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I want to thank all of you for your support of our parish’s Forty Hours Devotion this past week! It was another opportunity to ask our Lord to unite us to Him and one another. As we see in the Priestly Prayer of Jesus in the gospel of St. John, Jesus prays that all his disciples may be one! Only Jesus can give us the strength to be united to one another. What a beautiful opportunity to do this here at St. Sebastian. There are so many people here from different cultural backgrounds that add to the life of our parish. Our responsibility is to celebrate each culture represented here and to learn from them. All are equal here at St. Sebastian and all are welcomed!

Congratulations to Deacon Chris Bethge on his assignment to St. Paul, St. Agnes parish in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. The people of God in Brooklyn will be blessed by his ministry as we were at St. Sebastian. I told Deacon Chris that he is welcome here at St. Sebastian anytime. This is his home! Please pray for him as he begins his new ministry.

Finally, this coming Tuesday, November 11, is Veterans Day. Its an opportunity for us as a country to say a prayer for all of our veterans and to thank them for their service to our country. In a particular way I want to thank the members of our Catholic War Veterans and Ladies Auxiliary for their exceptional service to our country and for their presence in our parish.

Let us also pray for all our military men and women all over the world for their safety and for their loved ones at home.

God Bless Our Veterans!

Our Forty Hours devotion will begin on Monday, November 3rd and continue to November 5th. We will have adoration of the Blessed Sacrament after the 7AM Mass until 6:45 PM, followed by Mass at 7 PM, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Forty Hours Devotion is a special 40 hour period of continuous prayer made before the Blessed Sacrament. The number 40 has always signified a sacred period of time; the rains during the time of Noah lasted 40 days and nights; the Jews wandered through the desert for 40 years; our Lord fasted and prayed for 40 days before beginning his public ministry. The forty Hours Devotion remembers that traditional “40 hours period” from our Lord’s burial until His resurrection. Please make every effort to spend some time in front of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

As a result of our Forty Hours devotion I am announcing that beginning Monday, November 17th, we will have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Monday through Friday in the Chapel (Wednesday in Church) after the 7AM Mass to 6:45PM with Mass at 7PM. I am really looking forward to this! This will be a great spiritual experience for our parish. Please get the word out! I encourage everyone to deepen their relationship with the Lord in His presence in the Blessed Sacrament.

This Friday, November 7th is First Friday. In addition to the Blessed Sacrament being exposed after the 7AM Mass to 6:45 PM, there will be a Holy Hour from 7:30 – 8:30PM following the 7PM Mass.

Thanks for your Support

Rev. Kevin P. Abels

Next Saturday November 1st, is the Feast of All Saints, It is a Holy Day, but not of obligation. We will celebrate the Vigil of all Saints on Friday, October 31st at 7 PM and the regular schedule Masses on Saturday at 9AM and 12 Noon Spanish. All are welcomed. Next Sunday, November 2, is the Feast of All Souls. It’s an opportunity for us to pray for all our departed loved ones as well as pray for all the souls in Purgatory. The 5PM and 6:30 PM (Spanish) Masses next Saturday will be celebrated for All Souls.

The week of November 2-8 is both National Vocation Awareness week and National Parish Religious Education week. National Vocation week is an annual weeklong celebration of the Catholic Church in the United States dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life through prayer and education, and to renew our prayers and support for those who are considering one of these particular vocations, during this week I encourage you to do the following. 1. Take time to pray for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. 2. Reflect on our vocation and strengthen our personal relationship with Christ. 3. Invite a young person to consider a religious vocation.

The week of November 2-8 is also National Parish Religious Education week. It’s an opportunity to recognize all those involved in religious education in all of its many forms. In our parish, religious education happens in our Catholic school of excellence; in our religious education program that meets twice a week, in our RCIA program, in our Baptism instruction and our Adult Faith Classes during the year. Religious Education is done formally in this way in our parish. I am so grateful to all who are involved in this very important endeavor.

Let us continue to support the work of our Parish!

Rev. Kevin P. Abels

I am very happy to let you know that our statue of Our Lady of Knock has arrived from Ireland. I have placed the statue in the sanctuary at all our Masses this weekend for you to see. I am inviting all of you to a special Mass on Saturday, October 18 in honor of Our Lady of Knock where the statue will be blessed and then placed in the back of the Church next to the painting of Our Lady Undoer of Knots. Please make every effort to attend this special event for the parish. Our Irish Community have done so much, and continue to do so for our parish. I am so grateful for their support and generosity.

On Sunday, October 19, we will have our first Hospitality Sunday for the year. Hospitality Sunday is an opportunity for our parishioners to come together and strengthen our bonds. We are such a large parish that we rarely get to know the people we worship with on a weekly basis. This will be a wonderful opportunity to do so. Coffee, bagels and muffins will be provided on that Sunday. The Young Adults from our parish will be sponsoring our first Hospitality Sunday after the 8, 9, 10:30 and 12 noon Masses in our School Auditorium.

Thanks for your Support!