October 3rd 2025_Catholic Standard

Pope Leo’sMessagefortheWorld DayofMigrantsandRefugees2025 Migrants, missionaries of hope

MESSAGE OF POPE LEO XIV FOR THE 111th WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES 2025

4-5 October 2025

Migrants, missionaries of hope

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which my predecessor chose to coincide with the Jubilees of Migrants and of the Missions, offers us an opportunity to reflect on the connections betweenhope,migrationandmission.

The current global context is sadly marked by wars, violence, injustice and extreme weather events, which force millions of people to leave their homelands in search of refuge elsewhere. The widespread tendency to look after the interests of limited communities poses a serious threat to the sharing of responsibility, multilateral cooperation, the pursuit of the common good and global solidarity for the benefit of our entire human family. (please turn to page 12)

Clergy Conference and Jubilee of Consecrated Life - p2

PMS Directors’ Meeting held in Suriname - p2

World Day of Migrants & Refugees prayer - p3

Christian leaders blame Israel for dwindling number of Christians in Holy Land - p3

A Christian Perspective on Social Issues - p4

Ministry of Health and PAHO partner with St. VincentdePaulSocietyincaringfortheElderly - p4

Sunday Scripture - p5

World must come together to fight climate change, Pope Leo says - p6

Karasabai celebrating Centenary - p7

Rosary can change the world, pontifical charity urges before a million children pray - p8

Children’s Page - p9

First woman archbishop of Canterbury to lead Church of England - p10

Growing in Grace Week 69 - p10

Pope's October prayer intention - p11

Cathedral Memory Lane - p14

Confirmation at Holy Rosary - p14

Annual Clergy Conference – October 7 to 10, 2025 at the Catholic Life Centre. All masses are held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate

Opening of Annual Clergy

Mass for Jubilee of Consecrated Life & Closing Mass of Clergy Conference (continued on page 3)

The Jubilee Prayer

Annual Clergy Conference and

Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth.

Clergy Conference

The Annual Clergy Conference of the Diocese of Georgetown will take place from Tuesday, October 7th to Friday, October 10th at the Catholic Life Centre, Brickdam, Georgetown. The conference will be held under the theme: “Pilgrims, Journeying

The faithful are encouraged to join our Bishop and priests for daily Mass from Tuesday, October 7th to Thursday, October 9th, at 5:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Brickdam.

Please keep our Bishop and priests in your prayers during this important

Jubilee of Consecrated Life

In union with the Universal Church, the Diocese of Georgetown will join in the celebration of the Jubilee of Consecrated Life on Thursday, October 9th with Holy Mass at 5:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Brickdam. This mass is also the Closing Mass of the Clergy Conference. This joyous occasion will bring together our Bishop, all priests, and the majority of our Religious Sisters.

As part of promoting vocations, there will be booths highlighting the different congregations present in the Diocese, giving the faithful an opportunity to learn more about their mission.

The faithful are warmly invited to attend and join in prayerful thanksgiving for the gift of consecrated life in the Church. ❖

To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.

Amen

The annual Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) Directors’ Meeting was held from September 28th to 30th, 2025, in the Diocese of Paramaribo, Suriname. These meetings are designed to equip the faithful and to help plan and strengthen the missionary zeal of the Church.

The Diocese of Georgetown was represented by the Diocesan Director - Ms. Angie Sukhai.

Pontifical Mission Societies are the official missionary arm of the Catholic Church, promoting a universal

spirit of prayer, solidarity, and support for mission territories around the world. Rooted in Christ’s command to “go and make disciples of all nations,” PMS inspires and engages the faithful to live out their missionary vocation through prayer, formation, outreach, and concrete support for evangelization.

Here in the Diocese of Georgetown, we are also blessed to benefit from the support of PMS. Through subsidies from the Propagation of Faith, our diocese is able to undertake vital projects, strengthen faith formation, and support the

Missionary Childhood Association, all of which help to sustain and deepen our local missionary efforts.

October is known as mission month and we invite all the faithful to continue to pray for the missions and to support the work of PMS, especially through our annual Mission Sunday collection which is on the third Sunday in October and the Missionary Childhood Association collection, so that together we may carry forward the Good News of Christ to the ends of the earth. ❖

People attend

(OSV News) Christian leaders in the Holy Land, as well as Palestinian government officials, condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent speech at the United Nations General Assembly and blamed the Israeli occupation for the decreasing number of Christians in the area.

“The reason Christians and many others, too, are leaving Bethlehem is (the) Israeli occupation and its policies of closures, permits, exclusionary residency rights, etc., and not the policies of the Palestinian Authority,” read the joint statement signed Sept. 27 by over a dozen Christian leaders in the Holy Land that makeup “A Jerusalem Voice for Justice,” an ecumenical think tank.

Among the signatories of the letter were Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah, who led the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem from 1987 to 2008, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Theodosios of Sebastia of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and retired Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan of the Holy Land.

