From USCCB 

National Vocation Awareness Week Invites the Faithful to Pray for an Increase in Vocations in the United States

WASHINGTON – The Catholic Church in the United States will commemorate National Vocation Awareness Week, November 5-11. Each year, national Catholic organizations, dioceses, schools, and local parish communities sponsor events and provide different resources to raise awareness for vocations, and help those who are discerning a vocation, particularly one to ordained ministry or consecrated life.

In his message for the 60th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Francis stated, “Our common vocation to give ourselves in love develops and finds concrete expression in the life of lay men and women, devoted to raising a family as a small domestic church and working as the leaven of the Gospel to renew the different sectors of society; in the testimony of consecrated women and men who are completely committed to God for the sake of their brothers and sisters as a prophetic sign of the kingdom of God; in ordained ministers – deacons, priests, and bishops – placed at the service of preaching, prayer and fostering the communion of the holy People of God.”

Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations (CCLV), expressed his gratitude for holy families, ordained ministers, and consecrated men and women, saying “During this week, the Church gives thanks to God for the faithful example of husbands and wives, and joyful witness of ordained ministers and consecrated persons. We pray that many more men and women will be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit in their hearts as they discern the mission God has for them.”

Bishop Austin A. Vetter of Helena, a member of the CCLV committee, and episcopal liaison to the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors, National Religious Vocation Conference, and Serra International, emphasized that National Vocation Awareness Week offers us a special opportunity to “redouble our efforts of prayer that young people would be able to hear the voice — the quiet, gentle voice many times — of Jesus inviting them into a vocation as a priest or religious.”

Beginning in 1976, the U.S. bishops designated the 28th Sunday of the year as an opportunity for the Catholic Church in the United States to renew its prayerful support for those discerning an ecclesial vocation. In 2014, the CCLV committee elected to move the week to the first week of November to better engage Catholic educational institutions in the efforts to raise awareness for vocations.

Resources from the USCCB, as well as the National Religious Vocation Conference, National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors, and the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious are available on the USCCB website.

From USCCB:

U.S. Bishops Encourage Commemoration of World Day of the Poor Through Giving to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development

WASHINGTON – On the weekend of November 18-19, Catholics across the United States are asked to respond to Pope Francis’ World Day of the Poor by giving to the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). This special annual collection supports the U.S. bishops’ anti-poverty and social justice program established a half-century ago and assists poor and marginalized populations in communities across the United States.

Pope Francis, in his message for the World Day of the Poor 2023, wrote, “Caring for the poor is more than simply a matter of a hasty hand-out; it calls for re-establishing the just interpersonal relationships that poverty harms.”

Bishop Timothy Senior of Harrisburg, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development said, “CCHD combats poverty by supporting the work of grassroots initiatives that address the root causes of poverty. Rather than giving a “hand out” in the form of short-term assistance, CCHD helps people living in poverty in cities and rural areas across the country advocate for affordable housing, obtain living wage jobs, and start sustainable and innovative cooperative businesses that bring stability to local communities.”

Every project supported by CCHD funds must be approved by the local bishop. In addition, “Every funded organization must pledge to pursue only non-partisan projects in harmony with the Catholic understanding of human life and dignity,” Bishop Senior said.

Twenty-five percent of all money given to the collection stays in the diocese where it is given, to fund local anti-poverty initiatives. In the 2021-2022 grant cycle, CCHD distributed 224 grants totaling more than $15.4 million.  The collection on November 18-19 is the primary source of income for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and the faithful are invited to give generously.

More information about CCHD and the national collection is online. Funds supporting CCHD are also accepted on #iGiveCatholicTogether.

Obituaries:

Sister Rita P. Lombardi, OP (S. Michael Anthony)

Early on Sunday morning, October 22, 2023, Sister Rita Lombardi was welcomed into the warm embrace of the God she had loved and served for 72 years as a Dominican Sister of Amityville. She was 90 years old.

On March 12, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York (NY), Anthony and Michaelina Purificato Lombardi welcomed Rita into their family. She, along with her brothers, Joseph and Anthony, and her sister, Corinne, were raised in Glendale, N.Y. where they attended St. Pancras Elementary School and where Rita first encountered the Sisters of St. Dominic. After graduation from Bishop McDonnell Memorial High School, Rita entered the Novitiate on September 8, 1951. On August 4, 1952, she was clothed in the Dominican habit and received her religious name, Sister Michael Anthony. She pronounced her first vows on August 7, 1953, and her final vows on the same date in 1956.

Rita received a Bachelor of Science from St. John’s University, Jamaica, NY; a Master of Arts from St. Michael College, Colchester Vermont (VT); and a second Master of Arts from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska (NE).

Education was Rita’s ministry, both traditional classroom teaching and religious education and administration. From 1954 to 1971, Rita taught elementary grades at St. Thomas, Woodhaven; Good Shepherd, Brooklyn; St. Boniface, Elmont; St. Peter, Monticello; and Corpus Christi, Woodside. She also taught in the Brooklyn Diocesan program for intellectually gifted students and was an adjunct instructor of theology at St. John’s University, Staten Island campus. She was an excellent and very patient teacher.

In 1971, she embraced the field of religious education, serving as director at Corpus Christi, St. Columba, and St. Catherine of Alexandria. From 1997 to 2007, Rita provided secretarial services for the Holy Childhood Association, Diocese of Rockville Centre, and from 1987 to 2009, she offered spiritual direction to several people.

Throughout her religious life, Rita was known for her gentle and kind presence—in school, in ministry, in community.  Her soul was nurtured by a lifelong commitment to contemplative prayer. Truly, our Sister Rita embodied the summons of our Chapter Statement: called to be a sign of joy and hope, she surrendered herself to the God of gracious abundance, unending mercy, and love.

All services for Sister Rita were held in St. Albert Chapel at Queen of the Rosary Motherhouse. She was interred in St. Dominic Cemetery located on the Motherhouse grounds.