The Lord invites us to a banquet, one of the favorite images of messianic time. The banquet is spread out before us and can fully satisfy our needs, yet how often have we refused the Lord’s invitation to share in the riches prepared for us?

7:30 am John P. Bene(Mr. and Mrs. Ed Bacha)

7:30 am Jerry Blazek (Mr. and Mrs. Edward Nehaz)

We have certificates for Applebee’s, Arby’s, Bob Evans, Burger King, Chili’s/Macaroni Grill, ChiChi’s, Cooker, Damon’s, Don’s Restaurant, Ground Round, Mountain Jack’s, Mr. Hero, Olive Garden/Red Lobster, Pizza Hut, TGIFriday, Tony Roma’s, and Wendy’s. These certificates make great gifts. Check them out!

Offertory Contributions

Please note: $10,500.00 is needed weekly

to pay our bills and avoid going into debt

Please keep in your prayers the sick and the homebound of our parish, Elizabeth Baroni, Nick Balishin, Ellen Blados, L.C., Mary Cala, Maria Carriero, John Cegonko, Geraldine D’Amico, Eleanor Dembowski, Rita Downey, Dominic Fabrizio, Cheryl Gesik, Judy Glaros, Helen Glinka, Edward Globokar, Virginia Harley, John Husack, Jessica Kickham, Millie Kulchar, Rosemarie Lawrence, Don Lubecki, Camille Manzo, Elizabeth Miller, Judith Nagorski, Helen Plewacki, Josephine Radic, Clara Rocco, Eleanor Sabo, Jordyn Sansavera, Catherine Schiffbauer, Daniel Sholz, Bonnie Sobiesienski, Fred Tomaselli, Julia Tomaselli, Jean Toth, Stanley Trojanowski, Michael Tustan and Linda Yovanno.

And the recently deceased: Colette Sulzer (Sister of Peter Mamone).

We need your help when visiting parishioners in hospital. Most of the time hospitals do not notify us when our people are in hospital. If you notify us when you or a loved one is in hospital, we will visit them.

The game is underway! Each $10.00 ticket has 100 chances to win. Every ticket sold benefits St. Martin of Tours.

Sell your tickets and drop your returns into the collections at mass, or mail your returns to St. Martin’s Rectory.

All returns in by this Sunday October 13^th will be eligible for the sellers’ raffle. You may win one of the $50.00 prizes.

Thanks for helping St. Martin of Tours!

Entertainment books are here — they are available by contacting Maryann Anselmo–216-524-1202; Vera Bednarski–216-642-5613; Sue Kenzig–216-642-7506; Kathy Mamone–216-475-7417; Andrea Sabol–440-439-8616; Debbie Valus–216-524-6366. The price is $25.00 until December 2. After December 3, the price is $30.00 Thank you for your support.

Dear brothers and sisters,

October is Respect Life month. It is also a month in which we celebrate feasts of St. Francis of Assisi, the North American Martyrs, and Our Lady of the Rosary. These particular saints show us how to respect life. Mary, the Mother of God, treasured all the things God sent her–especially the Son of God–and reflected on them in her heart. Mary becomes the new, improved Eve, mother of all the living, because of her wholehearted respect for God and the will of God. Next, we treasure St. Francis who, through his voluntary material poverty, embraced a fundamental respect for the sun and the moon, the stars and the earth, animals and trees, sinners and saints. The North American Martyrs demonstrated their faith in the gospel and their belief in the value of each human life. Even though these brave Jesuits gave their lives in martyrdom, they believed that all people, including Native Americans, should have the opportunity to hear about Jesus and see the witness of those who believe in him. So we honor Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf and companions this month as Catholics on a mission of respect.

What saints inspire you to a deeper appreciation and respect for life? Do you look at your patron saint as a model to follow? Is there a living saint whose compassion towards others moves you to act compassionately as well? Certainly, it is good to look at the lives of the Saints and especially the life of the Lord (and his mother) to help us on our journey. That is not enough; we need to show it, too, in our words and actions that we are a people who treasure life.

On the parish level, whether it be with the pastoral parish council or parish finance council or any other parish organization, we always need to see the way that any of our activities or statements are consistent with the teaching of the Lord and the Church that life is sacred. Every homily preached should support life and proclaim in just words ways to promote the oh so precious gift of life and decry those ways that harm life.

What is true for our parish needs to be true for all of us--in our homes, in our schools, at play or at work–that we cherish life in all its wonder.

Respectfully yours,

Fr. Jamie

Saint Martin’s is in need of a qualified woman or man to serve as Director of Religious Education. This full-time position entails being principal for the PSR program, coordinator of sacramental programs (First Communion, Confirmation, RCIA), and administrator for other educational programs involving both children and adults. Direct your inquiries to Fr. Jamie at the parish office.

(To give an overview of Bishop Pilla’s message, we include in this and the next few parish bulletins excerpts to enhance our knowledge and understanding of the process.)

