Gallup (Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009) – The Diocese of Gallup was informed today by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that preliminary results from an autopsy conducted on Sister Marguerite Bartz, SBS, showed no signs of sexual assault or that she, or the Catholic Church, were specific targets of the suspect(s) involved in her murder.
After receiving the preliminary autopsy results, Bishop James S. Wall made the following statement:

“I’m extremely saddened by the tragic death of Sister Marguerite Bartz, SBS. She was a woman of great faith committed to following Jesus Christ, which was expressed throughout her four decades of community life as a Sister of the Blessed Sacrament.

Sister Marguerite served a people she loved very much by sharing her faith in Jesus Christ-most especially through her works of charity.

She would want us to live out our faith as she did so well by seeking peace and not violence, love and not hatred, forgiveness and not vengeance. As we mourn the sudden loss of our sister, we are called to look to the compassionate Christ, who by his passion, death, and resurrection opened for us the way to eternal life.

My prayers and thoughts go out to the family of Sister Marguerite, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, and the parish communities she served so faithfully.
May the God of all consolation reassure us of His eternal love and grant our sister eternal rest, light, and peace.”

Sunday November 8, 2009 from 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Gallup Catholic Gym

Corner of Park Avenue and 4th Street
Gallup, New Mexico 87301 Get Directions

Turkey Dinner–$8 Adult/$4 Children under 12; Games, Entertainment—Starlettes, Mariachis, Irish Dancers, Karate, Singers, etc. Raffles: $10,000/$100 Ticket and $2.00 raffle with multiple prizes.

Booths: Christmas Booth; Linen Booth; Dining Out Booth; Multiple Children’s game booths; Baked Goods Booth with Ethnic Specialties and Canned Jams; Cake Walk; Mexican Food; All American Food; Pop Booth; Household Goods Booth; Sports Booth.

“You Can’t Lose Booth—Everyone wins a prize.”
Hourly Fifty Cent Raffles—Great Prizes and Hourly Silent Auctions!

Two Large Screen T.V.s with live football games
Come and greet old and new friends, win or buy Christmas Presents
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Ticket Info: Most Games are Fifty Cents, Entry is Free!

Theology on Tap is a great opportunity for anyone 21 and over, to meet in a relaxed setting to discuss Catholicism and Theology. Enjoy a beer and enjoy great discussions. Atheist? Catholic? Protestant? All are welcome! Enjoy a drink, good company, and great discussion. The good life!

This months speaker is Father Mathew Keller, Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Gallup, and Chancellor to Bishop Wall.

This months topic, appropriate for November, will be an All Saints and All Souls pre-view on the “4 Last Things”; namely DEATH, JUDGMENT, HELL and HEAVEN (with maybe some tertiary discussion on “Purgatory and Indulgences”).

This fall, from October 6 – November 15 of 2009, our community will be uniting with other cities across America – and around the world – for the largest and longest coordinated pro-life mobilization in history – the 40 Days for Life campaign. People of faith are praying that this effort will mark the beginning of the end of abortion.
40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign that has generated measurable lifesaving results in more than 130 cities where it has been implemented. Some locations have reported as much as 28% drop in local abortion numbers and hundreds of new people getting involved in local lifesaving ministry efforts.

WHAT IS THE 40 DAYS FOR LIFE CAMPAIGN?
-Prayer & Fasting: inviting people of faith throughout our city to join together for 40 intense days of fervent prayer & fasting for an end to abortion
-We ask you to pray for an end to abortion, euthanasia, and health care rationing in the U.S.
-Pray for our congressmen, senators, judges, and the president – that they work for securing affordable & complete healthcare for all Americans.

A DAY FOR REJOICING … “Gaudete Sunday” (“Rejoice Sunday” – the Third Sunday of Advent) is almost two months away.  We will not be celebrating it until December 13, 2009!  Nevertheless, this weekend is a time for all of us in the Diocese of Gallup and at Sacred Heart Cathedral to rejoice!  On Saturday, Bishop James S. Wall ordained his first two men to the Diaconate of the Church for the Diocese of Gallup – and one of them is from our own parish.  Dr. Randy Copeland, M.D., of Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish, and Mr. Pat Valdez, of St. Mary’s Parish in Bloomfield & St. Rose of Lima Parish in Blanco, have joined the ranks of the Permanent Diaconate of our diocese.  We extend our heart-felt congratulations and grateful prayers for both of these fine men, for their wives and for their families!   May the Lord grant them both many years of faithful and fruitful service to the People of God in the Diocese of Gallup!

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OF SAINTS, PRIESTS & DEACONS:  Of Saints – Last Sunday Pope Benedict XVI elevated several men and women “to the altars,” formally recognized as saints of the Church.  Several people from our diocese and from our parish were present in Rome for this ceremony.  Among those canonized were two whose lives have greatly impacted the Church in the United States.  St. Damien of Molokai was a Belgian missionary who spent the last years of his life working among and caring for lepers exiled to a remote peninsula on the Hawaiian island of Molokai.  In the end, he himself contracted the dreaded disease and died from it.  He sacrificed his own life for the sake of helping wretched outcasts, living out the words of Jesus, “There is no greater love than this – to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn. 15.13).

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OCTOBER IS A BUSY MONTH FOR US!  We begin October, as we always do, by honoring Our Blessed Mother through renewed devotion to her Rosary.  We also observe October as Respect for Life Month.  This year, you are invited to participate in a special way through the 40-day “Prayer and Fast for Life” program, about which we provided information in last Sunday’s bulletin.  Today, following the calendar of the Universal Church, we are celebrating the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time.  In the city of Santa Fe, in our neighboring parish of St. Francis and in many places throughout the world touched by Franciscan spirituality, however, today is being celebrated as the Solemnity of St. Francis of Assisi.  This Sunday also sees the climax of the St. Francis Parish Fiestas, and once again, we urge everyone to support our neighboring parish in their annual celebration.

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