Come celebrate a very successful Bazaar 2007 with a Mexican supper with all of the trimmings, cooked and served by La Casita of Navasota.

Tues, October 2nd, 7:00PM at St Mary Parish Hall.

To celebrate...
To eat...
To be the first to hear just how good we did...!!!

Many of the readers of this month's [September] bulletin are visitors and guests who come to celebrate St. Mary's annual Homecoming/Bazaar. We are always excited having so many come out to this special church and Community of Faith to enjoy a mouth-watering, homemade meal, play fun games and win prizes, bid ferociously on fantastic auction items, and rub shoulders with relatives, friends and even strangers. There's an atmosphere of the old-time country social that is so hard to find these days, but which has thankfully survived in small pockets like our communities of St. Mary and St. Joseph.

Christ Our Light Catholic Church
23rd Annual Homecoming Bazaar
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2007
11:30am till ???

Grimes County Fairgrounds
Navasota, Texas

Air Conditioning/Auction @ 1pm/Booths & Games

Chicken Fried Steak or Chicken Breast w/Krolczyk Sausage or Mexican Dinner

Dance beginning at 6pm

Music provided by 2 bands ~ La Cobra & The Paw James Band

BELLS & BEAUS HANDCHIME RINGERS
Sign Up on Monday evenings in the Music Room
Grades 3--8

NO MUSIC EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Practice every Monday @ 6 PM

Join now to participate in our Christmas Program

Contact: Annette Prokop, Handchime director @ 936-597-8688

God's Gardeners is looking for someone to write their article for the monthly bulletin. Please call the Parish Office if you're interested.

Hello, my name is Gail Sowell and I will be your new parish secretary taking Margaret’s place. I am the oldest child of Frank and Dolores Hoffart of Dobbin. I reside in Anderson with my husband Grimes County Sheriff Don Sowell and our 16 year old daughter Ashleigh. Please be patient and bear with me as I am in training. I will do my best to learn the office to be able to serve you well. I look forward to being a part of my “home church.” Please pray for me to get through this trying time in my life. Thank you.

September 26-November 4

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God's power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion in America.

The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer , fasting , and peaceful activism , with the purpose of repentance, to seek God's favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion in America.

Why 40 days?

God has used the period of 40 days throughout history to bring about major transformation...

Noah experienced transformation during 40 days of rain.

Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai

David was transformed by Goliath's 40 day challenge

Elijah was transformed when God gave him 40 days of strength from one meal

Nineveh was transformed when God gave the city 40 days to remain faithful

Jesus was transformed and empowered by 40 days in the desert

The disciples were transformed after spending 40 days with Jesus following His resurrection

Just think of the transformation God could accomplish if individuals and communities across America unite together this fall for 40 days of prayer and fasting, pulling out all the stops to end the violence of abortion.

What we will be doing at St. Mary/St. Joseph community: 

Prayer

Please join us every Wednesday at the 9:00am Mass at St. Mary's starting September 26 and continuing through October 31. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for Adoration from Benediction following Mass until 12:00noon. Someone needs to be at Adoration at all times, so we will be signing people up to sit and pray with Our Lord during the times He is exposed in the Blessed Sacrament.

Fasting

Christ said there are demons that can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. Fasting is a powerful means of drawing closer to God by blocking out distractions. Fast from food. Fast from television. Fast from apathy and indifference. Fast from whatever it is that separates you from God. If we all work together, our heavenly Father will hear us and heal our lives, our churches, our communities, our nation, and our world.

“with God, all things are possible” even an end to abortion

  www.40daysforlife.com

October 13, 2007 ~ 9am - 1pm
"The Theology of Ministry"

Deacon David Garvis will conduct a Ministry Workshop on Saturday, Oct. 13, from 9am - 1pm, for all liturgical ministers and ministry leaders at St. Mary's and St. Joseph's. The subject is "The Theology of Ministry." All accolytes, sacristans, Eucharistic ministers, Hospitality ministers, lectors, cantors, and musicians (instrumentalists, choir members, adult handbell choir members, and directors) should plan to be in attendance. Also, anyone thinking about joining a ministry group is encouraged to attend.

