Greetings Saint Augustine Family,
Today, we celebrate the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed also known as All Souls.
Yesterday, on All Saints' Day, we celebrated the "all-stars" on "Team Jesus", the best of the best! Today, we commemorate the rest, including our family members and loved ones who have died.
As we hear in the first reading, "The souls of the just are in the hand of God," and they are indeed. However, we commend to God everyone else—including those who were not so just, kind, generous, or caring. This includes martyrs and murderers; the courageous and the cowards; champions of truth and peddlers of lies; models of compassion and the callously indifferent; the super-devout and the superficial when it came to the things of God and the keeping of his commandments.
We pray for all souls. Why? Because they need us to. After all, we are pilgrims of hope. In other words, we do not just remember "All Souls"; we commend them to our merciful God.
We welcome you to join us for Mass celebrations on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday at 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. The 12:30 p.m. Mass will be live-streamed via our YouTube Channel. Daily Mass is held at 8:15 a.m. in the chapel from Tuesday through Thursday and in the church on Friday.
We greatly appreciate your support of our parish's mission. If you are able to contribute at this time, click here to sign up for automatic contributions, a one-time donation or text (202) 930-8147 to give. Thank you.
Click here or download the attachment below to read this week's bulletin with Father Pat's Sermon Notes. This week, he reminds us to celebrate our spiritual connection with all God’s faithful, both the triumphant in heaven and the struggling on earth, calling us through All Saints and All Souls to replace despair with hope and worry with prayer as we trust in God’s boundless mercy for every soul.
Reflection: Fr. Augustus Tolton
Since 1990, the Catholic Church in the United States has celebrated Black Catholic History Month to honor the many contributions of Black Catholics to the life and growth of the Church. This year, we continue to reflect on the seven African American Catholics whose causes for canonization are underway.
Today, we honor one of them, Fr. Augustus Tolton, the first publicly recognized Black American priest in the United States. Born into slavery on April 1, 1854, Augustus Tolton was freed when his mother escaped with their family to Illinois after his father died fighting for the Union Army. In Illinois, a local priest, Fr. Peter McGirr, recognized young Augustus’s potential and ensured he received an education. Though Tolton longed to become a priest, no U.S. seminary would accept him, so he studied in Rome, expecting to serve as a missionary in Africa. To his surprise, after his ordination in 1886, he was sent back to the United States to minister in Quincy, Illinois.
Facing jealousy and discrimination from some clergy, Fr. Tolton was later reassigned to Chicago, where his eloquence, holiness, and dedication helped his parish and school thrive. In 1889, he celebrated Mass and preached at Saint Augustine Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., for the first National Colored Catholic Congress. He also spoke in cities across the country, inspiring Catholics of all races who were eager to meet the nation’s only Black priest. Fr. Tolton was a tireless advocate for the full inclusion of Black Catholics in the Church. He described his ordination day as the happiest of his life. On July 9, 1897, he collapsed from heatstroke in Chicago and died at age 43.
We at Saint Augustine Catholic Church are deeply honored that this Servant of God once celebrated the Holy Eucharist here over 130 years ago. Let us continue to pray for his canonization so that his faith and example may inspire the world.
Jubilee Prayer
Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope, for the coming of your Kingdom.
As Pilgrims of Hope,
may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope, for the coming of your Kingdom.
As Pilgrims of Hope,
May your grace transform us
into tireless cultivators of the seeds
into tireless cultivators of the seeds
of the Gospel, and
reawaken in us, a renewed desire to spread the joy and peace of
our Redeemer throughout the earth.
To you our God, be the glory, the honor and praise for ever.
Amen
reawaken in us, a renewed desire to spread the joy and peace of
our Redeemer throughout the earth.
To you our God, be the glory, the honor and praise for ever.
Amen
The St. Augustine Prayer Ministry has several ways you can either seek prayer or participate in intercessory prayer.
First, you can submit your prayer intentions via our church website by clicking the button below or by placing in the Prayer Request Box on the table at the entrance of the church. These prayer intentions are collected and lifted up on a monthly basis.
Second, join our monthly Prayer Meeting which will meet virtually on and every third Friday of the month at 7:00pm. The Prayer Group Zoom meeting can be accessed by clicking here.
Third, if you need prayer urgently, there will be a few prayer volunteers who are happy to pray with and for you today after the 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Masses. Please meet in front of the tabernacle immediately following Mass. God Bless!
