Our Lady of Perpetual Help Redemptorist Church

Peter’s Pence Collection Today is the Peter’s Pence Collection, a worldwide collection that supports the work of the Universal Church, including the work of the Holy See and the charitable works of Pope Francis. Take this opportunity to join with Pope Francis and be a sign of mercy to our suffering brothers and sisters. For more information, visit www.peterspence.va/en.html.

Pastor's Letter--June 27, 2021 Dear Parishioners and Friends, This weekend we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help our parish patroness. Her icon and shrine are here in our Church in the right (north) apse of the Church. Normally a feast of our Blessed Mother is not celebrated on a Sunday because that is always reserved for the remembrance of Christ’s resurrection. But the Church gives us Redemptorist an exception to that rule because the Church wants us Red...Continue reading

St. John the Baptist First Century In the Gospels, John, a kinsman of Jesus through their mothers, preached repentance and baptized to prepare for the Messiah’s coming. This feast marks his exceptional birth to the aged priest Zechariah and the equally aged and barren Elizabeth. The angel Gabriel announces his birth in a vision to Zechariah, who hesitates in believing and is struck mute until eight days after John’s birth. Then, Zechariah, in a beautiful canticle that ends the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel, proclaims that John will be called prophet of the Most High. John’s eventual beheading is commemorated with an Aug. 29 feast. A patron saint of Canada and Jordan, John is also the patron of Florence and the Knights Hospitaller of St. John.

Religious Freedom Week Begins Religious Freedom Week begins today! Join us as we pray, reflect, and take action on religious liberty, both here in this country and abroad.

World Refugee Day On World Refugee Day we pause and remember the 25 million people who have had to flee their countries in search of safety for their families. Learn more about refugees and Catholic teaching at JusticeForImmigrants.org

Remember to "Fall Back" Tonight! We return to standard time at midnight tonight, October 31st. Don't forget to set your clocks back 1 hour before you go to bed! That way, you get an extra hour sleep before Mass tomorrow!

Dear Parishioners and Friends, Today is the Feast of All Saints. This day is celebrated to honor all those who are not only officially declared saints in the Church, but all those in our families and community we have known in our hearts and minds as saints to us; and we are convinced they watch over us from their place in the communion of saints in heaven. Although you probably won’t admit it to yourself, YOU are a SAINT too! In African-American Churches the congregati...on routinely address each other as Saints. Why? Because they know that they are Saints on the way. So are we. Happy All Saint’s Day! As we celebrate the month of November in remembrance of All Saints and All Souls, we invite you to participate in our sanctuario around the altar honoring our deceased loved ones. You are invited to place a photo or memorial card amidst our communion of saints gathered around the heavenly table! Mass envelopes to have Masses said for your deceased loved ones are available in the parish office. The pandemic guidelines prohibit us from making them available in Church. If you haven’t already, don’t forget to vote Tuesday! Fr. Gary

Prayer Before An Election Lord God, as the election approaches, we seek to better understand the issues and concerns that confront our city/state/country, and how the Gospel compels us to respond as faithful citizens in our community. We ask for eyes that are free from blindness so that we might see each other as brothers and sisters, one and equal in dignity, especially those who are victims of abuse and violence, deceit and poverty. We ask for ears that will hear the cri...es of children unborn and those abandoned, men and women oppressed because of race or creed, religion or gender. We ask for minds and hearts that are open to hearing the voice of leaders who will bring us closer to your Kingdom. We pray for discernment so that we may choose leaders who hear your Word, live your love, and keep in the ways of your truth as they follow in the steps of Jesus and his Apostles and guide us to your Kingdom of justice and peace. We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. SOURCE: USCCB.ORG, CATHOLIC CURRENT AT https://catholiccurrent.org/pray/prayer-before-an-election/

Listed among the Twelve Apostles in the New Testament, Simon is the Canaanite to Matthew and Mark and the Zealot to Luke; Jude is Thaddeus to Matthew and Mark, Judas of James to Luke, and Judas, not Iscariot to John. After Pentecost, they disappear. However, according to Eastern tradition, Simon died peacefully in Edessa, while Western tradition has him evangelizing in Egypt, then teaming up with Jude, who had been in Mesopotamia, on a mission to Persia, where they were martyred on the same day. Simon is the patron saint of tanners and lumberjacks; Jude is the patron of desperate causes, possibly because early Christians would pray to him, with a name evoking Judas Iscariot, only when all else failed.

