(This is an old Guardian Angel Prayer)
O Holy Angel,
attendant of my wretched soul
and of mine afflicted life,
forsake me not, a sinner,
neither depart from me for mine inconstancy.
Give no place to the evil demon to subdue me
with the oppression of this mortal body;
but take me by my wretched and outstretched hand,
and lead me in the way of salvation.
Yea, O holy Angel of God,
the guardian and protector
of my hapless soul and body,
forgive me all things …
“In a world connected online and disconnected offline, be people of presence,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin said. “In a world asking whether we can remain human, answer with the witness of your lives.”
A reading from the Book of Job
9:1-12, 14-16
Job answered his friends and said:
I know well that it is so;
but how can a man be justified before God?
Should one wish to contend with him,
he could not answer him once in a thousand times.
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who has withstood him and remained unscathed?
He removes the mountains before they know it;
he overturns them in his anger.
He shakes the earth out of its place,
and the pillars beneath it tremble.
He commands the sun, and it rises not;
he seals up the stars.
He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads upon the crests of the sea.
He made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south;
He does great things past finding out,
marvelous things beyond reckoning.
Should he come near me, I see him not;
should he pass by, I am not aware of him;
Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay?
Who can say to him, "What are you doing?"
How much less shall I give him any answer,
or choose out arguments against him!
Even though I were right, I could not answer him,
but should rather beg for what was due me.
If I appealed to him and he answered my call,
I could not believe that he would hearken to my words.
From the Gospel according to Luke
9:57-62
As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey, someone said to him,
"I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him,
"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
And to another he said, "Follow me."
But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."
The Evangelist presents us three characters — three cases of vocation, we could say — that shed light on what is required of those who wish to follow Jesus to the end, completely. The first character promises him: “I will follow you wherever you go” (v. 57). Generous! But Jesus replies that the Son of man, unlike foxes that have holes, and birds that have nests, “has nowhere to lay his head” (v. 58). (…) The second character Jesus meets receives the call directly from him, but replies: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (v. 59). (…) Nevertheless, Jesus responds: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead” (Lk 9:60). With these deliberately provocative words, he intends to emphasize the primacy of following and of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, even over and above the most important realities, such as the family. (…) The third character also wants to follow Jesus but on one condition: he will do so after bidding farewell to his relatives. And this is the response he receives from the Teacher: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (v. 62). Following Jesus excludes regrets and backward glances but requires the virtue of decision. Jesus wants us to be passionate about him and about the Gospel. A heartfelt passion which translates into concrete gestures of proximity, of closeness to the brothers and sisters most in need of welcome and care. Precisely as he himself lived. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 30 June 2019)
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Retired Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is set to give the keynote address at the Jan. 22, 2027, rally.
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Inflorescence of a Rostrinucula dependens. This subshrub is native to China and blooms from August to October. Focus stack of 54 photos.
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![Federal appeals court says historic cross, Nativity can remain in Los Angeles public square – #Catholic – A cross and Nativity will remain in a Los Angeles public plaza after a U.S. appeals court ruled against an atheist who brought a lawsuit to have the displays removed. The two monuments are located at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the historical center of the Southern California city, marking its founding in 1781. Los Angeles resident Jack Gerritsen sued the city government claiming that the displays violate the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. Gerritsen identifies himself as a “nonbeliever” in the suit and claims the monuments make him feel “excluded” in the public space. A U.S. district court ruled against Gerritsen, after which he appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. On Sept. 29, the religious liberty law firm Becket announced that the appeals court had also ruled against Gerritsen. The plaintiff “failed to establish the requirements” to justify removing the monument, the appeals court said, including failing to establish that he would “suffer irreparable harm” if the monuments were left in place. He further failed to affirm that removing the monuments would be “in the public interest,” the court noted. The ruling comes after a group of merchants located on Olvera Street near the monuments asked to join the lawsuit in defense of the public displays. Among them was cafe owner Edward Flores, who said that a cultural display such as the cross and Nativity helps “[ennoble] Americans across all ethnicities, faiths, cultures, and generations to take pride in their own contributions and to see more clearly their future potential.”The appeals court ultimately ruled against the