Our Lady of Sorrows Church
My moving into OLS in ‘65 was one of the
From the Pastor’s Desk
My Dear People:
The gospel readings for this past Thursday
are one of my favorites because it applies
directly to me and to most of us. This was
Jesus, at His best, teaching us about prayers
of petition. It started out with a parable of
someone getting what He wanted because of
sheer persistence in making His request to
the Lord. What a lesson for us! I ask twice;
but I am not good about asking for everything
repeatedly. Jesus says I must keep asking, if
I ask for anything.
The Father is impressed with consistent
asking. Jesus said knock and it will be
opened…ask and you will receive; but again
in that same breath He tells us that He will
not give us a snake, if we are asking for a
fish, nor will He give us a scorpion when we
are asking for an egg. Sometimes we are
asking for the fish and it is really a snake;
sometimes we are asking for an egg, but it is
really a scorpion.
God answers every prayer with one of three
answers:
1. Yes
2. Not yet
3. I have a better plan
As long as I live I will never forget praying to
God that I not be transferred from Mobile to
Birmingham to teach at John Carroll High
School, because I would live in the faculty
house and I wanted to live in a parish. When
my prayer was answered with No. 3, that
God had a better plan and I was transferred
to John Carroll and living in a priest faculty
house it took an enormous trust in God that it
was a better plan. Within a year I was able
to offer Masses on Sunday at three different
mission places-Jasper, Winfield and
Brookside. Within five years I was in
residence at OLS, officially doing parish work
while teaching at John Carroll. Those five
years on the missions were invaluable to me.
greatest blessings of my priesthood. God’s
better plan allowed me to continue teaching
for 26 years living at OLS parish and then
become the pastor of the best parish in the
diocese for so many years. How often the
answer to our prayers is Number 3, God
saying, “I have a better plan,” but we don’t
always have the trust to see it that way.
May we all keep praying consistently and
with all the trust in the world, realizing that
God is on our side. Faye Zanaty who is on
Hospice prays with this kind of perseverance
and trust. Fr. Booth, who is the next
associate up for a parish, also prays this
way. It is the only way to pray!
Mother Theresa of Calcutta is quoted saying:
“It is not the big or famous things
we do that are great in the eyes of
God; it is whether, whatever we do,
we do for Jesus.”
I think Mother Theresa must have had a
great devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux who
accomplished nothing great on the surface;
but whatever she did was for Jesus. This is
what made her such a popular and great
saint. Her sanctify was called THE LITTLE
WAY. She was totally centered on Christ
every moment of her life. She entered the
Carmelite convent at age 15 and died at age
24. Her spiritual director insisted that she
keep a diary and this work, known around
the world, is entitled THE STORY OF A
SOUL.
Therese died in 1897 and in 28 years she
was canonized. The four first-class miracles
according to the stringent norms of the Holy
See at that time were easily forthcoming
since she said she would spend her time in
heaven sending roses of favors to people on
earth. In case she is your favorite saint, her
feast day was October 1. This Therese was
of the 19th century, while St.Teresa of Avila
whose feast is on the 15th of this month
comes to us from the 16th century. She also
was Carmelite. Both are Doctors of the
Church with their writings, Therese of Lisieux PRAY FOR VOCATIONS
on the practical aspects of a relationship with You are invited to a rich feast. Don’t ignore the
God and Teresa of Avila with her mystical invitation. Perhaps you are called to service through
ordained ministry or the consecrated life. Trust that
theological writings. you will receive the grace you need. (Matthew 22: 1-
14). For our priests and all liturgical ministers, may
On behalf of God, let me say a million thanks they enrich our community’s Eucharistic celebrations.
to those who filled out the pledge cards for
Catholic Charities. We reached the goal set
for us by the diocese. We still have not
reached the high standards of the last two
years, but we are close. I am sure there are
still a few people who are going to pledge.
We are the winners for doing so much for so
many in the name of the Lord, Jesus.

