From the Desk of Father Nathan

St Gabriel Catholic Church | Pompano Beach
God Bless You All

Image: Saint Andrew Kim Taegon and Companions | CNS Photo

A Message from Father Nathan

My dearest people who are all close to my heart!
Lots of love, blessings, and prayers to you all.

Blessing of the Pets

Sunday, October 2nd @ 1:00 pm

Tuesday, October 4th is the Feast of St. Francis the Patron Saint of all animals. In honor of his feast, we will have a Blessing of the Animals

WHEN: Sunday, October 2, 2022,

WHERE: Parking lot – Directly behind the church

TIME: 1:00 p.m.

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

Tuesday, October 4th

We have an important Feast this week.

“Francis, go and build up My house, which is falling into ruin”.

To fulfill this command of our Lord, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) began by restoring physical churches and continued by building up the spiritual Church in souls. Francis’ humility, purity, and true joy inspired many to convert and have a deeper faith.

Who Was St. Francis of Assisi?

He is one of the greatest saints of the church. He was gifted with the stigmata and is known for his deep devotion to the Eucharist.

Francis was the son of Pietro de Bernardone, a cloth merchant. Francis learned to read and write Latin at the school near the church of San Giorgio, acquired some knowledge of the French language and literature, and was especially fond of the Provencal culture of the troubadours.

He liked to speak French (although he never did so perfectly) and even attempted to sing in the language.

His youth was most likely without serious moral lapses, and his exuberant love of life and a general spirit of worldliness made him a recognized leader of the young men of the town.

conversion to apostolic life

Several episodes contributed to his conversion to apostolic life:

  • a vision of Christ while St. Francis prayed in the grotto near Assisi
  • an experience of poverty during a pilgrimage to Rome, where in rags, he mingles with the beggars before St. Peter’s Basilica and begged alms
  • an incident in which he not only gave alms to a leper (he had always felt a deep repugnance for lepers) but also kissed his hand.
  • Francis heard the crucifix above the altar command him: “Go, Francis and repair my house which, as you can see, is well-high in ruins.”

Taking this literally, Frances hurried home, gathers some fine cloth from his father’s shop, and rode off to the nearby town of Foligno, where he sold both cloth and horse and left everything and followed Christ in utter poverty.

God bless you all.

With lots of love and blessing.

Ever wanting to be faithful to your service.

—Fr. Sahayanathan Nathan

 

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Past Messages from Father Nathan

From The Desk Of Father Nathan | March 03, 2024

From The Desk Of Father Nathan | March 03, 2024

The First Fridays Devotion also called the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is a Catholic devotion to offer reparations for sins, which had its origin in the apparitions of Christ at Paray-leMonial, France, reported by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century.

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