It’s hard to believe, but here we are nearing the end of our calendar year and at the same time beginning a new Liturgical year. And with that, it’s a time that many family traditions are recalled and experienced.
As we know, traditions are behaviors or actions that we engage in again and again – regular rituals that we purposely perform at the same time and in the same way – actions that require thought and intentionality on our part. Traditions offer many benefits to our families such as providing a source of identity, strengthening the family bond, offering comfort and a sense of security, teaching values, connecting generations and passing on cultural and religious heritage. 
One of the most ancient of Catholic traditions is praying the O Antiphons. These seven antiphons are part of the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours from December 17^th through the 23^rd, the octave before Christmas. These antiphons (all beginning with “O”) are based on Isaiah’s prophecies and refer to different exalted Biblical titles given to our Lord. Through the repeated use of the word “Come!” in the antiphons we as Christians express our longing for the Divine Messiah.
Why not begin a new family tradition this year? Consider using these ancient prayers throughout the day as simple reminders of the One whose coming we are joyfully expecting, as introductions to our own prayers of praise to Jesus, or as words of thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness throughout the ages and in our lives. Let these words of Scripture speak to us; perhaps they’ll become part of our family traditions for generations to come.
So, here they are ready for you to clip and fasten on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror, affix to your advent wreath or place on your kitchen table:

December 17
O Wisdom of our God Most High,
guiding creation with power and love:
come to teach us the path of knowledge!
December 18
O Leader of the House of Israel,
giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:
come to rescue us with your mighty power!
December 19
O Root of Jesse’s stem,
sign of God’s love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!
December 20
O Key of David,
opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!
December 21
O Radiant Dawn,
splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.
December 22
O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!
December 23
O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!

Happy New Year everyone! Today begins the new liturgical year with the season
of Advent; it is the four weeks that we spiritually prepare ourselves for the Feast
of the Nativity of the Lord. There are many opportunities available at Queen of
Heaven. Here are some suggestions:
1) Make an effort to come to an extra Mass during the week; we added an
evening Mass on the Mondays of Advent at 5:30 p.m., this is in addition to our
regular daily Mass at 8:30 a.m. We also have several Masses at 1:30 p.m. at
the area senior residences: All Tuesdays at Greenview Senior Assisted Living;
Monday, December 9th at Gables of Green; Wednesday, December 11th
at Brier Creek Independent Senior Living; and Friday, December 6th at the
Village of St. Edward. Check the Advent and Christmas Liturgy & Devotion
Schedule listed in this bulletin.
2) I encourage you to make room at the “Inn of Your Soul” by going to Confession.
See inside this bulletin for all the different dates for the opportunity for
Reconciliation.
3) Spend some time in the Adoration Chapel…Wise Men and Wise Women still
adore Him!
Hope to see you at the Pancake Breakfast in the Church Basement this weekend
after the 8:15 a.m. Sunday Mass.
P.S. Several people have asked me for a copy of these words of wisdom from Pope
Francis that I read during one of my sermons….
A GENTLE REMINDER FROM POPE FRANCIS
This life will go by fast.
Don’t fight with people, don’t criticize your body so much,
don’t complain so much.
Don’t lose sleep over your bills. Look for the person that makes you happy. If you
make a mistake, let it go and keep seeking your happiness.
Never stop being a good parent. Don’t worry so much about buying luxuries and
comforts for your home, and don’t kill yourself trying to leave an inheritance for
your family. Those benefits should be earned by each person, so don’t dedicate
yourself to accumulating money.
Enjoy travel, enjoy your journeys, see new places, give yourself the pleasures you
deserve. Allow dogs to get closer. Don’t put away the fine glassware. Utilize the
new dinnerware; don’t save your favorite perfume, use it to go out with yourself;
wear out your favorite sport shoes; repeat your favorite clothes.
So what? That’s not bad. Why not now? Why not pray now instead of waiting
until before you sleep? Why not call now? Why not forgive now? We wait so long
for Christmas; for Friday; for Reunions; for another year; for when I have money;
for love to come; when everything is perfect... look...
Everything perfect doesn’t exist.
Human beings can’t accomplish this because it simply was not intended to be
completed here. Here is an opportunity to learn.
So take this challenge that is life and do it now... love more, forgive more,
embrace more, love more intensely and leave the rest in God’s hands. Amen.
Peace in JMJ,
Father Dave

