Every time I come out of the church into the narthex after we have prayed the Patriotic Rosary, I hear positive comments of how powerful it is.  I always leave feeling thankful for the blessings that have poured out on our country by God over its relatively short history.  I am inspired by the powerful quotes from some of our early leaders who connected God and country so beautifully.  Finally, I have a sense of accomplishment that I have joined with others to pray for our country, its leaders and every citizen in every state of the union confident that through the intercession of Mary, many more blessings will come to our country in the future.  Please join us for the next recitation (and singing) of the Patriotic Rosary.  We will pray it this Sunday (09/11) during our holy hour between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m., and we will pray it next month on Columbus Day, October 10.

After participating in a leadership training program for bishops, our bishop, Anthony Taylor, has set priorities for our diocese for the next 18 months.  These have come-out in brief form in the "Arkansas Catholic" a number of weeks ago. Next weekend the bishop will speak to all the Catholics of Arkansas during the homily time about these priorities. Please pray this week that our Catholics throughout Arkansas, and especially in our parish, will respond positively to the challenges that the bishop places before us and find ourselves growing in The Lord during this period of time.

Those who are still in school know that each year they will be in a classroom with students who are at their level of education background.  It would be odd to put fifth graders in with third graders, or third graders with fifth graders.  This should also be the case with people who are in the process of becoming  a Catholic.

Since everyone who comes to us has a different faith background and have had various experiences of the Catholic faith, it makes little sense to put everyone in the same setting for formation in the ways and beliefs of the Catholic faith. We want to help anyone who shows an interest in the Catholic faith to move in that direction with the grace of God and our assistance.

Please contact Deacon Larry (922-3283) or Deacon John (226-5506) to get more information.  The structure and timetable for formation will vary, so we need to find out who is interested and where each person is in their faith lives right now.