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Weekly Bulletin September 8, 2024
by Terrie Evans
On this 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Constantinople. Since 1790, Our Lady of Constantinople has been honored in the town of Felitto, Italy where our grandparents came from before journeying to America and settling in the Little Italy section of South Fairmount. As a part of our Italian heritage, a statue of Our Lady of Constantinople was commissioned from Italy and has been in a special place in San Antonio Church since 1922. In Felitto, Italy there will be a procession throughout the town after Mass to honor her and in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, descendants from the original immigrants from Felitto will hold their annual three-day celebration on September 6th through the 8th to honor of Our Lady of Constantinople. They will have a festival and after their 10:00 AM Mass on this Sunday, a procession with the statue of Our Lady of Constantinople will be carried from the Prince of Peace Church to the Chapel of Our lady of Constantinople on 3rd Street in Old Forge. Some of our original San Antonio Church parishioners who settled in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, their 1st home in America, were the Ciuccio, Esposito, Fariello, Florimonte, Minella, and Sabatelli family. The men from those families worked in the coal mines before coming to Cincinnati to raise their families; helped establish our church and along with the rest of the Italian immigrants from Little Italy, saved enough funds to purchase the statue of Our Lady of Constantinople. At our 100th Anniversary celebration, San Antonio Church welcomed back many generations of these original families. Also on this Sunday, we highlight all grandparents on the observance of Grandparent’s Day. Inspired by the efforts of Marian McQuade, President Jimmy Carter signed into law, National Grandparent’s Day in 1978. The Presidential Proclamation was then designated to be celebrated on the first Sunday following Labor Day. There is an official song by Johnny Prill “A Song for Grandma and Grandpa” and the official flower, the Forget-me-not to honor a family’s greatest treasure, Grandparents. On this Sunday, we remember our grandparents who are no longer with us as we honor and pray for those Grandparents who are a strong driving force in today’s society. A Poem by Catherine Pulsifer: “Remember when I held my darling child. My heart so full of love and pride. Smiles, laughter, and memories sweet. Watching those little ones grow, nothing could be beat! But now our children have their own kids galore. What a blessing is a grandchild to adore!”
On Monday, September 9th we honor St. Peter Claver, (1580-1654), known for his Missions Among People of African Descent. He was born Pedro (Peter) Claver y Corbero, a native of Spain who was educated at the University of Barcelona and Montesione College in Palma, Majorca where he was known for his intelligence and piety. He wrote “I must dedicate myself to the service of God until death, on the understanding that I am like an enslaved person.” In 1610, he left Spain to become a Missionary in the colonies of the New World. He was ordained in 1615 in Cartagena, a port city in the Caribbean. Before his arrival, Jesuit Father Alfonso de Sandival had given 40 years of his life to the care of slaves. Peter continued the work of ministering to the ill-treated and exhausted who were herded out of the ships that had journeyed across the Atlantic from West Africa. He met each ship that arrived with men who were scarcely alive for the duration of the crossing, handing out medicine, food, bread, brandy, lemons, and tobacco and to the sick and dying, final unction. He enlisted 7 interpreters who could speak to them and then was able to teach them the rudiments of the Christian Faith. Peter learned their languages and comforted them, teaching them that God loved them. Many in Cartagena ridiculed and persecuted Peter because he treated slaves as human beings. He also mentored to those of Cartagena, preaching in the city square to sailors, traders before sickness forced him to remain alone until he died on September 8, 1654, serving almost 40 years to the underserved. His funeral was a public event with much pomp to show respect to the Jesuit who had served so many. In 1888, Pope Leo XIII canonized Peter Claver along with Jesuit porter, Alphonsus Rodriguez. He is declared patron of missionary work among all African peoples with the Knights of Peter Claver, and the Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver continue the work he started.
Tuesday September 9th is declared Human Rights National Day in his honor by the Congress of the Republic of Columbia. A Prayer to St. Peter Claver: “O God, You conferred on St. Peter Claver a remarkable love and patience to help Your enslaved people and bring them to knowledge of Your name. Through his intercession, help us to seek equality for all races. AMEN.”