Lord Jesus, we praise you for your presence in the Eucharist. May we be a eucharistic people who celebrate your love in worship and service. Send us worthy ministers of the altar and faith-filled evangelical witnesses in the world. Amen.

Please join us every Wednesday at 9:00am Mass as we pray before the Blessed Sacrament for those being called to religious vocations.

The Catholic Church teaches that the use of artificial contraception is gravely sinful. Most Catholics are unaware of that teaching, or they think that the modern Church has changed its mind about it, or think that the Church is simply wrong. But the consequences of grave sin are eternal; why would anyone risk suffering them?

Learn the truth -- the wonderful truth -- about Natural Family Planning.

Check out www.ccli.org or Contact Gerard & Amy Kubelka, certified Couple to Couple League NFP Instructors: via email at kubelka@consolidated.net or call 936-273-9837

THE GABRIEL PROJECT is the parish-based crisis pregnancy intervention program. If you have any baby items (cribs, playpen, clothes, toys, etc.) that you would like to donate, these items will be passed along with Love to the women and babies that need our help and support. If you would like to assist with this ministry, please contact Wanda O'Brien at 936-597-6328 or tjobrien911@hughes.net to see how you can put your specific talent to use. If are someone in need of the services of THE GABRIEL PROJECT, please use the contact information above.

Scheduled For

Saturday, October 27th
@ St. Mary's from 9-12
in the Family Life Center
With Baptisms planned for Nov. 11th

Preparation classes for baptism are a requirement for parents or expectant parents of children up to 5 years old and are generally held every other month.

Godparents are encouraged to attend as well.

We invite you to call early in your pregnancy to register for a class. For further questions, call Francell Busa (936)870-4145 or email her at fbusa@earthlink.net

There is a preparation process that is required for you to complete before being married in the Catholic Church, so start early!

FYI:

• Wedding date must be set and approved by Fr. Ed per Church calendar before beginning marriage preparation. Call office: 936-894-2223 (Make arrangements at this time for hall rental as well, if hall is needed)
• Then contact the Busa's @ fbusa@earthlink.net or at (936) 870-4145 to begin marriage preparation (FOCCUS, Pre-Nupt, etc.)
• Linda Armstrong (wedding coordinator) should also be contacted at this time (936) 825-0565 to set up a rehearsal time. She will work with you re the wedding music.

The weekend Engaged Couples program in Houston gets filled months in advance so don't think you can wait til the last minute to register. For dates, call (713)741-8706 or mcostner@arch.org

A copy of the letter/certificate given to participants must go into the wedding packet at the church as proof of attendance. The charge has been $195.

The New Life program is recommended for remarrying couples (after death or divorce), particularly those bringing children with them into the marriage. It is a one day program. To register, call (713)741-8776 or mcostner@arch.org

A Convalidation program is now being offered for those couples civilly married and are now entering a sacramental marriage (marrying in the Church). Contact (713) 741-8776 or mcostner@arch.org

The free Engaged Couple Sponsor program we have here at St. Mary's/St. Joseph's is 5-6 meetings in the sponsors' home over a period of several months time after the FOCCUS survey and Pre-Nuptial Interview is completed so again, you need to start early!

Remember: It's not the wedding that counts, it's the marriage!

WELCOME BACK STUDENTS

School is back in session and hopefully your family is settling down from the summer vacation. Time is here to resume our Religious Education Classes. Students and Parents, we have been working vigorously to make improvements to our program. We are excited to have the children return to a fun and exciting year.

WEEKLY MOVIES FOR PARENTS

For the parents we will be showing a weekly movie in the parish hall. The movies will cover many fascinating aspects of Christian Living. Each movie will give you a chance to review and learn more about how to connect your faith to everyday activities. Show time is 7:10-7:50 pm. This will give you time to walk back to your car that is in line waiting to pick-up your children after RE class.

K-8TH GRADE CLASSES BEGIN

RE classes for K-8th begin Wednesday, September 12 at 6:55 pm in the Parish hall. Students will be introduced to their teachers and taken to their classrooms. Following introduction of the teachers is a parent meeting.

