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Welcome to Francis de Reverend Eric J. Banecker Sales United by the Most Pastor Blessed Sacrament. SFDS [email protected]

Parish was founded in 1890; Rev. Msgr. George Strausser Most Blessed Sacrament Parish In Residence was founded in 1901; St. Francis de Sales Church was Rev. Benjamin Nwanonenyi In Residence built in 1911; and the two Ujor parishes merged here in 2007. Pastoral Associate

Rectory: (215) 222-5819 Today, we proclaim the of Jesus Christ in an urban SFDS School: (215) 387-1749 IHM Convent: 267-634-6936 setting to diverse members who IHM Center for Literacy: form a community of 4625 Springfield Ave. believers of all ages. Our (215) 382-0292 Philadelphia, PA 19143 worship together overflows into Religious of the Assumption Convent: charity evidenced by service, Desalesphilly.com (215) 386-5016 justice, and peace. on venmo @SFDSPhiladelphia Star Harbor Senior Center: (215) 726-7468

TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME September 26, 2021 Dear friends in Christ,

Last Sunday was a wonderful day for our parish. It was – and I really mean this – a day not about me, but about the amazing things has already done here on Springfield Avenue and desires to continue here in our time. It is for all of us to respond to the graces he offers us, so that we may participate in that great work. Whether we are priests or , consecrated men or women, married, children, single, parents, widows: all of us are called to glorify the Lord by our lives. As your pastor, I have the immense gift of seeing you do this already. May we all build on this effort through prayer and sacrifice, so that our parish can continue to be a place of abundant life and a refuge from the trials of the world.

Thank you again to all members of the parish staff and volunteers who made last weekend’s festivities so memorable. I am grateful to my family for providing our after Mass entertainment, which everyone seems to have enjoyed. We will have to get the Mummers back again for another occasion soon! Thank you also to the many guests who joined us, including our local city councilmember, Jamie Gauthier, whom I had the opportunity to chat with following Mass.

We ask for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our parish, that his seven-fold gifts will renew us and inspire in us works of charity, which will lead many to an authentic encounter with Jesus Christ. I look forward to seeing the many gifts already present here continue to develop in the months and years ahead.

May God be Blessed! -Father Eric Banecker

This Sunday’s Readings start on page 239 of the pew book: NUM 11:25-29; JAS 5:1-6; MARK 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 MASS SCHEDULE AND INTENTIONS PARISH NEWS AND NOTES Readings can be found at: This Weekend’s Second Collection will support earthquake http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings and hurricane relief efforts in Haiti Saturday September 25 Thanksgiving Outreach: Sign Up by Oct. 1 9:00 AM Mike Hardy It’s a little different this year. If you, or someone you know, needs food Confessions 4:15 – 4:45 PM assistance this Thanksgiving, please pick up one of the forms by the 5:00 PM John Cooney church doors, fill it out, and return it to the rectory. No phone Sunday September 26 applications. (We’ll be asking for donations later, to support the effort, but, if Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time you want to make a contribution now, simply drop off cash, check, Acme or 7:00 AM Martha Pham Giant gift cards to the rectory or in the collection. Put “Thanksgiving Outreach” Confessions 9:30 – 10:00 AM on the envelope). 10:15 AM People of the Parish Blessing of the Animals October 3 Bring your dogs and cats, lizards and fish, hawks and hamsters, and Monday September 27 every other family pet. Each year, near the Feast of St. Francis of St. Assisi, our parish celebrates the “larger circle of life” and the 7:00 AM Maria Pham connections between all living creatures, in the Blessing of the Animals. This Tuesday September 28 year’s celebration will be on Sunday, October 3, at 12:00 Noon in the Rectory garden. All are welcome: invite your neighbours and friends! St. Wenceslaus; St. Lawrence Ruiz & Companions St. Charles Seminary Open House, Take a Tour! Oct. 3 7:00 AM All Souls of the Nguyen Family Fr. Eric notes this “will be one of the last chances to see the Overbrook campus!” Sunday, October 3, 2021, 150th Anniversary of Saint Charles Wednesday September 29 Borromeo Seminary at the Overbrook Campus -- Open House for the faithful of Sts. , , & , the Archdiocese of Philadelphia 2:00 PM. Open House, campus tours led by 7:00 AM Will and Marge Cofer seminarians. 5:00 p.m. Solemn Vespers in Saint Martin of Tours Chapel 5:00 PM Holy Hour Planned Giving Thursday September 30 A planned gift helps you establish your personal or family legacy with Saint St. Francis de Sales Parish and extend your generosity into the future. In addition to 7:00 AM Albert and Rita Genzano the significant impact of a planned gift, these types of charitable donations often cost you nothing during your lifetime and offer you and your family a Friday October 1 substantial tax savings. Unlike cash donations, planned gifts are unique because St. Therese of the Child Jesus they allow you to choose from a variety of giving options to help you achieve 7:00 AM Sisters of the Assumption you or your family’s philanthropic vision. If you are interested, see the Parish Guide to Planned Giving on our website for more information, and contact Fr. Saturday October 2 Banecker at [email protected] Guardian Angels 9:00 AM John Cooney Feast of the Guardian Angels (Oct. 2) Confessions 4:15 – 4:45 PM The word “Angel” comes from the Greek word for “Messenger.” The Feast of 5:00 PM Rosie Kulasegram the Guardian Angels – celebrating the “angel assigned to guide and nurture each human being” – has been part of the Church Calendar since the 1600s. Sunday October 3 St. Michael’s Cave Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Located inside a natural cave, on the side of a rocky mountain near Lake 7:00 AM Rev. Msgr. J. Anderlonis Varano, Italy, is the “Santuario Grotta di San Confessions 9:30 – 10:00 AM Michele,” or “Grotto Church of Saint Michael,” 10:15 AM People of the Parish dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. 12:00 Noon Blessing of the Animals “Behind the altar there is a natural fountain, a WEEKLY COLLECTION basin filled with rainwater dripping from the September 19, 2021 $4,952.00 ceiling. The water is said to be blessed and have miraculous healing properties. The grotto is about 170 feet deep and just 10 to Intentions and Memorials 20 feet tall. The walls are covered in mosses, small stalagmites and stalactites, The 2021 and 2022 Mass Books are open. The and beautiful faded frescoes. The dark sanctuary evokes a strong feeling of suggested donation for all Masses is $10.00. If spirituality and , even among those who may not be looking for it. In you would you like to sponsor the Sanctuary fact, the cave was a place of worship for centuries before it was dedicated to the Lamps for a month in honor of your loved one cult of Saint Michael... (Note that there is a another, better-known grotto church or for your special intention, the donation is dedicated to the Archangel, located in Monte Sant'Angelo). $50.00. Please contact the Rectory. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grotto-church-of-saint-michael Remember your parish in your will! “Make yourself familiar with the angels and behold If you have items for the Bulletin, contact them frequently in spirit; for without being seen, they [email protected] are present with you.” (St. Francis de Sales) SFDS HISTORY MYSTERIES: The Eye of the Crane