Highlighting the increasing tensions against Israel’s continued war in the Gaza Strip, and what a U.N. commission and international experts have classified as a genocide, dozens of U.N. diplomats walked out before Netanyahu delivered his Sept. 26 address.

ecumenical response

In his speech, the Israeli prime minister railed against the Palestinian Authority, equating it with Hamas, the Islamist resistance movement in control of Gaza, and saying that Christians “don’t fare much better” under PA leadership in the West Bank.

“When Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, was under Israeli control, 80% of its residents were Christians. But since the PA took control, that number has dwindled to under 20%,” Netanyahu

(OSV News photo/Carlos Barria, Reuters)

said.

In its letter, “A Jerusalem Voice for Justice” said that Netanyahu did “not speak on behalf of Christian Palestinians and cannot be allowed to twist the truth.”

“Bethlehem was a Christian-majority city until 1948: more than 80% of the population was Christian” before the 1948 “Nakba,” an Arabic word meaning “catastrophe” that referred to the forced displacement of an estimated 750,000 Palestinians during the Arab-Israeli War.

The ecumenical group also noted that Israel’s continued war on Gaza has caused “the almost complete stop of tourism and pilgrimage” in Bethlehem, while hundreds more have left the holy city due to “Israeli occupation and military violence.”

“We insist: Christians and Muslims in Bethlehem and throughout Palestine continue to live together as one people, sharing the same struggles under occupation. The truth remains: Palestinians, Christians, and Muslims alike seek equality, justice, and peace in their homeland,” the statement read.

Palestinian

committee’s response

The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine issued a similar statement Sept. 28, saying that Netanyahu’s speech was filled with “outrageous lies about Palestinian Christians.”

Established by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2012, the committee is tasked with safeguarding the Christian presence and holy sites in the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

“The reality is clear: it is Israel’s colonial policies of ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and genocide that have devastated the Christian presence in Palestine,” the committee said.

Listing several alleged atrocities committed by Zionist extremists and the Israeli military against Christians in Palestine, the committee said it was Israel “who has decimated the Christian presence in the Holy Land.”

“Netanyahu’s lies at the UN cannot erase history or the lived reality of Palestinians Christian and Muslim alike under Israeli colonial rule,” the statement said. “Defending the Christian presence in Palestine is not only a Palestinian cause it is a global moral, humanitarian, and legal obligation.”❖

Prayer for the 111th World Day of Migrants & Refugees

October 5th 2025

God our Father, the source of all life, you accompanied our fathers in faith on their journey, as you guided the Israelites your people in the desert, as the holy family of Jesus, Joseph and Mary fled as refugees to another country for safety.

Be with migrants on their journey, grant them peace and motivate the compassionate touch of all peoples and nations to welcome the stranger, for in welcoming them they welcome you.

Give each person a heart ready to welcome migrants and to treat them with love and dignity.

Help us all to recognize that we are pilgrims on a journey, so that we can be missionaries of hope, love, joy and communion with migrants and refugees. Amen [Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development]

Friday, October 10th

06:00hrs – Mass for Feast of the Dedication of the Cathedral 09:00hrs – Depart for an outing. Sunday, October 12th 07:30hrs – Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

A Christian Perspective on Social

By GHK Lall

Promises made, promises expected to be kept

It is easing into the last quarter of 2025. A tough year it has been for those trying to keep their nose above water, trying to take a breath. To restate the already known, hundreds of thousands of Guyanese could use a helping hand, any help that they can get. In the last quarter, the third one, many promises were made. In this the last quarter of a demanding and draining year, it is time for a start to be made to deliver on some of them. The rest should be watched to see how they will take form in the 2026 budget, still about six months away, when all that has to be debated is done, and before any of the lively promises can go into the production stage. Guyanese wait on those. But they also harbor expectations right now.

Many expectations beat in the breasts of Guyanese, none as much as in those of the poor and struggling, those who live with pain. Physical pain - what doesn’t let up. Economic painneed but can’t do anything.

Psychological pain - fear of the present, fear of the future. In this final quarter of a stretching, punishing, 2025, every word is hung onto as if life itself depends on it. Every development is watched and studied with the keenest of eyes. Indeed, such is the urgency of the circumstances of many Guyanese families; and, what also functions as an indication of their desperation. Prices for basic items are so often out of reach. When a mother cannot buy stuff for her stove, then the children will cry. It has been so for many families in this country in this another year of grand numbers and beautiful promises.

What will October and November bring? What relief could be expected, and how much of it is actually on the way? A recent announcement was that the E-ID card should be ready by the end of September. It is now October, should citizens should be wellequipped. With E-ID card in hand, a cash grant before December already has been factored into the thinking of countless Guyanese. The poorer they are, the more fevered their interest. This year or next year, that is the question today. How much, 100 or 200? Whatever it is, Guyanese will reach energetically for any such assistance that could serve as a temporary cushion to the harsh edges of existence in this country. Things are that bad, that hard.