AIDES/OFFICE PERSONAL/ MONITOR

All aides, office personal, monitors, and anyone that would like to help with the RE program: Short meeting at 7 pm in the Family Life Room. Pictures for IDs will be taken starting at 6:30 pm

Confirmation students started classes August 29 with a Kick-off Rally. It was an awesome event. What an exciting way to begin the year? GO STUDENTS!

Pictures for IDs will be taken.

Office Aides, office personnel, and anyone that would like to help with the RE program meeting ~ Meeting at 7.p.m. in the Family Life Room. Pictures for IDs will be taken September 5th.

We completed our 6 week study of Luke - The Good News of God's Mercy with a mixed group of 10 to 12 people each week and enjoyed learning together. Everyone agreed it was a good session and looks forward to the next one starting this month. The new series, Psalms: An Invitation to Prayer, is a guided discovery for groups and individuals by Kevin Perrotta.

The Bible invites us to explore God's word and reflect on how we might respond to it. This practical series of Bible discussion guides offers guidance and the right tools for discovery in a concise six-week format. They provide meaningful insights that explain Scripture while helping readers make connections to their own lives. Each guide

• Is faithful to Church teaching and is guided by sound biblical scholarship
• Presents the insights of Church fathers and saints
• Includes questions for discussion and reflection
• Delivers information in a reader-friendly format
• Gives suggestions for prayer that help readers respond to God's word
• Appeals to beginners as well as to advanced students of the Bible

We will start September 20th at 10 am and will meet for 6 weeks.. If you would like to join us in the fall, please call me, Barbara Kapchinski at 936-825-1779 or the church office. Please call soon so we will be able to order enough books for everyone.

I look forward to studying God's Word with you,
Barbara

• Have YOU been worshipping with us, but have never taken the steps to become Catholic?
• Have YOU been away from the Church for whatever reason, but would like to revisit the beliefs and doctrines of the Catholic Church?
• Do YOU know of anyone who has shown an interest in the Catholic faith but needs a little nudge?
• Do YOU know of spouses or adult children of parishioners who are non-Catholic and yet who might want to learn more about Catholicism?
• Are YOU aware of any baptized Catholics, who for one reason or another, were not raised in the church?

Our baptismal promise requires that each of us be disciples of Christ, encouraging others to know, love, and serve Him. St. Mary's/St. Joseph's RCIA program can only be successful with the help of all parishioners. Please do YOUR part! Either contact adults who are interested in learning more about our Catholic faith...or call Sharon Skeans (936-448-2740) with names and phone numbers, and she'll contact them.

Inquirers or parishioners may also contact Sharon Skeans at skeans@consolidated.net

This month, our meeting will be on Thursday, September 27th, the feast day. of St. Vincent de Paul.

The First Sunday of the Month is Food Pantry Sunday.

A few can goods from each family add up to a parish family reaching out, sharing and living the teachings of the gospel and Saint Vincent de Paul. Large wicker baskets are provided in the foyer of the St. Mary hall and St Joseph to accept your offerings.

St. Mary's Men's Club will be holding their monthly meeting on Tuesday, September 18, 2007. Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting will follow at 7:00 p.m. in the SM Hall.

Cemetery Committee Meeting on the 4th Tuesday of every month at 7:00pm in the St. Mary’s Family Life Center.

REMINDER: October 6th is CEMETERY CLEAN-UP DAY. All old flowers and worn items will be removed from the graves. IF YOU HAVE ANY ITEMS THAT ARE SENTIMENTAL TO YOU, PLEASE REMOVE THEM FROM YOUR LOVED ONE’S GRAVISITE..

There are two clean-up days annually—the first saturday of lent and the first Saturday of October. Anyone is welcome to help.

The St. Joseph's Altar Society meeting will be Tuesday,
September 11, 2007 after the 9:00am Mass

What's Happening This Month???

St. Mary's Altar Society Monthly Meeting: Tuesday, September 11,, 2007 @ 6pm in St. Mary's Hall.
Installation of Officers and Special Blessing by Father Ed.
Catered dinner by Rabbit Run Cafe

Don't forget the Guardian Angels Monthly Officers' meeting on Tuesday, September 4, 10:00am in the SM FLC.