efforts of the merchants to join the suit, arguing that their participation in the legal proceeding was moot given the court’s dismissal of Gerritsen’s request. But Andrea Butler, a lawyer at Becket who represented the merchants in their request, said in a news release that the ruling was “common sense.” “Los Angeles belongs to people of every faith and none, and its public square naturally bears the marks of that diversity,” Butler said. The case will be sent back to lower district court following the appeals ruling, according to Becket. The law firm said the monuments will remain “while courts move toward a final decision in the case.”](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/federal-appeals-court-says-historic-cross-nativity-can-remain-in-los-angeles-public-square-catholic-a-cross-and-nativity-will-remain-in-a-los-angeles-public-plaza-after-a-u-s-appeals-court-rule.jpg "Federal appeals court says historic cross, Nativity can remain in Los Angeles public square – #Catholic – A cross and Nativity will remain in a Los Angeles public plaza after a U.S. appeals court ruled against an atheist who brought a lawsuit to have the displays removed. The two monuments are located at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the historical center of the Southern California city, marking its founding in 1781. Los Angeles resident Jack Gerritsen sued the city government claiming that the displays violate the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. Gerritsen identifies himself as a “nonbeliever” in the suit and claims the monuments make him feel “excluded” in the public space. A U.S. district court ruled against Gerritsen, after which he appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. On Sept. 29, the religious liberty law firm Becket announced that the appeals court had also ruled against Gerritsen. The plaintiff “failed to establish the requirements” to justify removing the monument, the appeals court said, including failing to establish that he would “suffer irreparable harm” if the monuments were left in place. He further failed to affirm that removing the monuments would be “in the public interest,” the court noted. The ruling comes after a group of merchants located on Olvera Street near the monuments asked to join the lawsuit in defense of the public displays. Among them was cafe owner Edward Flores, who said that a cultural display such as the cross and Nativity helps “[ennoble] Americans across all ethnicities, faiths, cultures, and generations to take pride in their own contributions and to see more clearly their future potential.”The appeals court ultimately ruled against the efforts of the merchants to join the suit, arguing that their participation in the legal proceeding was moot given the court’s dismissal of Gerritsen’s request. But Andrea Butler, a lawyer at Becket who represented the merchants in their request, said in a news release that the ruling was “common sense.” “Los Angeles belongs to people of every faith and none, and its public square naturally bears the marks of that diversity,” Butler said. The case will be sent back to lower district court following the appeals ruling, according to Becket. The law firm said the monuments will remain “while courts move toward a final decision in the case.”")
Local merchants had rallied to save the historic monument alongside a Nativity display in Los Angeles’ 300-year-old historic center.
A Catholic charter school had previously brought a similar lawsuit against the state but had failed to secure a ruling from the Supreme Court.
From troubadour to God’s juggler #Catholic – 
“May the Lord give you peace!” This was a favorite greeting of Saint Francis of Assisi. He said it to rich and poor alike, to soldiers and statesmen, to those who were sick and suffering, and he even said it to the birds. It’s a greeting that reflects the radical transformation that took place in his life. He even shared this greeting in a letter to a close friend while suffering from the illness that took his life on October 3rd, 1226.
We celebrate the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi on October 4th, and the Franciscan Jubilee honoring the 800-year anniversary of his passing continues until January 10th, 2027. In life, Saint Francis sparked a renewal of faith in Christ. In the 800 years that have passed since his death, he has been a powerful intercessor, and he continues to inspire people to discover the peace of God in their lives.
In his “Saint Francis of Assisi” biography, G.K. Chesterton draws a comparison between the troubadour poets with whom Francis identified prior to his conversion and the title he gave his wandering band of ascetics, the “Jongleurs de Dieu” (“Jugglers of God”). Associating troubadours with knights and jongleurs with jesters, Chesterton writes, “The jester could be free when the knight was rigid…This parallel of the two poets or minstrels is perhaps the best preliminary and external statement of the Franciscan change of heart.”
This change of heart, Chesterton observes, is “the reason why the Franciscan, ragged, penniless, homeless and apparently hopeless, did indeed come forth singing such songs as might come from the stars of morning; and shouting, a son of God.” It was a leap that enabled Francis and his followers to empty themselves of worldly cares to arrive at a deep appreciation for God’s creation. As Chesterton writes, “The mystic who passes through the moment when there is nothing but God does in some sense behold the beginningless beginnings in which there was really nothing else.”
Arriving at this starting point, Francis was able to see God’s gift in the simplest things and the humblest of people, an outlook that has inspired saints from Clare of Assisi in his own time to one of our most recent saints, Carlo Acutis, who was so inspired by Saint Francis that the medieval Umbrian town of Assisi became his favorite pilgrimage site.
