Mass Schedule – Sunday Next (November 23, 2014)
24, St. John of the Cross
25, St. Catherine of Alexandria
26, Church Offices Closed/no mass
27, Church Offices Closed/no mass
28, Church Offices Closed/no mass
29, Feria
+ The story of Catherine of Alexandria has caught the popular imagination of many generations (she is, for example, one of the persons from whom Joan of Arc claimed to receive regular visits and messages), although most scholars judge it to be simply a work of fiction with no historical basis. It is said that Catherine was a Christian maiden of Alexandria in Egypt, possessed of beauty, brains, and noble birth. She rebuked the heathen emperor Maxentius for his idolatry, and he responded by offering to marry her if she would renounce her faith. She refused. Fifty philosophers were set to refute her in a public debate. She easily won every point, and made them look foolish. The emperor, a sore loser, had them burned alive. She was sentenced to be tortured on a spiked wheel, but the wheel flew apart and the fragments killed many of her accusers. After this and other marvels, Catherine was beheaded, and from her veins flowed not blood but milk. The angels carried her to Mount Sinai, where St. Catherine’s Monastery is now located. She is depicted carrying a spiked wheel, representing the manner in which it was proposed to put her to death. The “catherine-wheel,” a form of fireworks that spins as it burns, is named for her. Catherine is patron of preachers, philosophers, librarians (probably association with the Library of Alexandria), young girls, and craftsmen working with a wheel (potters, spinners, etc). The Mt. Sinai monastery was built by Justinian in 527, and has borne the name of Catherine since the eighth or ninth century. The monastery survives unmolested by the Moslems (by express command of Mohammed they say) and has a vast but uncatalogued treasure of ancient manuscripts. One of the earliest known manuscripts of the complete New Testament, the Codex Sinaiaticus, was found there, borrowed by the finder, and never returned to the monastery.
+ On Monday, December 1, the Monday Morning Bible Study will meet to continue a study of “The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread” by Richard Booker. Booker’s book looks closely at the theme of the blood covenant which God made with Abraham and its fruition in Jesus Christ. It demonstrates in clear language how the Old and New Testaments tell one complete story. For further information contact Priscilla King at kingplk@gmail.com.
+ There is no Agape this Wednesday. We will resume our fall schedule next Wednesday, December 3.
+ The Holy Communion will be celebrated Monday & Wednesday this week & then again this Saturday. The Church offices are closed the other days.
+ All Saints Men’s Group will meets each Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. in the undercroft.
+ All Saints parishioner may obtain a Mass card from the Church office. A Mass card is a greeting card given to someone to inform him or her that a deceased loved one or friend was remembered and prayed for at a weekly Mass. It is a specifically Christian way to express one’s love. Call Julie McDermott at the Church office (434-979-2842) and she will help you fill out the form. The celebrant will sign the card and we will mail it from the Church to the family of the loved one.