Also... it's GAME DAY this month...come join us on Thursday, September 20, 2007 in the SM Hall from 10:00am--2:00pm for good food, good company and plenty of fun!

Our Lady of Guadalupe
One-Week Novena
Schedule:

September: St. Joseph's
October: St. Mary's
November: St. Joseph's
December: St. Mary's

A simple one week Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Have her blessed picture in your home and honor her with a daily rosary and your petitions.

St. Mary's: A sign up sheet is available in the parish hall.

St. Joseph's: A sign up sheet is available in the church entry.

The picture of Our Lady is to be returned at the end of the week.

Dear Friends:

I just wanted to say goodbye and thank you for everything. July 25th was my last day at St. Mary's as the A/P secretary. I hope that you all have enjoyed my company as much as I have enjoyed getting to know all of you. I would like to thank those outside office parishioners for being so patient with me in the beginning when I had no idea what a Mass Intention was (especially because I am Lutheran), those certain folks in the office who have always been my friends, and most of all a big "Think ya vury much..." to Father Ed for being such a wonderful person. Without him, I wouldn't be reaching for the stars.

For those of you who would like to keep in touch, my e-mail address is labonitafarms@aol.com. That is also the address for our "myspace" page. I'll add you as a friend and you can keep up with our success. We will also be featuring our horses on "youtube.com". To search for us, we will always use LBAF-P'ville (?) - the ? will be which ever horse we are promoting at that time. It's funny how a little Arabian farm in Plantersville, Texas is going Internationally. For those of you who don't know, our 2007 colt, Bugzy (LBF The Gangster) was sold to Howard and Christy Holloway of Norfolk, Virginia, but now living in Gdansk, Poland. He will stay here with us until he is a little more than a year old, then he will go to a trainer in Magnolia for racing. Just before he turns 3, he will be exported to Poland for Arabian racing as a 3 y.o. colt. We are very excited about this huge breakthrough with our little farm. Maybe they will send me some pics of him running along the coast of the Baltic (hee hee). He will be 4 months on the 26th of July and is huge!

Also, our Straight Egyptian show mare, Katia, is of course, due with twins in January. We just found out yesterday with the ultrasound. 2008 is going to be a crazy year!! A lot of sleepless nights for me. With the sale of Bugzy, we made a substantial profit and we are looking forward to completing the facilities so that we can take on more training / breeding horses for next year. Our stallion, Sadiks Hilal, already has 6 breedings for 2008. The barn might actually be finished by then as long as I don't keep changing my mind. It will be show time again in the fall, so I pray for less rain and cool weather. There is nothing like bathing a horse in 20 degree weather. So, I am hoping for cool in lieu of COLD .

But, in conclusion, I want to tell everyone to take care and you will always be in our thoughts and prayers.

Your friend,
Dot Holguin

Well, it's with a little bit of sadness and a lot of excitement that I'm writing my last message in the bulletin. Most of you in the parish have already heard that I've taken a position as secretary at Anderson-Shiro High School. My last day here was Friday, August 24th. I am very excited to be back in a High School setting, as that is where my heart is--with the children.

I want you all to know how lucky I feel to have been given the privilege to work here at St. Mary's & St. Joseph's. I felt like an outsider coming in and you all have made me feel so welcome and such a part of your parish family. My job in the office enabled me to get back in touch with some old friends and make so many new friends. I'm taking a parish roster and a parish directory with me so I'll still be able to keep in touch.

Our new parish secretary is Gail Sowell. Gail was born & raised in the area and many of you know her already. I'm sure that she'll come in and pick up right where I left off!

To finish this up, I especially want to thank Father Ed and Ron. You both know this was a hard decision for me to make and your support means a lot to me. It was very difficult to leave a job that I absolutely loved--thank you for understanding. And lastly, I want to let Ron know that I may have to lock him up on bazaar day so I can outbid him on Miss Katie's box of pickled goods!

I'll miss you all! Hope I see you at the bazaar.