All this oil-the news, the previews, the reviews-has influenced the minds of brothers and sisters across this land of many waters. And many oil discoveries. Oil is what waters the

spirit now. Oil nurtures the souls of some, quite a huge number, I am sure. Will there be something for me? It is the question on Guyanese minds. Will something more than before come to me this time? Remember that promises were made, and they were rich and plentiful. If half of those is received in hand, I will be better two times over, which should present a sharp picture of how difficult many individual situations are. A hand out of a deep hole. I should be thinking like a Christian mystic, emphasize the spiritual. But the territory is littered with those whose first priority is now of economics, the substances of what is material.

Where is the money? Where is the care? Where is the love of which so much was heard about? What about that helping hand, many of them, heard a month or two ago? A man may not eat on bread alone, but he does have to have a slice or a crumb at some time, if he is to retain his sanity. Le dignity. It is all that some have left to hold them up, show a bright face to the world. It ain is what spills from lips, the truth of the heart. Such is the cry of those whose hands are bare, and their cupboards worse than that empty state. It is not easy, but giving up is not an option. There must be trying. There must be struggling and battling. Get thee away from me, Satan. Let the light of heaven shine on me and through me, O Lord. Shine the light, and let me see my way in this rich land.❖

Gracious and loving God, we thank your for the gift of our priests.

Through them, we experience your presence inthe sacraments.

Help our priests to be strong in their vocation.

Set their souls on fire with love for your people.

Ministry of Health and PAHO partner with St. Vincent de Paul Society in caring for the Elderly

by the St. Vincent de Paul Society, St. Ignatius Conference of Our Lady of Fatima Church.

In this photo, members of the PAHO team can be seen interacting with residents and distributing care hampers. At the same time, the Ministry of Health took the opportunity to administer influenza vaccines.

The St. Ignatius Conference expresses sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Health and PAHO for their support and generosity. ❖

Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need tofollow inthe footsteps ofJesus. Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.

Give them the words they need to spreadthe Gospel.

Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.

Help them to become instruments ofyour divine grace.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our EternalPriest. Amen

FIRST READING Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4

The upright man will live by his faithfulness.

How long, Lord, am I to cry for help while you will not listen; to cry “Oppression!” in your ear and you will not save?

Why do you set injustice before me, why do you look on where there is tyranny?

Outrage and violence, this is all I see, all is contention, and discord flourishes. Then the Lord answered and said,

“Write the vision down, inscribe it on tablets to be easily read, since this vision is for its own time only: eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive; if it comes slowly, wait, for come it will, without fail.

See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights, but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.”

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Psalm 94

Response: O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts.

1.Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the rock who saves us. Let us come before him, giving thanks, with songs let us hail the Lord.

2. Come in; let us bow and bend low; let us kneel before the God who made us for he is our God and we the people who belong to his pasture, the flock that is led by his hand.

3.O that today you would listen to his voice! “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the desert when your fathers put me to the test; when they tried me, though they saw my work.”

SECOND READING 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14

Never be ashamed of witnessing to our Lord.

I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never

Our readings today show us that living a stewardship way of life a life focused on serving God and His Kingdom isnoteasy.Theyalso show us that our lives belong to God, not to us, and that God will indeed bring

bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.

Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Gospel Acclamation 1 Sam 3: 9

Alleluia, alleluia!

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening: you have the message of eternal life. Alleluia

Or 1 Pet 1:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of the Lord remains for ever: What is this word?

It is the Good News that has been brought to you. Alleluia!

about the fulfillment of His kingdom. We just need to have faith that He can do it and commit to our small part in His grand design. This is both our privilege and responsibility as Christian stewards.

Jesus makes this privilege and responsibility clear in today’s Gospel passage from Luke. When the apostles ask the Lord to increase their faith, He tells them that even a mustard seed-sized faith is all that is needed to move mountains (because it is God who does the heavy lifting). We need

If only you had faith!

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’, and it would obey you.

“Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, ‘Come and have your meal immediately’? Would he not be more likely to say, ‘Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards’? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.’” ❖

only take the tiniest step forward, and Hewilldotherest.

But living our lives in His service is also very much our responsibility, as Jesus explains through the parable of the unprofitable servant later in this passage. Our Lord describes a scene in which a servant has just come in from tending tothemaster’saffairsandasks whetherit wouldbereasonableforthe master to begin waiting on his servant. Of course, it would not be reasonable! The servant would be expected to continue to serve his master until he

has completed the work the master has given him that day. Jesus says we should have this same attitude before God.

The time, talents, and treasure entrusted to us are all God’s. Our very lives belong to Him. Whatever we do on God’s behalf with our lives and our gifts is simply our God-given responsibility.

