honor, but who they were and how many of them there were are unknown. From these meager facts, the legend of Ursula grew and developed.
—Excerpted from Dictionary of Saints, John J. Delaney
The 11,000 number probably resulted from a misreading of the term “11M” which indicated 11 Martyrs, but which a copyist took for a Roman numeral. St. Ursula is the namesake for the Ursuline Order, founded for the education of young Catholic girls and women.
Patronage: Catholic education (especially of girls); Cologne, Germany; educators; holy death; schoolchildren; students; teachers; Ursuline order
Symbols and Representation: Large mantle lined with ermine; two arrows; three arrows; dove; book; ship; white banner charged with red cross; book and arrow; crown; pilgrim’s staff; arrow and furled banner; clock; maiden shot with arrows, often accompanied by a varied number of companions who are being martyred in assorted, often creative ways
Highlights and Things to Do:
St. Hilarion (Hilary)
St. Hilary was born at Tabatha near Gaza, Palestine, in the year 291. His pagan parents sent him, while still a youth, to study at Alexandria. He was remarkable for his diligence and good manners, and he shortly became a convert to Christianity, making great progress in faith and charity. He was zealous in visiting churches, in fasting and prayer, in scorning all earthly joys and pleasures. Lured by the fame of St. Anthony, Egypt’s illustrious hermit, he entered the desert and for two months remained his disciple. While absent, his parents died. Now Hilary gave all he had to the poor, and although hardly fifteen years old (306), he returned to the desert, built a little hut scarcely large enough to accommodate himself, and slept on the bare ground.
Most of his time was spent in reading and in meditating upon holy Scripture. A few figs and a little soup from herbs sufficed for his nourishment, but this he never took before the setting of the sun. Because of his mortifications and humility, he triumphed over fierce assaults by the evil one and healed many who were possessed. After founding numerous hermitages (he had two thousand followers) and working countless miracles, he became ill at the age of eighty. In his last agony he encouraged himself by saying: “Go thither, my soul, why do you fear? Why do you tremble? Seventy years you have served Christ, and now you fear death?” The day of Hilary’s death is given as October 21, 371. His grave is on the island of Cyprus. St. Jerome wrote the life of the holy hermit twenty years after his death.
—Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Symbols and Representation: Hour glass; basket; dragon
Highlights and Things to Do:
 
MASS READINGS
 
October 21, 2026 (Readings on USCCB website)
 
PROPERS [Show]
 
COLLECT PRAYER
 
Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time: Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
 
 
Daily Meditation:
 
Ephesians 3:2-12
 
The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same Body. (Ephesians 3:6)
 
In this passage, Paul explains something so important that it has literally changed the course of history. He affirms to the believers in Ephesus, most of whom were Gentiles, that there is no longer any division between Gentile and Jew. For centuries, Jews avoided Gentiles as unclean, and Gentiles looked down on Jews as members of an inferior religion and backward culture. But when the Holy Spirit fell on a Gentile named Cornelius—a Roman soldier, no less—God made it clear that both Jews and Gentiles are equals, “coheirs, members of the same Body, and copartners in the promise in Christ” (Ephesians 3:6; see Acts 10:1-49).
 
With today’s passage and others like it, Paul joined Peter, James, and the other apostles in announcing one of the most amazing—and challenging—truths of the gospel: in Christ, there are no longer distinctions between “clean” and “unclean” people. There are no divisions between those who are deemed “worthy” and those counted as “unworthy.” Everyone is a sinner and everyone can receive salvation from the Lord. So there is no room for prejudice. Or, as Paul says elsewhere, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28, emphasis added).
 
The world wants to divide us into categories and set us against each other, but Jesus has called us to love one another regardless of who the “other” may be. He wants us to look at our brothers and sisters in the Church and see him, in all his love and glory, as present in them. The degree to which we can do this—the degree to which we can love everyone equally—is the degree to which his Church can be a shining light to the world.
 
There’s nothing more attractive to a divided world than a united Church. There’s nothing more convincing about the power of God than the love and kindness shown by his people. So immerse yourself in the love of the Lord, and let that love soften your heart. Let it teach you how to love as Jesus loves. Show the world that there is a better way to live!
 
“Lord, give me your heart of love!”
 