On Thursday September 12th, we honor the Holy Name of Mary that venerates the name of Mary as she was the Mother of God. This feast was established by Pope Innocent XI who made this feast universal and in 2003 Pope John Paul II reinstated it. “We venerate the name of Mary because it belongs to her who is the Mother of God, the holiest of creatures, the Queen of Heaven and Earth and the Mother of Mercy. Her feast commemorates all the privileges given to Mary by God and all the graces we have received through her intercession and mediation.” St. Louis de Montfort wrote extensively about the popular devotion to Mary.
On Friday September 13, we honor the life of St. John Chrysostom, born in Antioch, the second city of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. He was a Deacon, Priest, and the Patriarch of Constantinople in 403 was trained as a lawyer using his canonical powers to expound the Scriptures in a powerful series of sermons which earned him the title “Golden mouthed” or Chrysostom. He became known as one of the finest preachers of all time with many of his sermons surviving. He said to be a believer, “Death is a rest, a deliverance from the exhausting labors and cares for this world. So, when you see one of your family departing, do not fall into despair. Think deeply. Examine your conscience. Cherish the thought that soon this end awaits you too. Remember, “Think to whom the departed has gone-and take comfort.” A Prayer of St. John Chrysostom: “Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise, that when two or three gathered together in the name thou wilt grant their requests: Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of the servants, as may be most expedient for them: world knowledge of the truth, and in the world to come life everlasting.” St. John Chrysostom died in the City of Comana, Diocese of Pontus in the Roman Empire where his relics remained until 438. Thirty years after his death, his relics were transferred to Constantinople until they were looted in 1204 by Crusaders and taken to Rome. In 2004, Pope John Paul II returned some of the relics to the Orthodox Church and since that time, they have been enshrined in the Church of St. George in Istanbul. The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates him as a Great Ecumenical Teacher with several feast days celebrated on January 27th, January 30th, September 14th, and November 13th. In the Catholic Church, he is celebrated as a Bishop and Doctor of the Church. He was canonized pe-congregation and in 1908, Pope Pius X named St. John Chrysostom the patron saint of Preachers. Many widely used editions of his works are written in Greek, Latin, English, French containing 700 sermons, 246 letters, biblical commentaries, theological treatises, especially “Against Those Who Oppose The Monastic Life”, were attributed to St. John Chrysostom. His writings have survived to this day more so than any of the other Greek Fathers.
On Saturday September 14, we honor the Feast of the Exaltation Of the Holy Cross, celebrating the Cross as the sign of Salvation. In the 4th Century, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, St. Helena journeyed to Jerusalem to search the holy places of Christ’s life. During her visit, she had the 2nd Century Temple of Aphrodite razed as it was thought to be the tomb of Our Savior. St. Helena’s workers uncovered 3 Crosses during the excavations with one identified as the one on which Jesus died and its touch is said to have healed a dying woman. This Cross became an object of veneration when it was displayed at a Good Friday Observance in Jerusalem. The wood Cross was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table with the inscription Pilates ordered placed above Jesus’ head. As the faithful gathered to pay their respects, they passed by one by one, bowing down, touching the Cross, then the inscription to their forehead, then their eyes, and after kissing the Cross they moved on. After the razing of the Temple of Aphrodite, Emperor Constantinople built the Basilica of the Holy Sepucher on the site of the Three Crosses. The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the anniversary of the Dedication of the Basilica in 335. This historic feast was added to the Western calendar in the 7th Century after Emperor Heraclius obtained the Cross from the Persians who had carried it off in 614. He intended to carry the Cross back to Jerusalem but was not allowed until he took off his imperial garb to become a barefoot pilgrim. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross recalls three events on this feast day: 1. The finding of the True Cross by St. Helena. 2. The dedication of churches built by Emperor Constantine on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary. 3. The restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem in AD 629 by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, after it had fallen into the hands of the Persian Emperor Chosroes II in the AD 614 Sasanian Conquest of Jerusalem. By the 5th Century, pieces of the True Cross relic were distributed across the empire and venerated as far away as Italy.
Our Annual Spaghetti Dinner will be held on Sunday October 13th, 2024, in our hall downstairs. We will have dine-in and takeout available and we are now selling ads for the placemat that will be used at the dinner. Please see Harry Panaro for info or to purchase a spot on the placemat to honor your family or business.