Has it been a while since you went to Confession? Are you unsure about the correct procedures? Check out this lovely informative article about Confession. Print it out and take it with you if that helps. https://catholicsstrivingforholiness.org/how-to-confess-here-are-the-easy-steps-confession-chart-and-examination-of-conscience-guides/ You can find the direct link on our website at http://ourfatimafamily.com/resources/ The Parish Advent Penace Service will be Dec 4 at 2:00 PM.

“My beloved, may every fall, even if it is serious and habitual sin, always become for us a small step toward a higher degree of perfection. In fact, the only reason why the Immaculate permits us to fall is to cure us from our self-conceit, from our pride, to make us humble and thus make us docile to the divine graces.”  ~ St. Maximilian Kolbe

Explore the virtue of humility with 12 quotes by the saints at the-powerful-weapon-these-12-saints-used-to-conquer-satan/. They are sure to inspire you in your journey to holiness and help you ward off evil.

“Relevant Radio” is essentially Catholic podcasting in an app. This is a free app that grants access to all the shows produced by Relevant Radio, available in live streaming or downloadable content. It also includes audio prayers, a Confession “helper,” and Catholic news from around the world. It’s perfect if you’re looking for ways to fill long commutes or travel with something more uplifting. Find the APP or listen at  https://relevantradio.com/listen/gettheapp/.

Don’t take a vacation from Mass! To find a church or Mass time anywhere in North America or beyond, visit www.masstimes.org, or www.parishesonline.com or download “The Catholic Mass Times Church Directory” app (iPhone) or “Mass Times for Travel” app (Google Play).

This Father’s Day art features St. Manuel Moralez, St. Thomas More, St. Joseph, St. Louis Martin, and Blessed Franz Jaggerstatter. It was created by Lauren Hokamp of Light Bearer Designs. You can see and purchase her work at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lightbearerdesigns

Our Parish website, ourfatimafamily.com, has been redesigned with help from the Diocese. The new version will work on the computer, on your iPad, and on your smart phone.

Highlights:

• E-giving is now found in the Donate button on the Home page.
• Bulletins are found through the Bulletins button on the Home page under Mass times.
• News is located on the Home page under Welcome.
• Technology Corner and Prayers of the Faithful are located on the Resources page along with Catholic Links and the story of Our Lady’s appearance at Fatima.

Please check it out and let us know if you find any mistakes, non-working links, or issues. If you have responsibility for one of our clubs or organizations, please check your information (Ministries Page) and submit any updates.

Check out this wonderful YouTube video featuring Fr. Mike Schmitz addressing “Pray the Mass Like Never Before.” Share it with your family.

“While many people go to Mass every week, few people know what it is to worship. We show up and do our best to “pay attention,” but for too many of us, this just means we watch closely. You have been given a gift that you have most likely left unused. This gift is unused because it is largely unknown.“

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpUp6zSGCb4

Our Lord gave the Divine Mercy Chaplet to us and promised, “Say unceasingly this chaplet that I have taught you. Anyone who says it will receive great Mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as the last hope. Even the most hardened sinner, if he recites this Chaplet even once, will receive grace from My Infinite Mercy. I want the whole world to know My Infinite Mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in My Mercy….”

The Divine Mercy App from the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception is available for iOS and Android at www.thedivinemercy.org/apps. I love to set this app on auto and let it play while I drive. While you are there, pick up the Mary App for a great version of the Rosary.

If you prefer the song versions of the Chaplet or video images for meditation, search on “Divine Mercy video.” You’ll find a selection of spoken and sung versions of the Chaplet. You can also search “Divine Mercy EWTN” to get their broadcast versions. These can play on your computer and on your phones.

Snow Emergency? Mass Schedule Change? When there are sudden changes to our church schedule, the easiest and fastest way for us to communicate schedule changes is via our My Parish App for your smartphone. To stay up to date, please download the App at myparishapp.com or from our website at ourfatimafamily.com. We will also post to Facebook so follow us at www.facebook.com/olofatima/.

Additionally, we send an email each Friday with links to the bulletin and any current important information. Make sure that we have your current email address in our records so you will be kept up to date. A form for email/phone/address changes is near the bulletin at all entrances.

Check out this interesting National Catholic Register article featuring Ben Steele, new Denver Broncos’ coach, as he talks of Super Bowls past, present, and future and shares his love of the rosary. He includes a link to the Rosary album from Catholic Athletes for Christ featuring the voice of Vin Scully. There’s also a link to the tradition-respecting book by Father Donald Calloway called Champions of the Rosary.

Saints are the heroes of the Catholic faith. They lived lives in holiness, dedicated to serving God and spreading His message of salvation. Indeed, many Catholic saints courageously met their deaths simply because of their faith. Today, the saints serve as examples for all Catholics, showing us how to lead a more satisfying, more spiritual life in communion with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They are reminders that this life will come to an end, and only what was done for Christ will have a lasting reward. Each saint’s story is a fascinating one. They lived at different times in different places throughout history, but they all shared a love of God that has been meticulously documented through the teachings of the Catholic Church. Read these wonderful stories at EWTN here: www.ewtn.com/catholicism/saints. Additional saints are found at https://mycatholic.life/saints/ and https://www.catholic.org/saints/.