Francis, Clare, and Carlo are all buried at churches very near to each other in Assisi. Though Carlo was from Milan in northern Italy, he asked to be buried in Assisi shortly before dying of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15. It is a testament to the enduring appeal of the detachment preached by Francis that Carlo would make this request while facing his own death.
“Transitus” is the word Franciscans use for the death of Saint Francis. It is a Latin word meaning “a passing,” “going,” or “moving through,” and it is used to refer with confidence to the time when Francis passed from this life into the next. It’s a confidence rooted in that change of heart from Troubadour to Jongleur de Dieu, when Francis started to choose to be a jester for God rather than a king on earth. He was choosing heaven even then, which is why saints like Carlo and Clare and so many others are inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi to live in appreciation for the gift of life itself, in the hope of rising together again in Christ.
For free copies of the Christopher News Note “The Seven Heavenly Virtues,” write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th Street, Room 603, New York, NY 10018; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org
– “May the Lord give you peace!” This was a favorite greeting of Saint Francis of Assisi. He said it to rich and poor alike, to soldiers and statesmen, to those who were sick and suffering, and he even said it to the birds. It’s a greeting that reflects the radical transformation that took place in his life. He even shared this greeting in a letter to a close friend while suffering from the illness that took his life on October 3rd, 1226. We celebrate the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi on October 4th, and the Franciscan Jubilee honoring the
The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie The Knopf Doubleday Publishing GroupNew York, New York In The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein — professor of physics at the University of New Hampshire and the first Black woman to earn tenure in theoretical cosmology —Continue reading “New astronomy products to fall for this month”
The post New astronomy products to fall for this month appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.
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Celebrating, with gratitude, 100 Years of the Carmel in Morristown … The Month of the Holy Rosary and Respect Life Month #Catholic – 
“In the very last days of 1926, a very different religious presence came to Morris County in the person of Mother Mary Magdalene of Jesus Crucified Potts, O.C.D. A native of the Washington area and the daughter of an admiral, Sister Mary Magdalene had entered the cloistered Carmelites at Philadelphia in 1911 and then had a bequest from her mother to establish a Carmel at Wheeling, West Virginia in 1913. Feeling a desire to found a Carmel ‘in poverty,’ she was looking for a site for another foundation. The desire of Bishop O’Connor to ‘do something for Our Lady’ in the waning years of his episcopate, and the invitation of a Mrs. Walsh, a woman from Morristown who belonged to a Carmelite third order group in New York City, brought Mother Mary Magdalene to Morristown. On Dec. 30, 2026, four sisters took up residence in a small house on South Street…”
— From Living Stones by Msgr. Raymond J. Kupke, pgs. 198-99
“The rest,” as we say, “is history.” When “history” concerns the Diocese of Paterson, I am always grateful to Msgr. Raymond Kupke and his wonderful book, Living Stones, written on the occasion of our Diocese’s 50th anniversary (in 1987). For those who are familiar with Living Stones, its subtitle, “A History of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Paterson,” could be misleading and cause one to think that it “only” covers the “first 50 years,” 1937 to 1987. The first half of the book is a history of the Catholic Church in northern New Jersey from before the Revolutionary War, beginning in 1764.
So, I was not surprised when I wanted to share some background on how a Carmelite Monastery came to our Diocese (11 years before the foundation of the Diocese of Paterson); I was quickly able to find a compelling account, as cited above, on pages 198-99 of Living Stones. When I was appointed as bishop of the diocese, six years ago, I was very happy to learn that we had a Carmelite Monastery in our diocese. Like millions of others during the past 100-plus years, I was “introduced” to the Carmelites and Carmelite Spirituality when I first heard, in high school, about St. Therese of Lisieux, the “Little Flower,” and her autobiography (spiritual diary), Story of a Soul.
If you are not yet familiar with the Carmelites, their spirituality, and their saints (Therese of Lisieux, Theresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Theresa Benedicta of the Cross, St. Simon Stock, and many, many more — personally, I think that St. Pope John Paul II could be considered an “honorary” Carmelite, because his personal spirituality and vocation were so strongly influenced by the Carmelites, especially John of the Cross and Theresa of Avila), you could Google “Carmelite Saints” or any one of the above. You could also go to the website of the Carmelite Monastery in Morristown where you can learn a great deal about the sisters, their vocation and mission, including their “Vision” and “What (they) Do.”