The stewardship way of life makes the privilege and responsibility of serving ChristandHiskingdomareality.❖ [www.catholicsteward.com/blog/ ]

Gospel Reflection

Faith that is just a matter of words that has no real and practical impact on a person’s daily life is not Christian faith. Our faith must have an influence on our values, on the way we think and it must guide our actions. However, it is a sad fact that in the lives of many believers, words and actions have drifted apart. Our expressions of faith may have little bearing on our day-to-day conduct. Our Sunday worship is one thing. On Monday, we seem to be involved in a game that is played by different rules. In other words, we just cannot see a relationship between what we do in Church and our everyday lives the rest of the week. It is as if we refuse to allow Christ to follow us as we leave the Church and to challenge us as we go about our dailylives.

The message of the parable of the servant is simple and direct. Just as the servant who has spent the day doing his or her duties has no right to expect special treatment from the master, so the disciple who carries out his Christian duty can make no claim on God. Genuine love is the basis for Christian service and not the expectation of reward. Some people seem to think that they are doing God a favour when they keep his Laws and worship him. But to serve God is more that than just a duty. It is a privilege. And above all, the quality we should bring to our service is love. Even when we have done all we are supposed to do, we still have only done our duty. If we should bring an employer-worker relationship to our service of God, our religion would be pitiful and will result in a terrible poverty of the spirit.

It is surprising how many people think that God owes them something. This is true of many sincere people who take their religion seriously and who try as best as they can to live by God’s commandments. What they may think, even if they never say so, is something like this: I have kept my side of the bargain,now itisupto Godtokeep the other side of the bargain. But this attitude reduces service in God’s name to a bargain or a contract – something for something, a reward in heaven for faithful service here on earth. Seen like this, our religion becomes a cold and calculating affair and not particularlyattractive.❖

[From: Journeying with the Word of God, The Religious Education Department, DioceseofGeorgetown, Guyana ]

World must come together to fight

Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor and former California governor, speaks in the presence of Pope Leo XIV during the opening session of an international conference celebrating the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," at the Mariapolis Center in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Oct. 1, 2025. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) People of faith cannot love God while despising his creatures, and people cannot call themselves Christians without caring for everything fragile and wounded, including the earth, Pope Leo XIV told climate activists and political and religious leaders.

“There is no room for indifference or resignation,” he said, inaugurating an international conference celebrating the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home.”

Seated behind a slowly melting chunk of ice from a glacier in Greenland, the pope said, “God will ask us if we have cultivated and cared for the world that he created, for the benefit of all and for future generations, and if we have taken care of our brothers and sisters.”

“What will be our answer?” he asked.

Pope Leo spoke Oct. 1 during the opening session of a three-day conference titled, “Raising Hope for Climate Justice.” Organized by the Laudato Si’ Movement and with the support of the Vatican dicasteries for Promoting Integral Human Development and Communication, the event was held at the Focolare Movement’s Mariapoli Center near the papal summer villa in Castel Gandolfo.

The conference brought together some 500 delegates representing global leaders, faith-based organizations, governments and NGOs active in climate justice in order to celebrate what has been achieved since Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical was published in 2015 and to hammer out new strategies for expanded partnerships and concrete action.

“We are one family, with one Father,” Pope Leo said, and “we inhabit the same planet and must care for it together.”

transforms both personal and communal lifestyles.

” For believers, he said, “we cannot love God, whom we cannot see, while despising his creatures. Nor can we call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ without participating in his outlook on creation and his care for all that is fragile and wounded.

”

Integral ecology thrives on four relationships: with God, with others, with nature and with ourselves, he said.

“Through our commitment to them, we can grow in hope by living out the interdisciplinary approach of Laudato Si’ and the call to unity and collaboration that flows from it.”

Pope Leo also expressed his hope that a number of upcoming U.N. summits, including the 2025 Climate Change Conference being held in Brazil in November, “will listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, families, Indigenous peoples, involuntary migrants and believers throughout the world.”

“I, therefore, renew my strong appeal for unity around integral ecology and for peace!” he said.

Pope Leo noted, as Pope Francis did in his follow-up exhortation “Laudate Deum,” that “some have chosen to deride the increasingly evident signs of climate change, to ridicule those who speak of global warming and even to blame the poor for the very thing that affects them the most.”

“What must be done now to ensure that caring for our common home and listening to the cry of the earth and the poor do not appear as mere passing trends or, worse still, are seen and felt as divisive issues?” he asked.

“Everyone in society, through nongovernmental organizations and advocacy groups, must put pressure on governments to develop and implement more rigorous regulations, procedures and controls,” the pope said.

“Citizens need to take an active role in political decision-making at national, regional and local levels,” he said.

“Only then will it be possible to mitigate the damage done to the environment.”

Pope Leo asked the audience to “give thanks to our Father in heaven for this gift we have inherited from Pope Francis!” which was followed by enthusiastic applause.

“The challenges identified in Laudato Si’ are in fact even more relevant today than they were 10 years ago,” he said, and these challenges, which are social, political and spiritual, “call for conversion.”

“It is only by returning to the heart that a true ecological conversion can take place,” Pope Leo said, saying, “We must shift from collecting data to caring; and from environmental discourse to an ecological conversion that

“I encourage everyone, especially young people, parents and those who work in local and national administrations and institutions, to play their part in finding solutions for today’s cultural, spiritual and educational challenges, always striving tenaciously for the common good,” he added.