THE HEART

"Tomorrow morning," the surgeon began, "I'll open up your heart..."
"You'll find Jesus there," the boy interrupted.
The surgeon looked up, annoyed. "I'll cut your heart open," he continued, "to see how much damage has been done..."
“But when you open up my heart, you'll find Jesus in there," said the boy.
The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly. "When I see how much damage has been done, I'll sew your heart and chest back up, and I'll plan what to do next."
"But you'll find Jesus in my heart. The Bible says He lives there. The hymns all say He lives there. You'll find Him in my heart."
The surgeon had had enough. "I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart. I'll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels. And I'll find out if I can make you well."
"You'll find Jesus there too. He lives there."

The surgeon left.
The surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery, "...damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein, widespread muscle degeneration. No hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy: painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis (here he paused): death within one year."
He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said, "Why?", he asked aloud. "Why, God, did You do this? You've put him here; You've put him in this pain; and You've cursed him to an early death. Why?"
The Lord answered and said, "The boy, My lamb, was not meant for your flock for long, for he is a part of My flock, and will forever be. Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain, and will be comforted as you cannot imagine. His parents will one day join him here, and they will know peace, and My flock will continue to grow."
The surgeon's tears were hot, but his anger was hotter. "You created that boy, and You created that heart. He'll be dead in months. Why?"
The Lord answered, "The boy, My lamb, shall return to My flock, for He has done his duty. I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him, but to retrieve another lost lamb."
The surgeon wept.

The surgeon sat beside the boy's bed; the boy's parents sat across from him.
The boy awoke and whispered, "Did you cut open my heart?"
"Yes", said the surgeon.
"What did you find?" asked the boy.
"I found Jesus there", said the surgeon.

Author Unknown 

Having recently celebrated the solemnity of All Saints, it seemed appropriate to share a few thoughts about sainthood and what this lofty term potentially means to us.
 
Thanks mainly to our beloved Pastor as we enter the sacred space of our church building, we’re surrounded by the images of a multitude of saints. And it’s interesting to note that each of these images of the holy men and women have been placed on pedestals. How often we as humans want to elevate in our minds the lives of the saints in heaven placing them on celestial pedestals, far above us lowly creatures, all the while thinking that the merit of their lives is too high a goal for us to attain.
 
But whether we believe it or not, the truth is we’re all called to be saints. Saint (insert your name here) for instance. Has a nice ring to it – don’t you think? So, the question becomes: “How do lowly creatures like us reach sainthood?”
 
I believe a familiar Gospel story can shed some light on this question. In the Gospel of Luke, we hear that “Jesus summoned the Twelve, and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” They’re called to go forth doing God’s will depending only on God’s providence.
 
In a way, it’s unfortunate that the Gospels don’t record every small detail of the situations presented to us. If they had done so in this narrative on summoning and sending, I believe we might have heard some murmuring amongst the Apostles: “What have I gotten myself into by following this guy?” “Does he realize who it is that he’s talking to?” “I didn’t think God’s will for me would be so demanding!” But despite the complaining, out they go on their way to unknown people and places.
 
If we reflect on it, some of the humanity of twelve ordinary working-class men seeps out in this Gospel narrative. Being human, like us, most likely all these men had some trepidation about the situation that our Lord presented to them – being summoned, being given power over demons, and being sent. Trepidation just like the fears and doubts we at times place as impediments to what it is our Lord is calling us to – that we become saints by simply walking with him through the course of the everyday situations that his life presents to us.
 
And then, too, there’s the word “but” that we so eagerly cling to:

• “But” I don’t have the faith of Peter.
• “But” I’m not as loving as John.
• “But” I have neither the zeal of Simon nor the courage of Jude.

