World Mission Sunday is October 20, but Pope Francis has asked us to observe the whole month of October as an Extraordinary Missionary Month.

In the 1992 statement, When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women, that was reaffirmed in 2002, the US Catholic Bishops stated as clearly and strongly as possible that violence against women, inside or outside the home, is never justified. Reaffirming the teaching of the Catholic Church, they reminded the faithful that “violence against another person in any form fails to treat that person as someone worthy of love.” It is fitting, therefore, that we should be mindful of the families enduring domestic violence during the month dedicated to respecting all life.

12 weeks of prayer and reflection from the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation ministry of the Secular Franciscan Order - from the Feast of St. Francis to Christmas.

Twenty years ago, the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) in Augsburg, Germany. With this document, Catholics and Lutherans were able to identify a differentiated consensus on the question that had so deeply divided the Church in the West... and thus express that past condemnations no longer apply. Since then, other communities have become signatories to this historic document.

Since December 8, 2019, is the Second Sunday of Advent, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is transferred to Monday, December 9, 2019. The obligation to attend Mass, however, does not transfer. The Optional Memorial of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, December 9, is omitted this year.

Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, Motu proprio “Aperuit illis,” published on 30 September 2019 (the Memorial of St. Jerome and, this year, the 1600th year since his death), establishes that “the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God.” It is St. Jerome who reminds us that “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”