(Psalm) Isaiah 12:2-6
Luke 12:39-48
 
21ST OCTOBER 2026
WEDNESDAY OF WEEK 29 IN ORDINARY TIME
Ephesians 3:2-12; Isaiah 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6; Luke 12:39-48
A CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY 
 
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” Luke 12:48
▪︎ The gospel passage divides the servants into two groups: the faithful and the unfaithful. The distinguishing factor is choice. All were given an equal opportunity to serve. One chose faithfulness; the other chose unfaithfulness. A third group also existed — those who acted out of ignorance. These three groups were treated differently. This gospel passage reminds us of God’s mercy and of how humans respond to grace.
~ The faithful servants: “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?” (42). They are the servants their master finds doing what he asked. Their reward: “Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions” (43). The reward for faithfulness is eternal possessions. Faithfulness requires resilience, patience, and grace.
~ The unfaithful servants: “But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful” (45-46). There is severe punishment for failing to do what is right. This reflects God’s justice in response to our choices.
~ The ignorant servants: “But the one who did not know, and did what deserved beating, will receive a light beating” (48). Here we see God’s mercy. From these three groups, we can see the idea of heaven, hell, and purgatory. The first group was rewarded with eternal life for their faithfulness. The second group was severely beaten and consigned to eternal darkness. The third group was lightly punished, a sign of God’s mercy.
▪︎ Dear friend, in these three groups we will find ourselves. Either we are faithful to God’s commandments, have outrightly rejected them to do our own will, or are acting out of ignorance. God knows everyone and where we are in our relationship with Him. We will be called to give an account of our deeds. At the end of our journey on earth, God will judge us for two things: faithfulness in loving Him and faithfulness in loving others. If our lives are weighed in love, should we be caught unprepared? 
Peace be with you! 
Fr. Joseph Chukwugozie Ikegbunam
 
 
 
“St. Gertrude’s Prayer,” was dictated by Our Lord to St. Gertrude the Great, a Benedictine cloistered nun and a mystic. In the twelfth century, the Lord told the Saint that this prayer (approved and recommended by M. Cardinal Pahiarca of Lisbon, Portugal on March 4, 1936) releases 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each time it is offered.
 
“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”
 
 
MIRACULOUS MEDAL

 In 1830, one of the apparitions sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church occurred in the chapel of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Rue de Bac, Paris. There were three visions given to Saint Catherine Laboure who, at the time of the first one, was a novice in the order. She was awakened at 11:30 PM on the eve of the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, by a “shining child” who led her to the chapel where she saw Our Lady, who spoke to her for two hours about the difficult task that lay ahead. Four months later, on November 27 Catherine had the second vision wherein she saw a three-dimensional scene of the Blessed Virgin standing on a white globe with dazzling rays of light streaming from her fingers and she heard a voice say:

“These are the symbols of grace I shed upon those who ask for them.”
“There now formed around the Blessed Virgin a frame rather oval in shape on which were written in letters of gold these words: ‘O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee’ Then the voice said: ‘ Have a medal struck upon this model. All those who wear it, when it is blessed, will receive great graces especially if they wear it round the neck. Those who repeat this prayer with devotion will be in a special manner under the protection of the Mother of God. Graces will be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.’ “
At the same instant, the oval frame seemed to turn around. Then I saw on the back of it the letter ‘M’, surmounted by a cross, with a crossbar beneath it, and under the monogram of the name of Mary, the Holy Hearts of Jesus and of His Mother; the first surrounded by a crown of thorns and the second transpierced by a sword. I was anxious to know what words must be placed on the reverse side of the medal and after many prayers, one day in meditation I seemed to hear a voice which said to me: ‘ The ‘M’ with the Cross and the two Hearts tell enough.’ ”
This sacramental from Heaven was at first called simply the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, but began to be known as the Miraculous Medal due to the unprecedented number of miracles, conversions, cures, and acts of protection attributed to Our Lady’s intercession for those who wore it.
Sister Catherine became Saint Catherine in 1947. The church instituted recognition of the apparition in which the Miraculous Medal first appeared for November 27, 1830. Millions of the Miraculous Medal have been distributed, and many graces and miracles have been received through this devotion to Our Lady.    
*Click on this link for a free Miraculous Medal

BROWN SCAPULAR OF MT. CARMEL

“Whosoever dies clothed in this

shall never suffer eternal fire.”

Virgin Mary’s promise to Saint Simon Stock

July 16, 1251″Wear it devoutly and perserveringly,” she says to each soul, “it is my garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal life.”

The scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer.

THE SABBATINE PRIVELEGE

The blessed Virgin of Mt. Carmel has promised to save those who wear the scapular fromthe fires of Hell; She will also shorten their stay in Purgatory if they should passfrom this world still owing some temporal debt of punishment.

The Blessed Virgin appeared to him and speaking of those who wear the Brown Scapular said: “I, the Mother of grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.”

Pope Benedict XV proceeded to grant an indulgence of 500 days for each time the cloth Scapular is kissed”. On July 16th, the Scapular feast, while addressing the seminarians of Rome, Benedict XV said: “Let all of you have a common language and a common armor: the language, the sentences of the Gospel; the common armor, the Scapular of the Virgin of Carmel, which you all ought to wear and which enjoys the singular privilege of protection even after death.”