Sept 1 [BVM] : 1 Thes 4:9-11 * Ps 98:1,7-8,9 * Mt 25:14-30

Sept 2 Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time: Sir 3:17-18,20,28-29 * Ps 68:4-5,6-7,10-11 * Heb 12:18-19,22-24a * Lk 14:1,7-14

Sept 3: St. Gregory the Great: 1 Thes 4:13-18 * Ps 96:1,3,4-5,11-12,13 * Lk 4:16-30 18

Sept 4: 1 Thes 5:1-6,9-11 * Ps 27:1,4,13-14 * Lk 4:31-37

Sept 5: Col 1:1-8 * Ps 52:10,11 * Lk 4:38-44

Sept 6: Col 1:9-14 * Ps 98:2-3,3-4,5-6 * Lk 5:1-11

Sept 7: Col 1:15-20 * Ps 100:1-2,3,4,5 * Lk 5:33-39

Sept 8 The Nativity Of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Mi 5:1-4a * Ps 13:6,6 * Mt 1:1-16,18-23

Sept 9 Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Wis 9:13-18b * Ps 90:3-4,5-6,12-13,14,17 * Phlm 9-0,12-17 * Lk 14:25-33

Sept 10: Col 1:24—2:3 * Ps 62:6-7,9 * Lk 6:6-11

Sept 11: Col 2:6-15 * Ps 145:1-2,8-9,10-11 * Lk 6:12-19

Sept 12 [The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary] : Col 3:1-11 * Ps 145:2-3,10-11,12-13 * Lk 6:20-26

Sept 13 St. John Chrysostom: Col 3:12-17 * Ps 150:1-6 * Lk 6:27-18

Sept 14 Exaltation of the Holy Cross: Nm 21:4b-9 * Ps 78:1-2,34-35,36-37,38 * Phil 2:6-11 * Jn 3:13-17

Sept 15 Our Lady of Sorrows: 1 Tm 1:15-17 * Ps 113:1-7 * Jn 19:25-27 19

Sept 16 Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Ex 32:7-11,13-14 * Ps 51:3-4,12-13,17,19 * 1 Tm 1:12-17 * Lk 15:1-32

Sept 17 [St. Robert Bellarmine] : 1 Tm 2:1-8 * Ps 28:2,7,8-9 * Lk 7:1-10

Sept 18: 1 Tm 3:1-13 * Ps 101:1-2,2-3,5,6 * Lk 7:11-17

Sept 19 [St. Januarius] : 1 Tm 3:14-16 * Ps 111:1-2,3-4,5-6 * Lk 7:31-35

Sept 20 Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and Companions: 1 Tm 4:12-16 * Ps 111:7-8,9,10 * Lk 7:36-50

Sept 21 St. Matthew, Apostle: Eph 4:1-7,11-13 * Ps 19:2-3,4-5 * Mt 9:9-13

Sept 22 [BVM] : 1 Tm 6:13-16 * Ps 100:1-2,3,4,5 * Lk 8:4-15

Sept 23 Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Am 8:4-7 * Ps 113:1-2,4-6,7-8 * 1 Tm 2:1-8 * Lk 16:1-13

Sept 24: Ezr 1:1-6 * Ps 126:1-2,2-3,4-5,6 * Lk 8:16-18

Sept 25: Ezr 6:7-8,12b,14-20 * Ps 122:1-2,3-4,4-5 * Lk 8:19-21

Sept 26 [ Sts. Cosmas and Damian] : Ezr 9:5-9 * Tb 13:2,3-4,7-8 * Lk 9:1-6

Sept 27 St. Vincent de Paul: Hg 1:1-8 * Ps 149:1-2,3-4,5-6,9 * Lk 9:7-9

Sept 28 [St. Wenceslaus, St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions] : Hg 2:1-9 * Ps 43:1,2,3,4 * Lk 9:18-22

Sept 29 Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael: Dn 7:9-10,13-14 * Ps 138:1-2,2-3,4-5 * Jn 1:47-51

Sept 30 Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Am 6:1a,4-7 * Ps 146:7,8-9,9-10 * 1 Tm 6:11-16 * Lk 16:19-31