 
In the Gospel, knowing their fears and weaknesses, the first thing that Jesus did for the Apostles following their summons (and before they were sent) was to armor them by giving them power and authority. “Great for them” we might say. “But what about me? What power do I have?”
 
Well, just like the Holy Spirit that descended in bodily form upon Christ and rested upon him at his baptism, so too did the Holy Spirit mystically descend upon us at our baptisms infusing us with Divine strength and authority. It’s up to us to believe that we’ve received the same reservoir of power as did the Apostles. And, it’s up to us to tap into this power as we continue our journeys doing God’s will.
 
The Apostles and saints who have gone before us and now surround us, serve as living examples that mere mortals, armed with the grace of God’s might and authority, can do amazing things with their everyday lives here in this world and attain that awesome title “saint” before their names in the next.
 
So, what’s holding us back?
 
As he did for the saints, may God bless your soul and make it all his!
 
Deacon Steve 

“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”  Luke 19:1-10

Few people understand better than Nelson Mandela, the perseverance demanded of men and women of good will in order to make justice and liberty realities. The crowning moment of his people’s fight to topple the systematic racism of apartheid in South Africa was his inauguration in 1994 as South Africa’s first black president.
 
In his first address to his people, President Mandela challenged South Africans of every race and homeland:
 
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
 
Although the tax collector Zacchaeus is despised and shunned by his neighbors, Jesus recognizes and upholds the good in Zacchaeus that his neighbors fail to see. Jesus’ acceptance transforms the life of the man in the sycamore tree.  We are called by Christ to do the same: to recognize the “power” we possess to accomplish great things; to let the “light” of our faith in the goodness of God shatter the darkness of hopelessness and alienation around us; to “make manifest the glory of God within us” in order to transform and reconcile our world in the ways of God – and to enable the “power, light and glory” within others to break forth and “liberate” them, as well, to embrace the love and life of God.
 
Of other things….
 
Welcome to the month of November, the month to remember. One of the spiritual works of mercy is praying for the living and dead. Our deceased loved ones are not “out of sight, out of mind,” they are in our hearts and in our minds and they are only a prayer away. At the 5:00 pm Mass this Sunday, we will be praying by name all those who have passed away from our parish this past year.  We continue to lift up those in our hearts the departed and their families and friends who grieve them. Thank God for the gift of our faith, and Jesus Christ, truly risen, and His gift and promise of eternal life if we live for Him.
 
Continue to keep in your prayer intentions for the Lord to send laborers for His harvest as Priests, Sisters, and Deacons.
 
Peace in JMJ,
 
Father Dave

“Some never get started on their destiny, because they cannot humble themselves to learn, grow, and change.” (Author Unknown)

Have you ever heard the saying, pride comes before the fall?  This saying comes from the Bible.  It is found in the Old Testament book of Proverbs, Chapter 16 verse 18: “Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”  It is pride in his own righteousness that befalls the Pharisee in today’s Gospel.  Pride is that voice that says, we know more than God does, AND we can fully rely on ourselves for all that we need and want here and now.  Contrast that with humility, revealed through the voice of the tax collector in his most honest cry out to the Lord, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
 
The famous Christian fantasy writer, C.S. Lewis, devoted a whole chapter about pride in his book Mere Christianity.  (By the way I highly recommend it for all levels – high school and up.) He titles the chapter on pride: The Great Sin.  One of the quotes in this chapter I find most fascinating is “the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind…”
 
This is not simply Lewis’ opinion.  This is what lies at the heart of pride that we inherited from Adam and Eve in the Fall – chapter 3 of the book of Genesis tells us its origins.  Yet through Jesus, we are reminded that God came to heal the sick and the sinner, and that it is our job to learn, grow, and change through our relationship with Him.  This will help lead us to our eternal destiny – union with Him forever.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. 
 
Peace in Christ,
Steven Dyer

Dear Friends,
 
Next weekend, we will be celebrating Priesthood Sunday. Usually that Sunday we have a guest priest or religious give a talk on vocations at a special breakfast. This year we have chose to have two married couples, Terry & Sue Smith, and Dan & Shannon Quinn, highlighting the vocation of Marriage. We cannot have religious and priestly vocations without good marriages.
 