Among the participants who spoke during the opening session in the presence of the pope was Brazil’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, and the former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has long been involved in initiatives for the protection of creation.

Indicating Pope Leo, Schwarzenegger said he was in the presence of a true “action hero” because of his election as pope and leader of a city-state whose goal is to become the first carbon-neutral state in the world.

Pope Leo later quipped in his opening remarks that “if there is indeed an action hero with us this afternoon, it is all of you who are working together to make a difference.”

Schwarzenegger outlined how he continued to help take aggressive action on fighting climate change while he was governor of the state of California from 2003 to 2011, reducing greenhouse gases by 25% and promoting other green initiatives.

Warnings that environmental legislation would ruin the state’s economy were “a bunch of nonsense,” he said. “Today, California has the strictest environmental laws in the United States, and we are number one economically” in the U.S. and “the fourth largest economy in the world” with a $4 trillion GDP.

Instead of people “whining” and wondering what to do, he said, everyone should “get to work” because “everyone has the power” to do something, he said. ❖

Journeying with the Word of God

MAKING THE WORD OF GOD YOUR OWN

Lookattoday’sReadingsprayerfully.

1st Reading: The prophet cries out to God because it seems that violence and wickedness go unpunished. However, the Lord assures him that in his own time he will bring down the wicked and reward those who have remained faithful.

2nd Reading: By the laying on of hands, Timothy was commissioned to bear witness to Christ and to the Gospel. He is given the courage for this demanding task.

: A little faith, provided it is real, can do great things. The disciples are urged to serve God without any claim of a reward.

Step 2: ApplyingthevaluesoftheReadings toyourdailylife.

The prophet in the First Reading makes a strong statement about crying out to God for a long time for help. Have you ever had such an experience?

2.What do you think faith is? Reflect on the statement: “Faith is a gift. We do not earn it or deserve it. Faith transforms us and allows us to see with new vision. We often take this great gift for granted.”

Jubilee Pilgrimage to Suriname

3.Is Jesus saying that the amount of faith is not the problem but a lack of determination? Is it that our faith is more than enough if we persevere to put it into action?

4.It is in situations of violence and disaster that we often pause to take stock of our faith and our entire lives. How can such occasions cause us to increase our faith?

Step 3: Accepting the message of God’s Wordinyourlifeoffaith.

The Lord is entitled to the best service we can offer. We can never put God in our debt. We serve out of love and not for a reward. Being a Christian and living a Christian life is not always easy. But God gives us more than enough gifts to do it. We only have to believe and try.

Step 4: Somethingtothink&prayabout

1.An unguarded faith may give in to the many evils of the world – doubting, pride, etc. How do you intent to guard your faith?

2.Reflect on a time when your faith weakened because you did not guard it. Why did this happen? ❖

[From: Journeying with the Word of God, The Religious Education Department, Diocese of Georgetown, Guyana ]

charity urges before a million children pray

Children praying the rosary at the Jesus Christ Redeemer Parish in Bogota, Colombia, are seen on an undated photograph. In October 2025, over a million children around the world will lift their voices in prayer as pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need marks the 20th anniversary of its One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign. What began in 2005 as a small gathering in Venezuela has grown into a global movement reaching across every continent.

(OSV News photo/courtesy ACN)

(OSV News) This October, over a million children around the world will lift their voices in prayer as pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need marks the 20th anniversary of its One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign. What began in 2005 as a smallgatheringinVenezuela hasgrown into a global movement reaching acrosseverycontinent.

Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, ACN International president, described the campaign as a response to “a world wounded by division, conflict, and suffering.” He said the rosary “is neither a dry nor repetitive practice, but rather a gentle and strong path that leads us to the heart of the Gospel.”

He urged families to invite children to pray “so that the entire world may be embraced by this crown of light,” and added: “Let us pray together that the bonds of ecclesial communion, both affective and effective, may be strengthened, and that the Holy Spirit may awaken in the hearts of the young asinceredesireforholiness.”

Inspiration of a saint

Theinspirationforthecampaigncomes from a saying attributed to St. Padre Pio: “When a million children pray the Rosary, the world will change.” That vision first came alive in Caracas in 2005, when a group of children gatheredinachapeltopraytogether.

The effort has grown steadily. In 2023, for the first time, the number of officially registered participants surpassed one million. That milestone was repeated in 2024, and ACN leaders believe it marks the beginning of a “tidal wave of prayer” spreading across timezonesandcultures.

Support for the initiative has poured in from around the globe. In Pakistan,

In Sri Lanka, Father Shelton Dias expressed his conviction in even simpler words: “The power of the Rosary can change the world. Nothing canovercomethepowerofprayer.”