St. John of Capistrano is the patron of jurists and military chaplains. Pray for us!

Today’s second collection is for World Mission Sunday. Just like Jesus, the greatest evangelizer, we are called to help spread the word of God. We encourage you to give generously to help others in their missionary work around the world!

St. Ignatius of Antioch is a Syrian-born martyr who gave himself the nickname God-bearer because of his certainty of God’s presence within him. St. Ignatius, Pray for us!

Parish All Souls’ Remembrance The Feast of All Saints is on Sunday, November 1st, and the Feast of All Souls is on Monday, November 2nd. Here at Redemptorist, we have a special plan for these two days and for the entire month of November to honor all of our saints and souls who have passed on to eternal life. We’d like you to bring photographs or a memorial card that we will place in the sanctuary around the main altar as our way of remembering our loved ones together. ...Think of it as a huge kind of sanctuario that perhaps many of you have at home. Between now and the end of October, drop them off at the office or give them to our sacristan, Kathy. Be sure to write your name and phone number on the back of each item to help us keep track of them so they can be returned to you at the end of November.

Dear Parishioners and Friends, You’ve heard us praying at the General Intercessions (Prayer of the Faithful after the Creed) during the past several months for the success of our parish strategic planning. The parish council has been involved in this strategic planning process for almost a year. We have goals. We have plans. Once the pandemic lifts, our parish council is going to initiate a series of activities that will make things a little nicer here, a little nicer th...ere in our parish. We’re going to be inviting you to different religious, social and service activities. We will spell out those things to you in the coming months. Really, what we desire is to make Redemptorist the best parish it can be. We’re going to enjoy making that dream come true. We hope that you will enjoy it too. And we hope you can enjoy coming to Redemptorist to be strengthened, healed, consoled and supported in your faith and your everyday life. As Jesus said in the parable of last Sunday: You are invited to the wedding feast! Today’s parable is also noteworthy. The one about giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. We have national, state and local elections coming up. The Church and our bishop have issued letters about voting with an informed conscience. You can go to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops website and the diocesan website to read those letters. If you have any doubts about where the Catholic Church stands on any issue a good source to consult is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. But the bottom line is you have to vote your informed conscience. There is no clear one candidate fits all teachings in these elections. Do your best! Speaking of best, I, as your pastor, am so grateful for the high level of sacrificial giving (giving to God what is God’s) going on by you in these difficult times. Now into the second quarter of the budget year, we continue to maintain a balanced budget even with reduced Mass attendance. You have been great about mailing in your envelope contribution and this helps us keep paying the bills. The PPP (payroll protection plan) was a great aid and budget cutting efforts we initiated for keeping us in the black have helped too. That loan probably won’t happen again next year. So we promise that we are being prudent in our stewardship and management of what you have given the parish. Thank you! Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. Father Gary P.S. A quarterly financial report will be issued soon here in the bulletin (both printed and on-line bulletin versions).

One City Café Service Day Part of our parish mission states that we will reach out to love and welcome one another, especially the poor and most abandoned among us. Our parish mission also directs us [t]o follow Jesus’ instructions to preach the Gospel through the way we live our lives. To more fully fulfill our mission, a few years ago, parish volunteers began helping serve dinner at One City Café. Our volunteers serve dinner 6 times a year, on the second Tuesday o...f the month. In 2020, our last service day at One City Café will be on Tuesday, November 10th, from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm at 3936 Troost, Kansas City, MO. We need 17 volunteers for each service day. At this time, we still need 13 volunteers to have a full slate of helpers for this last chance to serve during this year. To volunteer, just sign up online at: https://bishopsullivan.volunteerhub.com/ This is a very enjoyable way to reach out beyond our parish walls to help our brothers and sisters in need. We have a core group of volunteers that make it a joyful experience, and the folks at Bishop Sullivan Center make the work as light and easy as possible for us. So, please help if you can!

Redemptorist Center Wreath Fundraiser Here’s a great opportunity to decorate your home for the holidays and the proceeds will go to our Angel Tree! Orders turned in by November 5th will be delivered before ... Thanksgiving. The final deadline to order is November 9th. The wreaths will arrive the end of November/first week of December. Thank you so much for all you do for the Center!