LUKE- APOSTLE
October 18, 2026
Saturday, October 17 TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
4:00 PM Anna Dempsey – daughter, Anna Magill
Sunday, October 18 TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
8:30 AM God’s Blessings & Good Health for All Parishioners
Saturday, October 24 TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
4:00 PM God’s Blessing & Salvation for Emma Grace Davenport
Baptism, Chrismation & First Communion of Emma Grace Davenport
Sunday, October 25 TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
8:30 AM God’s Blessings & Good Health for All Parishioners
A CUT FLOWER CIVILIZATION
D. Elton Trueblood said once, “The terrible danger of our time consists in the fact that ours is a cut-flower society civilization. Beautiful as cut flowers may be… they will eventually die because they are severed from their sustaining roots. We are trying to maintain the dignity of the individual apart from the deep faith that every man is made in God’s image and is therefore precious in God’s eyes.”
All the precious values of our democratic society are rooted in God. Equality, rights of man, freedom to worship, etc … are connected to the fact that we are created in God’s image, that every man is loved by God Who has counted the very hairs of our head and cannot see even a sparrow fall to the ground without concern. Rights are rooted in Christian faith…Those in our country who deny God yet cling to the concept of rights are destroying the very roots which nourish and sustain these precious values. Cut off from their Christian roots, rights and values wither and die.
Emerson said once that Harvard now taught all branches of learning. “Yes,” said Thoreau, “all branches but none of the roots.” At another time Thoreau said, “There are thousands striking at the branches of evil and few striking at the roots.” This reminds us of John the Baptist who said. “Even now the axe is laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Luke3:9). –Anthony Coniaris
When you wish to live piously and be a true Christian and so be saved, pray to God incessantly and beg help of Him with fervor. Just as according to His love for man God commanded us to pray and ask of Him every good thing, He also promised to give us what we ask for, and most of all what is needful for our salvation. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matt 7:7-8). Know, beloved, that a Christian without prayer is as a bird without wings and as a warrior without weapons. Pray fervently, then, to Christ the Lord and give yourself to Him for direction, and He will correct and guide you to eternal blessedness according to His love for man. Only be careful and watch yourself, and seeing you care He will help you in everything. Read the Beatitudes, and the rest, often and with fervor. +St. Tikhon
Remembrance Day for the Victims of Holodomor (Stalin imposed Genocide) in Ukraine this year is Saturday, NOVEMBER 28, 2026.
In 1932–1933, a man-made famine, known as the Holodomor, killed 3.3–12 million ethnic Ukrainians in theSoviet Socialist Republic (The Soviet Union), included in a total of 5.5–20 million killed by the broader Soviet famine of 1930–1933. At least 4 million ethnic Ukrainians died as a result of the famine in the USSR.
PRAYER FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCH
O glorious St. Michael, guardian and defender of the Church of Jesus Christ, come to the assistance of the Church, against which the powers of hell are unchained, guard with especial care her august Head, and obtain that for Him and for us the hour of triumph may speedily arrive. O glorious Archangel St. Michael, watch over us during life, defend us against the assaults of the devil, assist us especially at the hour of death; obtain for us a favorable judgement, and the happiness of beholding God face to face for endless ages. Amen.
OUR LADY OF FATIMA
The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, appeared six times to three shepherd children (“The Three Seers”) near the town of Fatima, Portugal between May 13 and October 13, 1917. Appearing to the children, the Blessed Virgin told them that She had been sent by God with a message for every man, woman and child living in our century. Coming at a time when civilization was torn asunder by war and bloody violence, She promised that Heaven would grant peace to all the world if Her requests for prayer, reparation and consecration were heard and obeyed. “If My requests are granted … there will be peace” Our Lady of Fatima explained to the children that war is a punishment for sin and warned that God would further castigate the world for its disobedience to His Will by means of war, hunger and the persecution of the Church, the Holy Father and the Catholic Faithful. God’s Mother prophesied that Russia would be God’s chosen “instrument of chastisement,” spreading the “errors” of atheism and materialism across the earth, fomenting wars, annihilating nations and persecuting the Faithful everywhere. “If My requests are not granted, Russia will spread its errors throughout the world, raising up wars and persecutions against the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will suffer much and various nations will be annihilated.” In all Her appearances at Fatima, the Blessed Mother repeatedly emphasized the necessity of praying the Rosary daily, of wearing the Brown Scapular of Mount Carmel and of performing acts of reparation and sacrifice. To prevent the terrible chastisement at the hands of Russia and to convert “that poor nation”, Our Lady requested the solemn public Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart by the Pope and all the Catholic bishops of the world. She also asked that the Faithful practice a new devotion of reparation on the first Saturday of five consecutive months (“The Five First Saturdays”). The heart of Our Lady’s Message to the world is contained in what has come to be called the “Secret” which She confided to the three child seers in July 1917. The Secret actually consists of three parts, the first two of which have been publicly revealed. The first part of the Secret was a horrifying Vision of hell “where the souls of poor sinners go” and contained an urgent plea from Our Lady for acts of prayer and sacrifice to save souls. The second part of the Secret specifically prophesied the outbreak of World War II and contained the Mother of God’s solemn request for the Consecration of Russia as a condition for world peace. It also predicted the inevitable triumph of Her Immaculate Heart following Russia’s consecration and the conversion “of that poor nation” to the Catholic Faith. The last part of the Secret (often called the “Third Secret”) has not yet been made public, but was written down by Lucy Dos Santos, the last living Fatima seer, in 1944 and has been in the possession of the Holy See since 1957. Most informed sources reveal that this -+ portion of the Secret concerns chaos in the Catholic Church beginning with the head, predicting widespread apostasy and a loss of faith beginning in the seventh decade of the 20th Century.
