Immaculate Conception Parish / St. Jude Mission Church

10/13/2026

10/13/2026

OCTOBER 13 + The Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima’s Miracle of the Sun in Fatima, Portugal — a miracle "so that all may believe.”

In 1917, Portugal, like the majority of the world, was embroiled in war. As World War I raged throughout Europe, Portugal found itself unable to maintain its neutrality and joined forces with allies, in order to protect colonies in Africa and to defend their trade with Britain. About 220,000 Portuguese civilians died during the war; thousands due to food shortages, and thousands more from the Spanish flu.

Government stability in the country had been rocky at best. A new liberal constitution separating Church and state was drafted under the influence of Freemasonry, which sought to omit the Faith – which for many was the backbone of Portuguese culture and society – from public life. Anti-Catholicism in Portugal had initially begun in the 18th century and flared up again after the drafting of the new constitution. Catholic churches and schools were seized by the government, and the wearing of clerics in public, the ringing of church bells, and the celebrating of religious festivals were banned. Nearly 2,000 priests, monks and nuns were killed by anti-Christian groups.

This was the backdrop against which the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children – Lucia (10), and her cousins Francisco (9) and Jacinta (7) – in a field in Fatima, bringing with her requests for the recitation of the rosary, for sacrifices on behalf of sinners, and secrets regarding the fate of the world.

To prove that the apparitions were true, Mary promised the children that during the last of her six appearances she would provide a “sign” so people would believe in the apparitions and in her messages.

What happened on October 13, 1917, has come to be known as the “Miracle of the Sun,” or “the day the sun danced.”

On that day, reporters, journalists, photographers, and a crowd of 70,000 people – believers, skeptics and atheists alike – gathered to see the miracle that Mary had promised. After appearing and speaking to the children for some time, Mary then “cast her own light upon the sun.”

Though the region had been subjected to three days of torrential downpour, the rainy sky cleared and the clouds dispersed. A transparent veil came over the sun, making it easy to look at, and multi-colored lights were strewn across the landscape. The huge fireball whirled rapidly with dizzy and sickening speed, flinging out all sorts of brilliant colors that reflected on the faces of the crowd.

The sun continued to gyrate in this manner and then plunged in a zigzag course toward the earth. The crowd was terrified, fearing this was the end of the world.

However, the sun reversed its course and returned to its normal place in the sky. All of this transpired in approximately ten minutes. After realizing they were not doomed, the crowd began ecstatically laughing, crying, shouting and weeping.

The ground, which had been wet and muddy, was completely dried and many discovered their previously drenched clothing to be dry. The amount of heat needed to completely dry the earth in such a short period of time would have surely incinerated human flesh. But instead, numerous miracles of healings of chronic illnesses and ailments were reported and the Miracle of the Sun was understood by the people to be the guarantee that the three children were telling the truth.

10/12/2026

10/12/2026

OCTOBER 12 + Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Pillar + Pray for us O Holy Mother of God.

While not one of the most widely known titles of Our Lady, it is the oldest and has a most fascinating story. Sometime BEFORE her bodily Assumption into heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the Apostle James the Greater while he was living and preaching in Spain.

When the 12 Apostles dispersed to preach the Gospel all over the world, James, on one of his apostolic journeys, preached in the Iberian Peninsula in modern-day Spain. He was discouraged that the pagans of that land were not responding to the Gospel and converting to Christianity. He had only a handful of converts to show for his labors. In the face of what he thought was failure in his mission, he prayed with his disciples by the Ebro river in modern day Zaragoza.

To bring him consolation, while she was still alive and living in Jerusalem, Our Lady appeared to him and his disciples accompanied by celestial music, atop a six-foot pillar of jasper carried by angels, while holding a smaller wooden statue of herself holding the Christ Child. The date was October 12 in the year 40 AD.

The Mother of God told James not to worry, that the people to whom he preached would not only be converted, but they would one day have faith as strong as the pillar on which she stood. She gave the pillar and the statue to James and asked that a church be built on the spot in her honor, using the two items for the altar.

“This place is to be my house, and this image and column shall be the title and altar of the temple that you shall build … and the people of this land will honor greatly my Son Jesus.”

After asking for her church to be built, she gave another promise that ... “It will stand from that moment until the end of time in order that God may work miracles and wonders through my intercession for all those who place themselves under my patronage.”

James built a small chapel as Our Lady requested, by the Ebro river in Zaragoza, Spain, the first known Marian shrine in history. It became known as Our Lady of the Pillar, or Nuestra Senora del Pilar. The chapel was replaced by larger churches over the centuries, with the present stunning basilica being erected in the 17th century.

10/11/2026

OCTOBER 11 + Today is the Feast Day of The Divine Maternity of Our Lady + Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

This glorious feast was established as a commemoration of the Third Ecumenical Council of the Church in 431 and was set up for our own time in 1931 by Pope Pius XI.

The Catholic Church infallibly declares and defines the Divine Maternity of Our Lady. The Church tells us that in order to be saved we must believe with our full hearts that the same person who is the Son of God the Eternal Father in His Divine nature is also the child of Mary the Virgin in His human nature. Anyone who refuses or hesitates to call Mary the Mother of God will never be saved.

