In just three hours in Rome...

At 930 AM in Rome, the first student from the Madeleine Choir School to respond to God's call to the priesthood will be ordained a deacon in St. Peter's Basilica. Christopher Gray, Class of '97, receives the Sacrament of Holy Orders this morning and will assist at his first Mass as a Deacon on Friday morning at 9:00 AM. We send our congratulations to Christopher and promise to remember him in our prayers. Christopher wrote to me just yesterday and assured me that he will remember the school and its mission in his prayers on his ordination day.

Between Vincent and Francis

We are midway between the seven days we remember two great saints who called the church to a greater concern for the poor: St. Vincent de Paul who is remembered on September 27th and St. Francis of Assisi whom we will remember on October 4th.

Sometimes it is difficult to find concrete ways to become involved. Catholic Community Services has launched an effort to fund the daily meals that it provides at the St. Vincent de Paul Center downtown. The new effort is called Dinner at Vinny's, and you can access their website here.

You can find further information about how you can be involved in this very straightforward effort to meet the needs of families and individuals who need our help. The media promotion of this great new program has been designed by members of our own school community, Troy and Teri Mumm. Consider helping out with this important service offered by Catholic Community Services in our city.