I recall this true story about the life of St. Pius X. When he became the Bishop of Milan, he received the bishop’s ring. His mother was seated in the first pew at the ceremony. As he processed out of the cathedral, he went over to his mother and held out his new bishop’s ring for her to have the privilege of being the first to kiss it. She took one look at his ring and then held out her worn wedding ring, she said, “Kiss this ring first, for it were not for this ring, you would not have that ring!”
 
We need to encourage all vocations: marriage, single, priesthood, and religious. I am very grateful that our diocese has one of the largest numbers in the United States for men studying to become a priest. I thought you might like to hear from one of the nine young men Bishop Perez ordained priests this past May 18, 2019. I believe his testimony will inspire all of us to continue to be pro-active in encouraging young men from Queen of Heaven to consider a call from the priesthood.
 
Fr. Gonzalez admits that for years, he was satisfied being a cradle Catholic who attended Mass on Sundays but didn’t delve much further into his faith. “When I was 29, I was challenged by someone close to me about how I was living my life as a Catholic, I started looking into it more deeply, and I found that I was falling in love with everything about the Church,” he recalls. “I was learning about the truth and the beauty of the Church.” Fr. Gonzalez began to forge a new relationship, one that would dramatically change his future.
 
Entering Saint Mary Seminary in the fall of 2013, Fr. Gonzalez was “overwhelmed by the brotherhood of the seminarians. Here you have 90 guys all taking the same step to grow in their relationship with Christ and to see if He might be calling them to be priests.”  The friendships he forged continued to grow throughout his six years in the seminary, he adds. “Being together is such a bonding experience. As we walk together, we are learning, looking out for each other and holding each other accountable.”
 
Fr. Gonzalez also found that he had to hold himself accountable if he was to grow with Christ. “One of the biggest challenges I had to tackle was not always tackling things,” he admits. “I tend to be a perfectionist and a control freak, and I realized how that limits the movement of the Holy Spirt in me. I had to let go and trust God because he has my best interests in mind.”
 
Now, as he begins his work as a diocesan priest, Fr. Gonzalez has advice for other men who might be wondering if their desire to grow closer to God is a calling to the priesthood. “Don’t ignore those thoughts,” he says. “Continue going deeper. Talk to God directly and express what’s inside of you. Let go of the idea of a vocation, and concentrate on your relationship with Jesus,” he concludes. “Let that be your focus.”
 
Peace in JMJ,
 
Father Dave
 
P.S. Upcoming events…

• Hope to see you at the Donut Social this Sunday, October 20th, after the 8:15 a.m. Mass in the Church Basement, and at the Vocation Breakfast next Sunday, October 27th. The breakfast is free, but reservations are highly encouraged.
• Today is World-wide Mission Sunday. Please be generous in the second collection today.

There will be a parish Rosary this coming Tuesday, October 22, at 7:00 pm in the Entrance of the Parish Life Center. It is going to be videotaped by Living Bread Radio station and shown on their on-line YouTube station. To see the last taping on October 1^st in our Marian Garden go to: https://youtu.be/zpYZeYXt--U.

Who are we most like? The Samaritan in today’s Gospel passage who returned to Jesus and thanked him for healing him of leprosy? Or do we most resemble the other nine lepers who were cleansed but failed to express any sense of gratitude to the Divine Miracle Worker? But even if we always say “thank you” like we were taught as children, is this phrase merely uttered mechanically without loving (or at least kindly), heartfelt gratitude?
 
The Catechism speaks of the virtue of gratitude:
 
“Gratitude is love that has been acknowledged. Someone who is grateful turns freely to the giver of the good and enters into a new, deeper relationship with him. God wishes us to acknowledge his love and even now to live our whole life in relation with him. This relationship lasts forever.”
 