Every Evil Screams Only One Message: I am good. – Alexander Schmemann
The Altar Candles for the month of October are requested by Gail and Bobby Miles IMO Randy Yanoshak.
The is no request for the Sanctuary Light this week.
BAPTISMAL ANNOUNCEMENT: On Saturday October 24th at the 4 pm Divine Liturgy, Emma Grace Davenport, the daughter of John and Morgan Davenport, will receive the Rites of initiation; Baptism, Chrismation and Holy Communion.
WOMEN’S SOCIETY RUMMAGE SALE THANK YOU: Thank you to everyone who contributed, made soups, baked goods, worked and came to support the rummage sale this week end. The final day, bag day, is today (Sunday) from 12-2. For $5.00 you can fill a bag with anything (if it doesn’t fit in the bag, it’s half price). Also, half price is the furniture, jewelry and front table items.
Petitions & Prayers for Our Parishioners: Donna Winsock, Sonia Dempsey, Catherine Halloway, Charles Hallaway, Louise Hubiack, Frank Udiski, Paul Hoover & James Bencho, Reader John Fedorko. Keep them in your prayers. If anyone would like to be included in the prayer list drop a note in the basket, email the church or text Michalene Ostrum at 570-704-7079.
PYRAMID HEALTHCARE IN DALLAS: Are asking for clothing (gently-used) donations for adult men and women especially as the cold weather approaches. Please call Father Walter at the rectory (570) 735-2262 or leave them in the vestibule. Bibles and Rosaries are also requested.
ALTAR CANDLES & SANCTUARY LIGHT: There are many weeks available for sanctuary lights and months for the altar candles. The lists are in the back of the church. They are a special way to remember our dearly departed loved ones or for special intentions.
OCTOBER BOOK: School of Darkness, Bella Dodd. Bella Dodd’s 1954 autobiography School of Darkness was written at the urging of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, and it recounts her conversion to Catholicism after a lifetime in the Communist Party, culminating in her baptism by Archbishop Sheen in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York.
CEMETERY: Please make sure that summer items are removed from the cemetery prior to the ground freezing in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity.
HOAGIE SALE: St. Nicholas Church, Glen Lyon, will be holding a Turkey, Ham & Cheese and Italian Hoagie Sale on Saturday, October 31st from 11:00am to 2:00pm. The cost of each hoagie is $8.00 and a quart of vegetable soup is $9.00. Orders can be placed by calling Debbie at 570-736-6908 by Sunday, October 25th. A bake sale will also be held with the soup and hoagie sale. A Basket Raffle is also being held to Benefit Ukraine and the church.
NOTABLE DATES: Daylight Savings Time Ends (Sunday, November 1); Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 26); Myasopusna (January 31); Lent Begins(February 14), Good Friday (March 26), Easter (March 28).
“ANNUAL TURKEY-FEST DINNER: “ANNUAL TURKEY-FEST DINNER- Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, will host their annual Turkey Fest Dinner as a take-out only event on Saturday, November 7th in their school hall on the corner of West Chestnut and North River Streets in Wilkes-Barre. Pick-ups will be from 12:00(noon) to 4:00pm. The event will feature our traditional turkey dinner and basket raffle. Dinners will be $16.00 for adults and $10.00 for children. Call (570) 829-3051 to make your reservation. Walk-in customers will be welcomed, but reservations are strongly encouraged. Tell your friends and family. Non-perishable food items will be collected for donation to a local food pantry.”