“Through self-sacrifice, silence, penance and prayer, the Carmelite Sisters offer their very lives as a prayer to God for all humanity … The Carmelites have a rigorous schedule consisting each day of eight hours of prayer, manual labor, some recreation, as well as contemplation. They are always striving to make themselves more pleasing to God. The Carmelite Sisters adhere to strict silence so that their prayers may be more continuous.”
I am very much looking forward to being with the Carmelite Sisters, many of our priests, seminarians, consecrated religious, and faithful from our diocese and beyond, as we celebrate and give thanks for “100 Years” with a Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Mass on Saturday, Oct. 3, beginning at our St. Paul Inside the Wall Evangelization Center in Madison (at 10 a.m.) and concluding with Mass at the monastery at 11:30 a.m. Click here for more information and to register or see the flyer at right.
St. Therese of Lisieux died at the age of 24, on Sept. 30, 1897. She was canonized as a saint (very quickly) on May 17, 1925, during the Jubilee Year, by Pope Pius the XI. From 1927 to 1969, her feast day was celebrated on Oct. 3, before changes in the Church’s liturgical calendar, caused her Feast Day to be “moved” to Oct. 1. Personally, I find it meaningful and appropriate that we begin the month of October, the “Month of the Holy Rosary,” with the Feast of St. Therese, who in addition to being a role model for a life of prayer and contemplation, is also, along with St. Francis Xavier, the patron saint/s of missionaries, and one of only four women recognized (by St. Pope John Paul II in 1997) as a “Doctor of the Church.”
Last year, I wrote a column about the end of September and October as a beautiful (and prayerful) time of year, focusing on “The Saints of Late September and October, Respect Life Month and the Month of the Holy Rosary.” I hope that you might take the time to go back and review it. In this year of 2026, as we celebrate 100 years of the Carmel in Morristown, we are also in a “Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi,” whose Feast we will remember on Sunday, Oct. 4. We will celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (Our Lady of Victories) on Wednesday, Oct. 7, and the next day, Thursday, Oct. 8, will be the New Jersey Mass and March for Life in Trenton.
This time of year can be beautiful and prayerful; it can also be very busy. You have probably already heard or will be hearing in the coming weeks about our annual Diocesan Ministries Appeal. We will have a very busy (full) “diocesan weekend” from Friday, Oct. 16 through Sunday, Oct. 18, when we will have our Diocesan Marian Pilgrimage to Washington, DC on Friday and Saturday, and then mark the 100th “World Mission Sunday” and host our Diocesan Vivere Christus awards on Sunday, Oct. 18. It is comforting to know that the Carmelite Sisters in Morristown will be praying for us on each step of our journey.
Celebrating this significant anniversary for the Carmel of Morristown and considering the special moments that we have to be united in prayer during the month of October, the month of the Holy Rosary, encourages us to remember that we can always unite our efforts to build up God’s Kingdom through prayer. I think of those who may be homebound, sick, or suffering. The prayers of the homebound and the ill are a source of grace for many. St. Therese, the Little Flower, spent the most significant portion of her brief life in a Carmelite monastery, but she is the co-patroness of the missions because of her commitment to pray for others. No matter where we are, our prayers are a sharing in the Lord’s work. Just as Carmel is a powerhouse of prayer, so too the prayers of those who are homebound or limited in mobility can powerfully contribute to the good of others through prayer. I thank all of the homebound, particularly, for your commitment to pray for so many worthy intentions.
– “In the very last days of 1926, a very different religious presence came to Morris County in the person of Mother Mary Magdalene of Jesus Crucified Potts, O.C.D. A native of the Washington area and the daughter of an admiral, Sister Mary Magdalene had entered the cloistered Carmelites at Philadelphia in 1911 and then had a bequest from her mother to establish a Carmel at Wheeling, West Virginia in 1913. Feeling a desire to found a Carmel ‘in poverty,’ she was looking for a site for another foundation. The desire of Bishop O’Connor to ‘do something for Our Lady’ in
Beautiful in every season, the Cranberry Wilderness offers miles of hiking trails and waterfalls.
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This nighttime view of the United States, dotted with city lights looking toward New York City (center), was taken at approximately 3:40 a.m. local time from the International Space Station as it orbited 259 miles above Earth.
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