Father Anton Lässer of ACN agreed: “The prayers of children have a special power before God a power that can breach walls, heal wounds, and bring light into the darkness,” he said. This year, he added, the campaign takes on additional meaning within the church’s Jubilee of Hope. “The Rosary is and always will be a tried and trusted way of hope for peace a path we are currentlywalkingwithgreatfaith.”

Rosary a source of strength

In 2025, the charity is once again inviting parishes, schools, families and Catholic movements to pray the Rosary during the first week of October, with special emphasis on Oct. 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Anyone may participate, but groups are encouraged toregisteronlinesothatorganizerscan measurethescaleofinvolvement.

To help families and catechists, ACN

has prepared resources in multiple languages including meditations, prayer cards and colorful illustrations designed for children. The materials canbedownloadedfreeofchargefrom the campaign’s website, giving communities around the world a way to pray together using the same texts andimages.

Organizers stress that the campaign is not only about numbers. Its deeper goal is to nurture a culture of prayer among young people and to give them atooltheycancarrythroughoutlife.

“Children, too, are protagonists in the life of faith,” Bishop Mascarenhas said, “capable of interceding powerfully for peaceandreconciliation.”

CardinalPiacenzaechoedthishope. “In an age when prayerful silence is too often drowned out by the noise of the world,” he said, “the Rosary offers an oasis of contemplation.” He added that children’s voices raised in prayer can help heal divisions and inspire unity, not only within the church but across nations.❖

Zohaib Haroon, secretary for the Diocese of Faisalabad, wrote: “We truly believe that prayer, especially the Rosary, remains our most powerful spiritual weapon for peace, unity, and the protection of innocent lives.” He said schools, parishes and catechetical centers would be mobilized to join the effort.

InIndia,BishopTheodoreMascarenhas of Daltonganj called the invitation to prayer “prophetic and profoundly necessary.”

From the Amazon in Ecuador, Bishop Adalberto Jiménez of Ubaba, said his people would gather “from our jungles and rivers, our schools and chapels, with hope for the future of the world, whichweplaceinMary’shands.”

Global turnout

African bishops also underlined the urgency. Bishop Leopoldo Ndakalako of Menongue, Angola, described the campaign as “a great, unique and opportune initiative, especially at this timeinhistory.”

Bishop Bruno Ateba of MarouaMokolo, Cameroon, warned that terrorism and hatred “are gaining ground, and the number of people in distress is increasing all the time. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who madeheavenandearth.”

From Asia, Father Yakobus Warata, Redemptorist provincial in Indonesia, said the event is a reminder that Christian action must be rooted in prayer.

“In a time marked by growing violence, division, and suffering, our response must be grounded not only in action, but also in deep and united prayer. We are convinced that the innocent prayer of children has a unique power to touch the heart of God and to call downpeaceuponourtroubledworld.”

How Much Faith Is Enough?

Dear Boys and Girls,

When we come to church, we hear a lot talk about faith. We read about faith in the Bible and we sing songs about faith, but what is faith? When we say that we have faith, it means that we believe something is true, even when we can't see it.

The followers of Jesus said to him one day, "Give us more faith."

Jesus answered them, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." Do you know how big a mustard seed is? It is so small that you can hardly see it!

When we have faith in God, it isn't a question of how big our faith is, it is a question of how powerful our God is, and with God all things are possible!

Father, we don't ask you to give us more faith. We simply ask that you help us to use the faith that we have and trust you to do the rest.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. ❖

Today Sunday October 5th 2025 is the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. This year’s theme is “Migrants, missionaries of hope”, as this year as the Jubilee of Hope. Today we reflect on the lives of those on the move. Migrants are people on a journey - some migrate legally for work, studies or to reunite with families, while others migrate not for pleasure, but because of war, disaster, displacement, or safety. So let us always open our arms to welcome strangers in our homes, schools and wherever we meet them, because Jesus welcomes us as little children and when we welcome others, we are welcoming Jesus Christ. ❖

to lead worldwide Anglican Communion

(OSV News) King Charles III has appointed Bishop Sarah Mullally of London as the first female Anglican archbishopofCanterbury.

Thehistoricappointmentofthemarried mother of two was welcomed by Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, the president of England andWales’ bishops’ conference.

In an Oct. 3 statement posted on the bishops’ conference website, Cardinal Nichols said that Archbishop-designate Mullally “will bring many personal gifts andexperiencetohernewrole.”

‘Many and significant challenges’

The cardinal said, “The challenges and opportunities facing the new Archbishop are many and significant. On behalf of our Catholic community, I assureherofourprayers.”

“Together,” he added, “we will be responsive to the prayer of Jesus that we ‘may all be one’ … and seek to develop the bonds of friendship and shared mission between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church.”

Archbishop-designate Mullally, 63, was madeadamein2005forherservicesas formerchiefnursingofficer.

In a statement dated Oct. 2 and released Oct. 3, she said, “As I respond to the call of Christ to this new ministry, I do so in the same spirit of service to God and to others that has motivated me since I first came to faith as a teenager.”