Saint Elizabeth, the cousin of Our Lady, cried out for joy in her doorway when Mary came to visit her after the Annunciation and said, “And whence is this to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me!” (Luke 1:43). The dignity of the Mother of God transcends anything that can ever be imagined. It is God giving Himself in fullness to a creature in relationship and in love.

Now that God has become man, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity through all eternity must call God the Father His Father and Mary the Virgin His Mother. What God the Father is to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity by nature, Mary the Virgin is to Him by grace.

The two loveliest prayers one can say are the Lord's Prayer (Our Father, who art in heaven ...) and the Hail Mary. It was the Council of Ephesus which gave us the end of the Hail Mary – “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners.” And through Catholic love and reverence there was added the phrase, “now and at the hour of our death, Amen.”

10/10/2026

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time-October 11, 2026-Music used with permission under One License 701479

10/10/2026

OCTOBER 10 + Today is the Feast Day of Spiritual Warrior Saint Francis Borgia + Pray for us

Francis Borgia was born in 1510 in Spain as the son of the Duke of Gandia, the great grandson, from his father’s side, of Pope Alexander VI, the notorious Borgia pope, and from his mother’s side, the great grandson of King Ferdinand of Aragon.

Francis grew to be a pious young man, possessed many natural gifts and was a favorite at the court of Charles V. It is recounted that one day Francis passed through Alcalá, followed by his es**rt, and exchanged an emotional glance with a poor man being es**rted to prison by the Inquisition. This man was Ignatius of Loyola, and at this moment Francis could not have had any idea what an important role this man would play in his destiny.

In 1539 Francis was appointed Viceroy of Catalonia, and four years later, upon the death of his father, he became the Duke of Gandia. He built a university there, received the degree of Doctor in Theology, and invited the Jesuits to his duchy.

His wife died in 1546, and Francis entered the Society of Jesus in 1548, but was ordered by the Pope to remain in the world until he had fulfilled his obligations to his 10 children and his duchy.

Two years later he left Gandia, never to return, and joined the Jesuits in Rome. He immediately set about initiating grand projects – he convinced Ignatius to found the Roman College, and a year later he left for Spain, where his preaching and example sparked a renewal of religious fervour in the country, drawing pilgrims from far and wide to hear him preach.

At 55, Francis was elected head of the Jesuits. He focused on the growth of the Society of Jesus, the spiritual preparation of its new members, and spreading the faith in many parts of Europe. He is often regarded as the second founder of the Jesuits. He died in 1572 and was canonized 100 years later.

10/09/2026

OCTOBER 9 + Today is the Feast Day of Spiritual Warrior Saint Denis and Companions + Pray for us

Denis was the first bishop of Paris and, together with his companions Rusticus (a priest) and Eleutherius (a deacon), was martyred for his faith by decapitation under the persecution of the emperor Decius around 250 AD. Denis is the most well-known cephalophore — a cephalophore (from the Greek for "head-carrier") is a saint who is generally depicted carrying their own severed head.

Denis and his companions were so effective in converting people that the pagan priests became alarmed over their loss of followers. At their instigation, the Roman Governor arrested the missionaries. After a long imprisonment, Denis, Rusticus and Eleutherius were executed by beheading on the highest hill in Paris - the Montmartre - Latin Mons Martyrum "The Martyrs’ Mountain.”

Early tradition holds that Denis, AFTER being beheaded, preached a sermon on repentance and forgiving his assassins from the mouth of his own severed head while walking several miles from his ex*****on site to his grave. A chapel was raised at the site of his burial by Saint Genevieve which was later expanded into an abbey and basilica, around which grew up the French city of Saint-Denis, now a suburb of Paris.

Decapitation is the purest form of capital punishment, caput being Latin for “head.” The decapitation of a bishop, in particular, was meant to separate the head of the Church from its body, leaving the ship without its captain. Saint John the Baptist, Saint Paul, Saint Cyprian, Pope Saint Sixtus II, were all Christian leaders and were all beheaded. Bishop Denis’ head is cleaved from his body but still united to it. Just as Christ’s head can never be separated from His body the Church. Christ is one, head and body, and every bishop stands in Christ’s stead to exercise the fullness of Christ’s priestly ministry to teach, govern, and sanctify the people of God.

Denis the patron saint of France and Paris, against headaches and demons and is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

10/07/2026

OCTOBER 7 + October is the Month of the Holy Rosary and today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary + Pray for us O Holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

In 1206, Saint Dominic was in Prouille, France, attempting to convert the Albigensians back to the Catholic faith. The young priest had little success until one day he received a vision of the Blessed Virgin, who gave him the Rosary as a tool against heretics.

Saint Pius V established this feast in 1573. The purpose was to thank God for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto — a victory attributed to the praying of the rosary. Clement XI extended the feast to the Universal Church in 1716.

The purpose of the rosary is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation. Pius XII called it a compendium of the Gospel. The main focus is on Jesus — his birth, life, death, and resurrection. The Our Father prayers remind us that Jesus’ Father is the initiator of salvation. The Hail Mary prayers remind us to join with Mary in contemplating these mysteries. They also make us aware that Mary was and is intimately joined with her Son in all the mysteries of His earthly and heavenly existence. The Glory Be prayers remind us that the purpose of all life is the glory of the Trinity.