 The Brown Scapular | A Sacramental

“One of the most remarkable effects of sacramentals is the virtue to drive away evil spirits whose mysterious and baleful operations affect sometimes the physical activity of man. To combat this occult power the Church has recourse to exorcism, and sacramentals”

(The Catholic Encyclopedia., 1913, VXIII, p. 293).The Brown Scapular | A True StoryYou will understand why the Devil works against those who promote the brown scapular when you hear the true story of Venerable Francis Yepes. One day his Scapular fell off. As he replaced it, the Devil howled, “Take off that habit which snatches so many souls from us! All those clothed in it die piously and escape us!” Then and there Francis made the Devil admit that there are three things which the demons are most afraid of: the Holy Name of Jesus; theHoly Name of Mary and the Holy Scapular of Carmel.“Modern Heretics make a mockery of wearing the Scapular. They decry it as so much trifling nonsense.” – St. Alphonsus LigouriMary, Mother of God and Our Mother“When Mary became the Mother of Jesus, true God and true Man, She also became our Mother. In His great mercy, Jesus wished to call us His brothers and sisters, and by this name He constituted us adopted children of Mary.” – St. John BoscoOver the years there have also been many miracles associated with wearing the brown scapular.

*If you would like a brown scapular click here:

Free Brown Scapular | Order Page

 

New Catholic Radio Station serving Chittenden County

By Gail Callahan

0 Comments

 
Donna McSoley

Donna McSoley stands in St. Francis Xavier Church in Winooski. She is the driving force behind a new Catholic radio station. Photo by Gail Callahan

WINOOSKI – In a state identified in a national study two years ago as one of the least religious in the country, a new Catholic radio station is being hailed by the market and people of faith.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Radio, which can be found at 105.5 FM, transmits 24-hour daily programming of the Eternal Word Television Network from the St. Francis Xavier Church property in Winooski. The station can be heard in the greater Burlington area and started broadcasting earlier this fall.

Donna McSoley, the driving force behind WRXJ 105.5 FM, said she is eager to begin producing some local programming after she learns more about audio editing software. McSoley said one of her ambitions is to air homilies from priests who serve the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.

“I wanted to bring Catholic radio to Vermont because many people here have rejected Christianity without even knowing much about church history, the early church fathers, or never having read the Bible in its entirety,” said McSoley. “Our state is in crisis over heroin and other drugs, and many people are lost and are desperately searching for freedom from addictions and a greater meaning in life.”

In 2015, the Pew Research Center conducted the Religious Landscape study, and Vermont tied as the 48th most religious state. The study found 34 percent of the Green Mountain State’s adults said they are “highly religious.”

A state’s spiritual devotion was measured by factors including “absolute belief in God and daily prayer.”

Lance Harlow

The Rev. Lance Harlow, rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral in Burlington, records in WRXJ radio’s Winooski station. Courtesy photo

McSoley, a parishioner at St. Francis Xavier Church, began the quest to secure a broadcast license more than five years ago when the Federal Communications Commission opened a small window to own a channel on the FM spectrum for a low-power station. It took about 18 months to secure the FCC’s approval.

McSoley accesses the station’s computers remotely from her Essex Junction home.

She said a radio station can reach people in ways other media outlets can’t. “Radio can be a great way to reach people in the privacy of their own car and where people are apt to ponder life’s great questions,” she said. “I think for that reason, radio can be a great way to explain the Catholic faith, which is largely misunderstood by the general public. … My hope is that the programs on the station can clear this up and we can foster greater unity within the Christian community here in Vermont.”

Ted Quigley, a practicing Catholic, embraces the organization. “105.5 FM is a wonderful change in my life,” he said. “I turn it on when I’m driving or when I’m home cleaning.”

The Most Rev. Christopher Coyne, bishop of Vermont’s Catholics, recorded some station identifications that play through the hour.

Coyne, who was named by Pope Francis to shepherd Vermont’s Catholics nearly two years ago, said he welcomes the station, praising McSoley’s efforts. “The Catholic community in Vermont has been very supportive of the launch of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Radio,” said Coyne. “Right now, this is the only Catholic radio station in Vermont. I hope to see many more begin to broadcast soon.”

Coyne’s remarks regarding the dearth of religious broadcasting in Vermont underscore what many perceive as an absence of God from the public dialogue. The FCC said it doesn’t keep track of content when license applications come in.

The program director for a Christian radio network serving Vermont said religious-oriented radio outlets are filling a much-needed niche. Bob Pierce, of The Light Radio Network, said his Christian station reaches about 15,000 listeners in Chittenden County.

In a competitive market, McSoley said she is anxious for WRXJ’s message to spread. “Although Vermont is one of the least religious states in the country, I have great faith that people will always be able to recognize truth when they hear it, so my hope is that many people will turn on the radio and start the journey toward discovering God,” she said.

https://vtdigger.org/2017/11/05/new-catholic-radio-station-serving-chittenden-county/#.WgItH9QrK6Y