Bishop of London since 2018

Archbishop-designate Mullally was ordained an Anglican priest in 2002 and has served as bishop of London since 2018. She succeeds Archbishop Justin Welby, who resigned in 2024 following criticism of his handling of a clerical sex abusecrisis.

An Oct. 2 statement posted on the website of Lambeth Palace, the London residence of the archbishop of Canterbury, said that following the advice of the Crown Nominations Commission, King Charles confirmed her appointment as the 106th archbishop of Canterbury since St. Augustine of Canterbury a missionary arrived in Kent from Rome in 597 and became the first

Bishop Sarah Mullally of London poses inside Canterbury Cathedral in England Oct. 3, 2025, after being appointed as the Anglican Church's new archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to hold the role in its 1,400-year history. (OSV News photo/Toby Melville, Reuters)

archbishop of Canterbury. He led a mission from Rome to convert England toChristianity.

The Catholic Church however believes that the apostolic succession was broken during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.

Installation takes place in March 2026

Archbishop-designate Mullally will be installed in a service at Canterbury CathedralinMarch2026.

Her appointment will also make her the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which consists of about 85 million people in 165 countries.

“I want, very simply, to encourage the Church to continue to grow in confidence in the Gospel, to speak of the love that we find in Jesus Christ and for it to shape our actions,” the archbishop-designate said. “And I look forward to sharing this journey of faith with the millions of people serving God and their communities in parishes all over the country and across the global AnglicanCommunion.

“I know this is a huge responsibility but

I approach it with a sense of peace and trust in God to carry me as He always has.

”

Person of ‘courage, wisdom, integrity’

Anglican Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York said Archbishop-designate Mullally is “a person of huge courage, wisdom, integrity,andexperience.”

“It will be my great pleasure to serve alongside her,” he said, and I hope that together we can continue the work of helping the Church of England be simpler, humbler and bolder in its proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christandinourservicetothenation.”

In an address posted Oct. 3 on Lambeth Palace website, Archbishop-designate Mullally spoke additionally of the challengesfacingChristianityintheU.K.

“Across our nation today, we are wrestling with complex moral and political questions,” she said, pointing to the assisted suicide bill and also “people fleeing war and persecution to seek safety and refuge” and the “deeprooted question of who we are as a nation,ina worldthatissooftenonthe brink.”❖

By Renika Anand

The virtue of Patience

Joyce Meyer, an American author and speaker once said “Patience is not simply the ability to waitit's how we behave while we're waiting.”

Time is perhaps one of the most valuable resources that we have. Our lives and growth are centered around the passing of time, and oftentimes, around our ability to conserve it as well. With this being the case, it is no wonder that when the world battles us for control of our time, we tend to become frustrated and bitter.

The ability to have patience is perhaps one of the most difficult skills to acquire. It is in fact a virtue, more than it is a mere skill. The truth is that regardless of whether we choose to accept it or not, there are some parts of our lives that we will simply not reach as quickly as we wish. The only choice we have is whether or not we wish to experience peace and joy as we wait, or whether we wait in turmoil and bitterness.

“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” - Romans 8:25❖

would work together to make life better for everyone rather than allowing their different beliefs to be used “asweaponsorwalls.”

Choosing “collaboration between different religious traditions” as his prayer intention for the month of October coincides with the 60th anniversary of “Nostra Aetate,” the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on the church’s relationship to other religions. The document was promulgated Oct. 28, 1965.

The pope’s monthly video sharing his prayer intention for October was

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

“We live in a world full of beauty but also wounded by deep divisions, Pope Leo said. “Sometimes, religions, instead of uniting us, become a cause of confrontation.”

The pope prayed that the Lord would purify people’s hearts “so that we may recognize what unites us and, from there, learn again how to listen and collaborate without destroying.”

The video includes footage of: St. John Paul II’s 1986 interreligious meeting in Assisi; Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the Rome synagogue in 2010; Pope Francis signing the Document on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi in 2019; and Pope Leo’s meetings with

“May the concrete examples of peace, justice and fraternity in religions inspire us to believe that it is possible to live and work together, beyond our differences,” Pope Leo prayed in the video.

“May religions not be used as weapons or walls but rather lived as bridges and prophecy: making the dream of the common good credible, accompanying life, sustaining hope and being the yeast of unity in a

World Day of Migrants and Refugees (From

The prospect of a renewed arms race and the development of new armaments, including nuclear weapons, the lack of consideration for the harmful effects of the ongoing climate crisis, and the impact of profound economic inequalities make the challenges of the present and the future increasingly demanding.

Faced with frightening scenarios and the possibility of global devastation, it is important that there be a growing desire in people’s hearts for a future of peace and of respect for the dignity of all. Such a future is essential to God’s plan for humanity and the rest of creation. This is the messianic future anticipated by the prophets: “Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets... For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew” (Zech 8:4-5, 12). This future has already begun, since it was inaugurated by Jesus Christ (cf. Mk 1:15; Lk 17:21), and we believe and hope in its full realization, for the Lord is always faithful to his promises.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man and woman; it takes up the hopes that inspire human activities” (N. 1818). What is more, the search for happiness, and the prospect of finding it beyond one’s place of origin, is certainly one of the main motivations for the movement of people today.

that wastes at noonday” (Ps 91:3-6).

