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Weekly Bulletin November 26, 2023
by Terrie Evans
On this last Sunday in Ordinary Time, we honor the Feast of Christ the King, which emphasizes the true Kingship of Christ. At the 1st Ecumenical Council in 325, when heresy was becoming prevalent, the Council introduced the dogma to counteract the heresy with: “Christ is God, light from light, true God from true God.” It is celebrated at the end of the liturgical year that was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 for the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. At that time, there was growing secularism within the church when Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in his encyclical, Quas Primas. The Pope proclaimed that the best way to defeat injustice was by acknowledging the Kingship of Christ. In 1926, Pope Pius Xi gave his permission for the first church to be dedicated to Christ the King to the priest of a young parish in the Mount Lookout area of Cincinnati, Ohio. The first church was built and consecrated in 1927 with a new church constructed for the growing faithful in 1956.
The Feast of Christ the King was first celebrated on October 31, 1926, with Christ the King of the entire universe “In Him were created all things in heaven on earth. All things were created through Him and for Him.” Christ is regarded as the true measure of all creation whether it be governments, states, or societies. St. Paul said: “Christ is the head of the body of the Church in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” The feast shows the divine plan of the Christian doctrine that points to the end of time when the kingdom of Jesus will be established in all its fullness to the end of the earth. The feast highlights that Christ the King is the destination of our earthly pilgrimage. Pope Paul VI moved the date of Christ the King in 1969 with the highest rank of solemnity with white vestments used for the day. The feast leads into the liturgical season of Advent when the Church celebrates Christ’s second coming.
On November 30th, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Andrew the Apostle who is venerated in all the Christian denominations who honor saints. Andrew (Andreas) the Apostle was born between 5 and 10 AD in Galilee, with brother, Peter also a fisherman when Jesus called them to be his disciples. When they became disciples of Christ, they followed Christ as his companions at important events while becoming closely attached to Jesus. Andrew and Peter are often paired together in several accounts of the Gospels (Mt. 4:18-20and Jn 1:35-42). Andrew preached along the Black Sea and near the Dnieper river close to Kiev. Andrew was present at the Last Supper and was one of the four Apostles who came to Jesus on the Mount of Olives. Andrew is mentioned as being in the Upper Room in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit came on Jesus’s Disciples after the Resurrection and Ascension. Andrew is thought to have been Martyred by Crucifixion on an X shaped cross in the City of Patras in 60 AD with his relics kept at the Basilica of Saint Andrew in Patras, Greece: in the Amalfi cathedral in Amalfi, in the Cathedral in Sarzana, Italy at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland and also in the Church of St. Andrew and St. Albert in Warsaw, Poland.
On November 30th, there will be a special ceremony on his feast day in the Church of St. Andrew at Patras in Greece and in the Church of England, St. Andrew the Apostle is remembered with a Festival. He has been venerated as the Patron Saint of Scotland, Russia, and Fisherman. A prayer in memory of St. Andrew: “O Lord, You raised up St. Andrew, Your Apostle to preach and rule in Your Church. Grant that we may always experience the benefit of his intercession with You. AMEN.”
There will be a statue of Sr. Blandina Segale, (1850-1941) Servant of God, dedicated at a date yet to be announced at Seton High School to honor the Sister of Charity. The school was established in 1854 as Mt. St. Vincent Academy later changed to honor Elizabeth Ann Seton, the foundress of their Order. Elizabeth Ann Seton was helped on the path to sainthood by Sr. Blandina when she journeyed to Rome in 1931 at the age of 81 to petition Pope Pius XI to Canonize the Foundress of the Sisters of Charity. This testament of her good works will be the third statue of Sr. Blandina Segale to be erected in her honor. The 1st image of the 5ft. 4 in. Sr. Blandina was placed on the grounds of St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico in a grotto in the middle of the statues of Mary and Joseph for the dedication in 2020 after a 15-year project started by the late Deacon Rene Greivel.
The 2nd statue dedicated to Sr. Blandina was in 2021 in Trinidad, Colorado located on the Santa Fe Trail between St. Joseph, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Trinadad is where Sr. Blandina arrived after a difficult journey traveling over 1,200 miles by rail, construction train, and stagecoach to her post where she did her early missionary work assisting Native Americans, Hispanics, and Immigrants from Europe. She is also lovingly remembered in her place of birth, Cicagna, Italy where in 1998, the town square near the tower of St. John the Baptist Church, was dedicated to Sr. Blandina Segale. There were 38 of her relatives from America in attendance with members of the Segale, Becker, and Stagge families to see her honored. Mayors of nearby towns along with Donatella Aurili Ruggiero who spent over 20 years doing research on the life of Sr. Blandina Segale and Carla Casagrande Maschio of the Civic Library in Cicagna were instrumental in having the town square dedicated to her. The plaque in the Piazza reads: Maria Rosa Segale, “Suor Blandina” 1850-1941. We continue to pray for the Canonization of our beloved Sr. Blandina who cared for orphans and outlaws, lived and practiced the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity throughout her life. Since the founding of San Antonio Italian Parish in 1922, all our parishioners have owed her a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid as we continue to pray for her Canonization.
On Sunday, December 3rd, our San Antonio Church Community will host the 1st Annual Childrens Christmas Party in our Hall after our 9:00 AM Mass. All children 10 years old and younger are invited to attend the fun morning. Please let JoAnne Lyons 513-574-3495 or Linda Panaro 513-922-0779 know of your plans by November 29th. December 3rd is also the beginning of Advent and the 4 weeks leading up to the birth of Jesus.