Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 4, 2025 Column Father De Celles
OCTOBER: THE ROSARY AND RESPECT LIFE. October is dedicated to both the Rosary and Pro-Life. So this month, pray the Rosary, especially for the Pro-Life cause.
Life Chain Today. Today, as in the past, over 100 St. Raymond parishioners will join other local pro-lifers lining up on the sidewalk of Franconia Road in front of Key Middle School from 2:30 to 3:30 PM to simply stand peacefully and quietly praying, maybe holding a sign, as a public witness to our respect for the dignity of human life. Please join in. Parking is available at the school, and Pro-Life signs will be available.
40 Days for Life. The Fall “40 Days for Life” Campaign, a similar but more prolonged public witness to the right to life, has already begun, and St. Raymond’s will once again take part. Our witness weekend will be 1- 2 November in front of the Falls Church ‘Healthcare’ Center. (900 S Washington Street). Please visit the display and sign-up sheet in the narthex this weekend and sign up.
MORE OCTOBER EVENTS. In her various apparitions, the Blessed Mother has repeatedly begged us to pray the Rosary, an exhortation echoed by Popes and Saints for centuries. And one of the best ways to pray the Rosary is as a family—it can be a tremendous blessing. In particular I invite you to join us for the Daily Family Rosary in our church, every 6:30pm Monday to Friday, and Sunday – Saturday a few minutes after the 9am Mass.
First Friday Adoration. Please take time to join us for our monthly “First Friday Adoration”: 24 hours of straight of Exposition/Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, beginning this Friday after the 8:30am Mass, and continuing throughout the day and night until Saturday Morning before the 9am Mass.
“Parish/Town Hall Meetings.” I hope you’re thinking about our “Parish/Town Hall Meeting” and are planning to attend either on Saturday morning, October 11 after the 9 am Mass, or on Thursday evening, October 16 at 6:30 pm. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss your hopes and ideas for physical plant of the parish. Please let me know if you have any ideas about what we should address at the meetings. You can email me at fdc@straymonds.org.
Voting. Don’t forget we have a Virginia statewide election on November 4, 2025, when we will vote for a new Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Virginia House of Delegates, and various local offices. You can register to Vote/Update Registration and apply for an absentee ballot any time before October 24. And early in-person voting continues through November 1.
CUPICH’S FOLLY. Have you been following this issue, as laid out in The Pillar last week:
The recent decision by the Archdiocese of Chicago to grant a lifetime achievement award to U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, a long-time supporter of legal protection for abortion, has stirred up controversy within the U.S. episcopate.
The announcement of the award led Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki to voice his shock at the decision, and his concern that it “risks causing grave scandal.” Paprocki noted that Durbin is banned from receiving Holy Communion in the Diocese of Springfield, where he resides, due to his support for legal abortion.
[Cardinal Blase] Cupich [Archbishop of Chicago] then responded in a statement defending the bestowal of the award as a type of dialogue.
Since then, a growing number of bishops have taken the rare step of speaking out publicly against a fellow bishop, asking Cupich to reconsider the decision to grant the award to Durbin:
….Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco: “Imagine this: a prominent member of the U.S. Senate has a very strong record on defending the human dignity of life in the womb but also advocates for funding for Border Patrol agents to shoot people trying to enter the country illegally. Would anyone think it reasonable to honor such a senator for the senator’s pro-life record on abortion? No one who advocates for the direct, intentional killing of innocent human life should be honored. Period.”
Bishop James Conley of Lincoln: “I too was shocked and bewildered to learn of this Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented to U.S. Senator Dick Durbin. …That goes against the fundamental moral principles of the Catholic Church….”
Bishop James Wall of Gallup: Thank you [Bishop Paprocki]… “
Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay: “The Archdiocese of Chicago’s plan to give [Senator Durbin] a Catholic “Lifetime Achievement Award” is untenable. Works of justice & protecting life are not mutually exclusive but must be inclusive. …I join [Bishop Paprocki] & Archbishop Cordileone in urging Cardinal Cupich to retract this award…”
Bishop Carl Kemme of Wichita: “…I support Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, in his objection to awarding Senator Richard Durbin, who is from Springfield, a lifetime achievement honor.….his long-held views and consistent votes promoting abortion clearly disqualify him for this award …. As a brother bishop, I urge Cardinal Cupich to withdraw this honor, which will ultimately cause scandal and confusion among the faithful.”
Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth: “…Cardinal Cupich could promote peace and unity by withdrawing the invitation to Senator Durbin …….”
Bishop Joseph Strickland, emeritus bishop of Tyler, Texas: “I join Archbishop Cordileone in supporting Bishop Paprocki and urging Cardinal Cupich to reverse his decision regarding Senator Durbin…”
Archbishop Joseph Naumann, emeritus archbishop of Kansas City, Kansas: “In a statement to the National Catholic Register, Archbishop Naumann called the Archdiocese of Chicago’s decision a “source of scandal” and “pastoral neglect…Dialogue does not require giving awards to Catholic political leaders who disregard the most fundamental of human rights, the right to life of the unborn”…
Bishop James Johnston, Jr. of Kansas City-St. Joseph: “The recent decision by the Archdiocese of Chicago …cannot be reconciled with Catholic Social and Moral teaching. Indeed, to do so would give a confusing counter-witness about the dignity of the human person and the grave evil of destroying innocent human life. ….”
VICTORY. On Tuesday evening Cardinal Cupich finally issued a statement, saying in part: “Senator Durbin today informed me that he has decided not to receive an award at our Keep Hope Alive celebration. While I am saddened by this news…I have seen the divisions within the Catholic community dangerously deepen. These divisions harm the unity of the church and undermine our witness to the Gospel…Total condemnation is not the way forward, for it shuts down discussion. But praise and encouragement can open it up…Indeed, the child in the womb, the sick and elderly, the migrant and refugee, the death row inmate, those already suffering from climate change and generational poverty will continue to be at risk if we, as Catholics, do not start talking to each other respectfully and work together.
Note: Here the Cardinal embraces what is sometimes called the “seamless garment” approach, which treats “climate change” and abortion as morally equivalent. This approach is completely contrary to Church Tradition, as was definitely explained by Pope St. John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae.
Also the Cardinal Cupich has been one the most powerful players in appointing American Bishops during the reign of Pope Francis. Let’s pray this does not continue under Pope Leo.
Oremus pro invicem. Fr. De Celles