After you receive your id and password, go to our website, ourfatimafamily.com , and click the “My Own Church” button or go directly to parishsoftfamilysuite.com. Enter your new username and password and click “Log In.” Click the My Family tab and then click “Family Detail.” You can now see the information that we have on record for your family and for each member. (Note that the Diocese has removed any adult children from your records and has moved them to their own record.) By selecting “Edit details” you can update your address, phone number and email. If necessary, change both the “Family Details” and the “Member Details.” Remember to “Save” your updates. If would be extra nice if you were to add a photo of your family and yourself. The photo should not be bigger than 0.5 megabyte (MB) and will be displayed at 130×110 pixels on the screen. The My Offering tab gives you access to “Giving History.” (Note that any online contributions are not shown here.) All Parish gifts are recorded to the Family record rather than an individual record. The last tab at the top is “My Ministry.” The Family Ministries tab will show you what groups you are included in, i.e. Eucharistic Ministers. The Ministry Opportunities section lists what services are currently being monitored. Contact the Parish Office if you’d like to volunteer for one of these services or if you have questions.

Did you know that there is an access portal for Parishioners to our Parish records? The system is called “My Own Church” and is found on our website (www.ourfatimafamily.com). Church members must register for a User Name and Password to access the “My Own Church” website. Click the “New User?” button and then click on the small arrow by Organization and find “Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Huntington.” Complete the fields on the New User Registration Form. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk *. Multiple email addresses are requested because the system must match an email address to identify the family in the database. (If you need to update your email before you register, contact the Parish Office.) Click “Submit Registration” and a request is sent to the Parish Office staff who will accept your registration and send you an email containing your User Name and Temporary Password. Next week we will talk about what you can see and do with this new ID and password.

This is a rendering of the Catholic prayer and meditation Hallow App, which has experienced a dramatic increase in popularity. (CNS graphic/courtesy Hallow) See HALLOW-APP July 31, 2020.

Hallow (hallow.com) is a Catholic prayer app that offers audio-guided meditation sessions to help you grow in your faith & spiritual life and find peace in God. Hallow allows its users to press “play,” close their eyes and listen to audio of a prayer. You will find over 1,000 different sessions on contemplative prayer, meditation, Catholic Bible readings, music, and more. After each prayer, you are given the opportunity to journal your thoughts.

Users can access the daily prayers (including the rosary) and the 9-day Intro Prayer Challenge for free. To access the full suite, Hallow offers two auto-renewing subscription options at $8.99 per month or $59.99 per year. If you are interested, read a review at https://catholicreview.org/catholic-prayer-meditation-app-hallow-sees-huge-increase-in-popularity/

A wonderful website for Catholic families can be found at catholicsprouts.com. You will find a Daily Podcast for Catholic Kids that strives to plant seeds of faith and a Catholic Sprouts App to help you form your children in the Catholic Faith. They have a Store which features wonderful books like “The Virtues for Catholic Youth” and “The Stations of the Cross Story Book.” They offer the “Saints of the Catholic Church in Cross Stitch”, a “Nativity Trail: Advent Study for Families”, and tools to introduce Adoration to your families. This website can help you make this Advent special for your family.

Great news! We are expecting a baby due December 25!

The Church gives us the Advent season (starting Nov 28) to prepare a room/our hearts for His arrival. Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman in a reflection called Advent and Self-Denial states, “Now let every one consider what his weak point is; in that is his trial. His trial is not in those things which are easy to him, but in that one thing, in those several things, whatever they are, in which to do his duty is against his nature.” Where do you struggle with your nature? Where do you need to clean up your heart to prepare a place for Him? What will you do or NOT do during this season of Advent to prepare for the arrival of this holy Child?

The church has placed Advent booklets at the doors of church for you to pick up and take home. The prayer cards in the pews are there for your use during visits. We have added the recitation of the Rosary on Saturdays at 4:30 P.M. and Sundays at 10:30 A.M.

Fr. George asked last week if you a fan of Gregorian chant. Check out YouTube.com for hours of beautiful music which has been the Church’s primary liturgical music for many centuries. Search for Gregorian Chant or OPCHANT and you will find chants of the Rosary, chants with nuns from St.Cecilia’s Abbey, chants with Benedictine Monks, and lots of other choices. Let it comfort you as you go about your daily tasks.

The souls in purgatory died in the mercy of God, this is why they are called holy; however, because they still had attachment to sin at the time of their death, they must undergo a spiritual purification of their souls before they are able to fully love God with their whole heart, mind, and soul for all eternity. Those in purgatory cannot pray for themselves, this is why they are also called “poor” souls. They can no longer merit anything for themselves and they must rely entirely on others to pray and make sacrifices on their behalf. It is an act of charity that we can give for those we have known and loved, for our ancestors who gave us life, for those who were our benefactors, for those whose memory is lost, and for those who have no one else to pray for them.

At americaneedsfatima.org read a collection of “Quotes from Saints about Holy Souls in Purgatory.” Then at catholiccompany.com read suggestions of “20 Ways to Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.”

Have you run into Fr. Paul about town since his retirement? We are lucky that he has retired in our community and we can still have contact with him. Did you know that he has started a blog sharing his Ask A Pastor and Sunday meditations. Check these out at https://countenanceofgod.com. Enter your email and you will receive notice each time a new entry is posted. Let Fr. Paul continue to bless your life in his retirement.