A few years ago, an elegant, throne-like chair, moved from a sacristy side room, replaced the plainer presider’s chair in the sanctuary of our church. Much has been made of the fact that the replacement chair once CONGRATULATIONS belonged to a bishop, but today, the symbolism of its to decorations offers a more important messge. Father Eric J. Banecker on his Installation as our The chair belonged to Reverend Michael J. Crane, our second pastor, Seventeenth Pastor! who built our church. One hundred years ago, on September 19, 1921, when he was consecrated as a bishop, his new crest was carved into its back. The insignia was very personal at the time, with a bird, a sword, stars, and a motto chosen to represent his family name, his own first name, his mother’s ancestry, and his PRAY FOR THE SICK: career. The elements also had another layer of meaning, though, and even when Cleveland Bailey, Carol Bailey, Jennifer Baugh, the chair was tucked away in the shadows for decades after he died, the totem Eleanor Brooks, Spenser Brown, Becky Brown, remained a presence in our church. Phyllis Buckhan, Christopher Browne, Gisselle The bird on the Bishop’s shield -- a “crane ‘vigilant,’ that is, with a Marie Burgess, Dawn Byers, Fran Byers, Bob stone in one claw.” -- represented his family name (ancestry websites suggest and Claudia Christian, Edmund Coccagna, that the name Crane may actually have come from a tall, gawky bird-like long- Adlyn Cummings, Josh Ellerby, Michael ago Irish relative!). Worldbirds.org notes the bird’s religious significance: “In Farley, Ruth Harrell, Paula Harvey, Shirley Christianity – especially in Christian Art, the crane is a symbol of vigilance, Hinson, Vashti Holden, Bernadette Jengo, loyalty, good life and works, and good order in the monastic life.” Signs and James Kettor, Venus Murphy, Wilma Noel, Symbols in Western Art, attributes this symbolism to a fable: “Legend recounts Marie O’Connor, Denise Pogue, Marve that cranes form a circle around their king at night, holding a stone in one foot Prowisor, Joan Rolland, Jack Ruane, Joseph while standing on the other. Should a crane fall asleep, the stone would fall and Shurillo, Sister Thérèse RA, Timothy A. arouse him to renew his watch.” Worldbirds.org also finds that the bird has a Triplett, Peter Villa, Ed Wells, Melissa Wing, special Irish symbolism: “Celts believed that birds like cranes were present in Kristina Zaprasna, the Other World as well as this one. That is why they were viewed as Divine Messengers.” Flanking the crane were two stars, taken from the Monaghan family REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE shield of Bishop Crane’s mother. (Interestingly, the name Monaghan is supposed to have been derived from “,” suggesting a family spiritual DIED tendency!) The Bishop’s 1928 Jubilee Book states that Two “Monaghan stars have been used – one symbolic of Our Lady Star of the Sea and the other of the Bishop’s mother in her own family symbol.” Respect for earthly heritage and Eternal Rest grant unto them O Lord and let spiritual guidance of the Blessed Mother are twin beacons. perpetual light shine upon them. Above the bird, Bishop Michael Crane’s first name was represented in Let us pray for the victims of all disasters, and “the angelic sword of St. Michael. An erect sword signifies a martial purpose, for an end to violence and hatred across the but in the horizontal position in which it appears in the new coat-of-arms, it country and around the world. indicates Protection and Guidance.” Special prayers for those in The shield was topped with the Catholic hierarchical “emblems Haiti and Afghanistan common to all bishops – crozier, mitre, and hat with twelve tassles.” At the bottom, Bishop Crane chose a little local historic continuity: “The Motto – ‘Ut Sim Fidelus’ (That I may be Faithful) – is the same as that of the Most Rev. Edmund F. Prendergast, D.D., the late lamented , who departed this life on February 26, 1918, and with whom Bishop Crane was associated for fourteen years at St. Malachy’s Church (1889-1903).”

