Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

News and Notes:  It was an honor for me to celebrate a Mass in honor of St. Maria Goretti at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Monday, October 5.  That day, major relics of St. Maria were on display at the Cathedral for public veneration.   Her relics are presently making the rounds in our country in a sacred tour that is called a “Pilgrimage of Mercy,” a wonderful prelude to the Year of Mercy Pope Francis proclaimed for the faithful, a year that will begin in December.  Thanks to Donna Hegan for arranging transportation for a bus full of SMG and OLA parishioners to attend this uplifting event.  This weekend, our eleventh graders at St. Maria’s will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, the sacrament that seals their baptism and bestows the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, counsel, understanding, knowledge, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord) on them, empowering them to be strong and faithful witnesses to Christ in our world.  Let’s pray these young men and women will be active, practicing Catholics for the rest of their lives.  Thanks to Steve Gannon for his ministry to these students for Confirmation.  Next weekend, eleventh graders from OLA will be confirmed.  A grateful shout-out to Andrea Gagnon for her ministry to these young people!  A question has been raised recently about whether the funds of the two parishes in our Collaborative can be shared or intermingled.  The answer is no.  Each parish retains its own assets and is responsible for its own bills.  If you are a parishioner of SMG, and use the envelopes or participate in the OAP or online giving program, your financial contribution is used exclusively to pay for SMG expenses even when you attend Mass at OLA.  If you are a parishioner of OLA, and use either the envelopes or online giving, your contribution belongs solely to OLA even when you attend Mass at SMG.  All loose bills and change remain in the parish where the collection is taken up.  There is no intermingling of funds between the two parishes.  I hope this response clarifies that particular issue.  Welcome back Fr. Rick Lesser, now a priest of the Diocese of Albany, New York and our celebrant at the 4PM Mass at OLA and 10AM Mass at SMG th