| October 31, 2013
SEMINARY SOCIETY BREAKFAST – GAUDETE BENEFIT GALA
ALL SAINT’S DAY – ALL SOULS' DAY
NOVENA TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
Dear Faithful and Friends of Saint Francis de Sales Oratory,
SEMINARY SOCIETY BREAKFAST
The Seminary Society Breakfast will take place after all Masses this Sunday. It has become an annual festivity you don’t want to miss. Come and see!
Canon Mora, rector of the seminary, with our seminarians
In addition to the usual hearty breakfast and 50/50 raffle with wonderful prizes, you and your family will be treated to a joyful video from Gricigliano – produced especially for us. Familiar faces and a familiar narrator will guide us on a tour of Seminary life. We can safely say that the Oratory has the privilege to see the most current activities at the Seminary – thanks to our special connection to many seminarians who have been candidates here. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Mrs. Hayworth for her organization of this event, everyone will again have the opportunity to be paired with a seminarian in prayer.
The Seminary in Gricigliano now can accommodate 71 seminarians, thanks to the recent restoration work made possible by donations from the faithful. This, and the fact that one third of the 85 seminarians are from North America are evidence of your generous support - by prayer and by sacrifice. You are in the prayers of the seminarians every day.
Please keep them in yours!
3RD ANNUAL GAUDETE BENEFIT GALA
Saturday, December 14th, 6:00pm - Millenium Hotel - Grand Ballroom Tickets on sale November 17 at (314) 771-3100 or email 
A highlight of the Advent Season, the Gaudete Benefit Gala has become an annual tradition of fine food and music that you won’t want to miss! The evening features an elegant dinner as well as live performances of the Oratory’s various music ensembles under the direction of Mr. Nick Botkins, the Oratory’s Director of Sacred Music.
Performance highlights of the 2013 Gaudete Benefit Gala include movements of Vivaldi’s popular Gloria, as well as Gustav Holst’s charming collection of traditional carols – Christmas Day.
The Gaudete Benefit Gala supports the Oratory’s continually growing Sacred Music Program. This year’s venue is the magnificent Grand Ballroom at the Millennium Hotel in downtown Saint Louis. Mark your calendar and plan to buy your tickets early, they won’t last long!
Gala Tickets are available for purchase by calling the Oratory office (314) 771-3100, or after the Sunday Masses starting November 17th through December 8th. $45 per ticket or $75 (Orchestra Seating).
ALL SOULS’ DAY – NOVEMBER 2 AND A WORD REGARDING PURGATORY
Rarely does the Church allow a priest to celebrate three Masses in one day, but All Souls' is one of those occasions. This special permission clearly underscores the importance of praying for the dead, and the Church’s care for the faithful departed. After all, wouldn’t you – and everyone living today – wish that many, in fact the whole Church, pray for your salvation?
Our age is marked by an exceptional self-centeredness of man – above all because we don’t believe enough in the transcendent dimension of our existence as man: in the immortal nature of our souls and in the eternal life beyond the here and now. For the Holy Souls who are destined to see the face of God, Purgatory is a reality – “for nothing unclean shall enter heaven” (Rev. 21:27).
While faith teaches us the existence of Purgatory, it also teaches that we are able to help them, thus it is a matter of charity and hope that we offer Masses on this day, and as many prayers as we are able for the Poor Souls.
“Souls who are in Purgatory are there because of their sins, sins that they now supremely detest. But as for abjection and pain at being detained in that place and at being temporarily deprived of enjoying the blessed love that is paradise, they suffer it lovingly and devoutly according to the canticle of divine justice, "Righteous and true are Your ways..." [Rv 15:3] Therefore, let us patiently wait for our spiritual growth, and instead of disturbing ourselves because we have made so little progress in the past, let us diligently strive to do better in the future.” (T.L.G. Book 9, Ch. 7; O. V, p. 131) – St. Francis de Sales
Upcoming Mass Schedule for All Saints, All Souls and Sunday, November 3:
Friday, November 1 - Feast of All Saints
8am Low Mass; 12:15pm Low Mass; 6:30pm Solemn High Mass
Saturday, November 2 - All Souls’ Day
8am Low Mass; 10am Solemn Requiem with Absolution
Sunday, November 3 – 24th Sunday after Pentecost
8am Low Mass; 10am Solemn High Mass
NOVENA TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Starting on November 30 we will pray a Novena in preparation of the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Daily Masses with sermons pronounced by different guest homilists and canons of the Institute, novena prayers and processions will help us to approach this important feast of Church’s calendar. Among this year’s guest homilists are: Rev. Father Randy Soto, Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, Rev. Father Brian Harrison, OS, Chaplain at St. Mary of Victories Chapel, Rev. Canons Avis and Ueda.
Each year, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, on December 8, our Prior General and founder, Msgr. Gilles Wach, pronounces the following text and renews the consecration of the Institute to the Immaculate Conception:
In the presence of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and with heaven and earth as our witness, we prostrate ourselves at thy feet, O Mary, Our Lady.
We acknowledge Thee as our Mother, as the Immaculate Conception, living tabernacle of the Divinity, as Queen of angels and of men, as Mother of the Church and of the Catholic priesthood, and as refuge of the afflicted. That is why, small and weak that we are, we wish to consecrate to Thee our Institute, our families, our persons, our works, our future, all that pertains to us and is in us, and which God, in His immeasurable goodness, has entrusted to us for our good use.
We also consecrate to Thee the value of our good actions, past, present, and future, leaving to Thee the entire and full right of disposing of us and all that belongs to us. Mary, be our Mother; sanctify us, purify us, correct us, guide us, pray for us and protect us.
Help us to perfectly fulfill the duties of our state of life. Extinguish in us all self-love, which prevents Thy Divine Son, King and Sovereign Priest, from reigning in and around us.
Cover abundantly with thy maternal protection all the parishes, chapels, schools, works and missions entrusted to the Institute, and mayest Thou forever impede the devil from reigning, in any manner, in this Institute which desires to be entirely Thine for the greater glory of God, the exaltation of our Mother the Holy Catholic Church, and for the conversion of sinners. Amen.
WELCOME THIS YEAR’S CANDIDATES AT SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES ORATORY
Since late August the Institute received three young men into its candidates program at Saint Francis de Sales Oratory. As in the other houses of pre-formation in the United States Mr. Nicholas Phillips, Mr. Aaron Pribil, and Mr. David Le are spending one year in St. Louis to be immersed in the spiritual life of the Institute-family, to learn French, the language primarily spoken at the seminary in Gricgliano, Latin as well as to study Gregorian Chant. Please pray for these young men and their prefect, Canon Raphael Ueda, Vicar at the Oratory.
Looking forward to seeing you all at the Seminary Society Breakfast this coming Sunday. Attention: There will be no excuse for not attending since you all will be able to sleep one hour longer than usual: Day Light Savings Time will end this weekend. Please make sure that you set back your clocks by one hour Saturday night before retiring.
With my sincere best wishes and the assurance of my prayers for all friends and faithful at the Oratory,
Canon Michael K. Wiener
Rector, St. Francis de Sales Oratory
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