Migrants and refugees remind the Church of her pilgrim dimension, perpetually journeying towards her final homeland, sustained by a hope that is a theological virtue. Each time the Church gives in to the temptation of “sedentarization” and ceases to be a civitas peregrine, God’s people journeying towards the heavenly homeland (cf. Augustine, De Civitate Dei, Books XIV-XVI), she ceases to be “in the world” and becomes “of the world” (cf. Jn 15:19). This temptation was already present in the early Christian communities, so much so that the Apostle Paul had to remind the Church of Philippi that “our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself” (Phil 3:20-21).

that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb 13:2).

The first element of evangelization, as Saint Paul VI emphasized, is that of witness: “All Christians are called to this witness, and in this way they can be real evangelizers. We are thinking especially of the responsibility incumbent on migrants in the country that receives them” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 21). This is a true missio migrantium, a mission carried out by migrants, for which adequate preparation and ongoing support must be ensured through effective inter-ecclesial cooperation.

This link between migration and hope is clearly evident in many contemporary experiences of migration. Many migrants, refugees and displaced persons are privileged witnesses of hope. Indeed, they demonstrate this daily through their resilience and trust in God, as they face adversity while seeking a future in which they glimpse that integral human development and happiness are possible. Moreover, we can see the itinerant experience of the people of Israel repeated in their own lives: “O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy” (Ps 68:7-10).

In a world darkened by war and injustice, even when all seems lost, migrants and refugees stand as messengers of hope. Their courage and tenacity bear heroic testimony to a faith that sees beyond what our eyes can see and gives them the strength to defy death on the various contemporary migration routes. Here too we can find a clear analogy with the experience of the people of Israel wandering in the desert, who faced every danger while trusting in the Lord’s protection: “he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction

In a special way, Catholic migrants and refugees can become missionaries of hope in the countries that welcome them, forging new paths of faith where the message of Jesus Christ has not yet arrived or initiating interreligious dialogue based on everyday life and the search for common values. With their spiritual enthusiasm and vitality, they can help revitalize ecclesial communities that have become rigid and weighed down, where spiritual desertification is advancing at an alarming rate. Their presence, then, should be recognized and appreciated as a true divine blessing, an opportunity to open oneself to the grace of God, who gives new energy and hope to his Church: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing

At the same time, the communities that welcome them can also be a living witness to hope, one that is understood as the promise of a present and a future where the dignity of all as children of God is recognized. In this way, migrants and refugees are recognized as brothers and sisters, part of a family in which they can express their talents and participate fully in community life.

On this Jubilee, when the Church prays for all migrants and refugees, I wish to entrust all those who are on the journey, as well as those who are working to accompany them, to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary, comfort of migrants, so that she may keep hope alive in their hearts and sustain them in their commitment to building a world that increasingly resembles the Kingdom of God, the true homeland that awaits us at the end of our journey.❖

From the Vatican, 25 July 2025 Feast of Saint James, Apostle LEO PP. XIV

By Francis Canzius

As the centenary of the opening of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception approaches, it is fitting to briefly highlight various aspects our Cathedral:

The High Altar

The High Altar standing in front of the eastern wall of the Sanctuary is made entirely of marble, fitted on a concrete base. Made in Italy, this Altar was a gift from Pope Pius XI to Bishop Compton Theodore Galton SJ for the Cathedral. It was assembled in its position in 1931. It is topped by an exposition throne with the word SANCTUS (Latin) on either side. Below the throne are the words again in Latin - AGNUS DEI QUI TOLLISPECCATAMUNDI.

Upon the consecration of the Cathedral in October 1960, relics were sealed into the Altar byBishop R.L.GuillySJ.Thiswas part of the anointing of the Altar. ❖

Saint of the Week

October 11th: St. John XXIII

Although few people had as great an impact on the 20th century as Pope Saint John XXIII, he avoided the limelight as much as possible. Indeed, one writer has noted that his “ordinariness” seems one of his most remarkable qualities.

He was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli on November 25th 1881, the fourth of fourteen children born to a family of sharecroppers who lived in a village in Lombardy, Italy. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1904 and served in a number of posts, including papal nuncio in France and a delegate to Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. On January 12th 1953 Pope Pius XII made him a cardinal.

He was elected pope on October 28th 1958 at age 76. Pope John XXIII surprised those who expected him to be a caretaker pope by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962–65). His passionate views on equality were summed up in his famous statement, "We were all made in God's image, and thus, we are all Godly alike."

"Good Pope John" died on June 3rd, 1963. St. John Paul II beatified him in 2000, and Pope Francis canonized him in 2014. His feast day is celebrated on October 11th, the day