As I did a bit of research on the virtue of gratitude, I came across the following quote from Fr. Romano Guardini (a 20^th century German Catholic priest, author, and academic) that dives deeper into what freely given thanksgiving and gratitude are all about:
 
“We can be grateful only to a person. Gratitude is possible only between an ‘I’ and a ‘you.’ We cannot thank a law, a board, or a company. We may do so out of mere politeness when the proper sum is handed to us in order to keep everything in the domain of good manners, but real gratitude does not enter into the matter, for gratitude is the expression of a personal encounter in human need.
 
But two persons, one of whom is situated so that he has something or can do something, while the other has not or cannot – these stand face to face. The one asks and the other is ready; the one gives and the other thanks; and the two are united by a human tie. Here gratitude is possible, and it becomes a basis for community.”
 
Having hoped for the blossoming of ten eternal relationships, how sad our Lord must have been that day when only one cleansed person returned to stand face to face with him. Sure, the other nine must have been elated with the results of their healings, happy to return to their loved ones from whom they had been separated by their former disease. But their joy and excitement led them to distraction and thus they missed even greater graces than the healing – the potential for ongoing, eternal relationship with the one who loved them – the one who always will.
 
So, the question for us remains. Do we have an “attitude of gratitude” regarding all the good that God graciously gives us by means of his benevolent providence? If we take the time to think about it, our Father God has pulled out all the stops in providing for both our material wellbeing as well as for the graces needed for our spiritual walk – graces that ensure that we will embrace him one day in heaven. Yet, how often, like the nine, we take these graces for granted, getting distracted and hardly giving the giver of these gifts – the one who longs for relationship with us – any real consideration.
 
Are you ready for a little homework assignment? Think about ten blessings you’ve received then return to Jesus, fall at his feet and thank him for them in a way that acknowledges his love.
 
May God continue to bless your soul with his great blessings and make it all his!
 
Deacon Steve

Dear Friends,
 
Today is Respect Life Sunday and the first weekend of the month of Respect Life…we know the call is out every day (not just the 31 days of October) to respect life in all of its stages, from womb to tomb.  Yes, all lives matter!
 
Today, the most vulnerable is the child in the womb.  One million lives a year are being snuffed out by abortion in the USA alone.  When one segment of life is considered expendable, all stages of life are more vulnerable and cheapened.  No wonder we have so many acts of senseless violence on our streets.  Since 1973 it has been legal to terminate the life of an innocent child in the womb.  Let’s pray that someday soon our country will get back to our Judeo-Christian heritage of keeping the 10 commandments—one of which is, “Thou shalt not kill.” 
 
I would like to end with one paragraph from Pope Francis’ Evangelical letter “The Joy of the Gospel” paragraph 213…
 
Among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the defenseless and innocent among us.  Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this.  Frequently, as a way of ridiculing the Church’s effort to defend their lives, attempts are made to present her position as ideological, obscurantist and conservative.  Yet this defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right.  It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development.  Human beings are ends in themselves and never a means of resolving other problems.  Once this conviction disappears, so do solid and lasting foundations for the defense of human rights, which would always be subject to the passing whims of the powers that be.  Reason alone is sufficient to recognize the inviolable value of each single human life, but if we also look at the issue from the standpoint of faith, “every violation of the personal dignity of the human being cries out in vengeance to God and is an offence against the creator of the individual.”
 
Please see the bulletin for all the Queen of Heaven Pro-Life Ministry Respect Life activities during the month of October. I hope you will participate in at least one of these activities.
 
Also, remember October is the Month of the Holy Rosary. We are giving you the opportunity to pray the Rosary with the parish four times during the month. Living Bread Radio will also be here on Tuesday, October 22^nd, video-recording the Rosary for their new show called “Power of the Bead” (which will be played on Facebook and YouTube on Thursdays at 3:00 pm). Please see bulletin ad for more information on the Rosary dates.
 
I will be leading a Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Lebanon Basilica and National Shrine in North Jackson, Ohio, on Tuesday, October 22^nd. I hope you can come. See the ad and registration form in this bulletin.
 
Have a Blessed October and keep praying the Rosary!
 
Fr. Dave