Discernment is a gift given to the Church so that God’s will might be discovered in the midst of concrete, daily reality. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit we are charged to find new opportunities for the mission of Jesus to be accomplished in and through us. Discernment is needed today for us to faithfully meet the present challenges as we plan for the future of parish life. If the Church is to flourish in the 21^st century, we must offer, maintain, and support a vibrant parish life for every Catholic.

For most Catholics in our Diocese, the parish is our Eucharistic community. People seek a vibrant community where we can celebrate the Liturgy in a dignified and prayerful way, where, with others of our faith, we encounter Christ, and from which we can take that presence of the Risen Lord to our families, neighborhoods, and workplaces. We understand the important catholic tradition of grace and sacrament in the most significant moments of our lives. We value evangelization and the Rites of Christian nitiation.

Any time is a good time to follow through on an interest in the Catholic faith. The RCIA (the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) journey has been a personalized, meaningful way for adults to explore the Catholic Faith. If you want to know Jesus as Lord, come. If you want to share in the faith millions know in the Catholic Church, then the RCIA is for you. RCIA is held on Mondays at St. Pius X Parish, 400 Center Road in Bedford, beginning at 7:00 pm. St. Martin’s has joined St. Wenceslas, St. Pius X, and Holy Trinity to make a team effort. If you are interested in the Catholic Faith, call the rectory.

Forget to bring an item for Blanket Sunday? Don’t worry! There are extra Blanket Sunday envelopes in the lobby of the Church for monetary donations.

All proceeds will be sent to the St. Vincent de Paul Society where every dollar will stretch and count to serve the needy in our county.

On Saturday, October 26, the Sacrament of the Sick will be celebrated at the 4:30 pm Mass. Those with advanced age or suffering from physical, spiritual or emotional illness are invited to share in this Sacrament.

With joy and gratitude the Diocese of Cleveland invites you to celebrate with The Most Reverend A. Edward Pevec as we observe the twentieth anniversary of his Episcopal Ordination and retirement from office at a Eucharistic Liturgy on Monday, the 14 of October 2002 at 7:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, East 9^th Street and Superior Ave. A reception will follow at the Forum, One Cleveland Center, East 9^th Street north of the Cathedral. All are invited to attend.

You know you’re well past middle age when they put the cake ingredients in a pan, light the candles, and the cake bakes itself.

The month of October is designated ‘Respect Life Month". Every weekend during October St. Martin’s will make a special effort to support Womankind, an organization that provides high quality prenatal care and a full range of support services to pregnant women and their families at no cost to the client. The support we offer them is our donations of paper products (paper towels, Kleenex, bathroom tissue) and disposable diapers. Every weekend during October a collection will be made of these products. We humbly ask for your help. Place your contributions in the vestibule of the church. Your support is truly appreciated. Thank you for your support!

Crafters are needed! Tables are $20.00 and $5.00 for electricity if needed. Tables must be reserved by November 1. Call Betty at 216-662-6564 or Dolores at 216-663-7443 for more information and registration forms.

All families of the parish are invited to attend the 1st Annual Fall Fling on Friday, October 18 from 6:30—8:30 PM. There will be games, prizes, and craft activities for family members to enjoy together. Each family can build a scarecrow at 6:30, which will be raffled off at the end of the evening. Plan on attending, as a family, and have some fun at the Fall Fling.

St. Martin of Tours Cub Scout Pack 380 will be selling popcorn after all Masses on October 12 and 13. If you have questions or to place an order please call Kathy Malkus at 216-581-8167. Thank you for supporting our scouts!

The king in today’s gospel sent wedding invitations to all his close friends–people like himself. But the party wasn’t successful until he opened the doors to everyone–to people not like himself. The Christian family opens its heart and doors to everyone because we know what happiness is discovered in sharing.

Next Sunday, October 20,Team A will serve our monthly dinner at St. Augustine’s Hunger Center. Please bring your aprons and a gallon of milk. Anyone interested in feeding the hungry please call Bob or Darlene at 216-328-0121.

ST. MARTIN’S CLOAK FUND supports our monthly dinner at St. Augustine’s Hunger Center as well as our fellow parishioners in need of emergency assistance. Please help us to continue these important ministries by volunteering and through your financial support. Envelopes can be found in the back of the church

On Thursday, October 3, Father Jamie met with our School Advisory Board. The Board enthusiastically shared their focus on enrollment retention and recruitment, and the development of a marketing plan with Father Jamie.

Father Jamie gave the School Board his blessing. He shared his delight with the goals of the Board as well as how impressed he was with its positive energy, commitment levels and determination to be certain our school’s future is secure. Father Jamie’s parting thought was "music to the Board’s ears!" His words were "a school brings such life to a parish."

Thank you, Father Jamie, for inspiring us to be our best!

10:00 am–4:30 pm

4291 Richmond Road

Crafts — Ceramics — Handmade Items

Homemade baked goods

Just our Crafts available for sale