Why is the chair important today? In recent years, we have been Sanctuary Lamps for October rediscovering our Parish story, charting where we’ve been to help guide our way For the greater glory of God forward. As we install our Seventeenth Pastor, the crane emblem on our chair and peeks out above his head like an avatar, or “Divine Messenger” – ever vigilant, For the intention of Deceased Parishioners ever faithful; protecting and guiding -- a symbol of cherished values, connecting Requested by: Eva Brothers our past and our future. Contact [email protected] Find more at https://SFDShistory.wordpress.com G.J. Rossi & Sons Advertise Your ELECTRICIANS Business Here 800-333-3166 ext. 161 ALL TYPES OF WIRING & REPAIRS www.jppc.net 329–9456 Philly’s Trusted Commercial Rates are at an All Time Low. Immigration Lawyers Contact us today to get a free analysis to see if we can help Save you money with your monthly payments on your commercial property. FREE Multi-Family, Retail, Offi ce Building, Apartment and CONSULTATIONS Condos. Can close in as little as 45 days! Four season customer service is our top priority. (215) 323-6845 www.duqfunding.com 1650 Market Street - Suite 3600 S඘ඍඓග඗ක, S඘ඍඓග඗ක Philadelphia, PA 19103 ຽ Bඍකඕඉඖ, P.C. Mallory’s Army This Space is Available! Foundation United Together In The 800-333-3166 ext. 161 Fight Against Bullying... Don’t Just Teach Kindness... www.jppc.net BE KINDNESS! www.MallorysArmy.com (973) 440-8657 IN REMEMBRANCE OF [email protected] It’s easy to join our mailing list! Just send your email address by text message: SAMANTHA JOSEPHSON Text MALLORYSARMY to 22828 to get started. Message and data rates may apply. www.PhiladelphiaCatholicCemeteries.com Private & Public Healthcare - Law Enforcement,EnfoTonforcem all entthose PubPublic Safety - Offi ceccercerss S A M I &essential FiFirstrst RRespondersRespesp - FoodFood & AgriAgrAgAgri-- cultureulturel - EEnergy Sector - WaWWastesstste & STOP ASK MATCH INFORM WaterwasteWworkersaterwastek - TransportationTransportattion & LoLLogis-gis- ticsics - PublicPub Works & - InfrInfrastructurenfrastastras ucture - keepingkeCommunicationsCommuCommunepingn & IInformationnformmation TechnologyTechnoloTusech nossafe,aflogye,gy WorkersWorkeo rss - ComCommunitymunimumunu ty & ASK #WHATSMYNAME GovernmentGovernmeGovernmennt WWorkersoorkorkersss- - Critical Man- ufacturingfacturing - CheChemicalemicmical & Hazardous Materials FinancialFinancancialia SeServServicesices - DDefenseyourefense BEFORE YOU GET IN A RIDE SHARE Industrialndustrial BBaseasee --C CCoCommercialmmerciall FFacili- ili tiesies WorWorkerskers --R RResidentialesidentialntialservice & ShelteShelter is ServicesServrvicesi & FFacilitiesacilac itieses - Hygiene ProdProd- uctsctss &&S SServiceserviervere ces -invaluable Private & Public & HealthcareHealealea thcthcacarre - Law EEnforcement,nforcement, PPublPublicublic SafetySafefeetyy - Offi cers appreciated.& First Responders - FoodF d&thank & AgricultureA il - EnergyEyou Sec-S tororr --Wa WasteWWaastes & WWaterwasteaterwaste - TTrans-rans portationoortatiotiotioion & LogisticsLogiLoLogLoogig sticstticiccs - PublicPublPubPuPubub ic WorkWorkss & - InfrastructureInfrInInfrnfrrastrastrststruuctutuuree - CComCommunicationsmunicatiions & InformationIInformfoforoorr atiatioatatittioionTn TechnologyTechnh ologolool yWoy WorkersWWorkerrrkek s - CommunitC ity &G& Government tW Workers k OUR SPONSORS & OUR COMMUNITY Sponsors can off er ANYONE in the community, promotions, discounts not only Parishioners, can and/or up-to-date contact access realtime off ers information to the from their favorite sponsors ENTIRE community to save, share & support

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