This Sunday, fourteen teenagers from St.
Peter’s and twenty-two from OLS are on
retreat at Hargis Retreat Center. There will
be four priests for confessions and Fr. Booth
celebrating Masses Saturday and Sunday for
them. Pray for our Youth; they are the
Church leaders of tomorrow.
With prayers and blessings,
Fr. Muller
There will be no High School Youth Group
meeting this Sunday. We will resume next
Sunday, October 18.
_______________________________________
OUR LADY OF GRACE GUILD will meet on
Monday, October 12, at 10:30 a.m. in the
Family Life Center Sodality Room. Please
remember to bring your magazines, toiletries
and canned goods.
_______________________________________

IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY GUILD

will meet on Tuesday, October 13, at 6:15
MASS INTENTIONS p.m. in the Family Life Center Sodality Room.
The meeting portion will start at 6:30 p.m.
Monday, October 12 Rose C. Pilato
During this meeting we will start working on
Dolly Barranco
Amelia Nell Hillis making rosaries for the following groups:
Tuesday, October 13 Tom Brown First communion, 8th grade Confirmation and
Josephine Sicola RCIA. New members are welcome. Any
Joseph Philbin questions please contact Wendy Green at
Wednesday, October 14 Special Intention
492-7058.
Spec. Int. of Sandra Barranco
Henry Yelverton
Thursday, October 15 Pat Thrasher
Dolly Barranco
Bea Coomez
Friday, October 16 Martin Sertell
Spec. Int. of M. Angelo
Spec. Int. of Michael Garcia
Saturday, October 17 Donors to the OLS School
Foundation
Spec. Int. of Nignisti & Fran Nagassi
Vera Sullivan
Sunday, October 18 People of the Parish
Dolly Barranco
Jack Miller
CHAPEL OF OUR SAVIOR
The Chapel needs permanent Committed
Adorers for:
Tuesday at 8:00 a.m. (to share hour)
Thursday at 1:00 p.m. ( to share hour)
Friday at 3:00 a.m.
Friday at 4:00 a.m.
Saturday at 3:00 p.m. (to share hour)
Saturday at 11:00 p.m.
Our goal is to have at least 2 people on each
hour. These are the hours needed, but do
select an hour that best fits your schedule.
Please call Ida Wilker at 879-7040 or Mary
Claire Brouillette at 871-2909. We contribute
to the radical transformation of the world
during our Holy Hour of Eucharistic
Adoration! (Pope John Paul II-1978-2005).
_______________________________________
BAPTISM CLASS will be held on Tuesday,
October 20, at 7:00 p.m. in the church.
Please call the church office at 871-8121 to
register.
_______________________________________
SINGLES Spaghetti Dinner is in need of
volunteers to help cook and serve. This will
be open for the entire diocese. We have not
set a date until we have enough volunteers
to help. If you are available please call
Grace Troncalli at 323-3000.
_______________________________________
OLS ADULT EDUCATION: Fortify Faith
Series – Join us next Sunday, October 18, at
9:45 a.m. in the Parish Hall. Our speaker will
be Fr. Michael Adams from St. Peter the
Apostle Catholic Church. His topic is
“Teaching about Angels.”
_______________________________________
Attention all OLS artists and craftsmen:
Our 6th Annual Art Show will be held on
Sunday, November 1, from 8:30 a.m. until
4:00 p.m. Please call Fran Robertson at
822-1142 or 871-8857 for more information
or to reserve your space.
COME TO “CATHOLICS IN THE WORD”
Don’t we all need to get closer to Jesus in the
Bible? On October 16 at 7:30 p.m. Rev.
Bishop Baker will open the 9th annual
Diocesan Charismatic Conference, whose
theme is CATHOLICS IN THE WORD.
Guest speakers are: Msgr. Frank E. Chiodo,
author and pastor of St. Anthony Church in
Des Moines, IA; Catholic Evangelist Richard
L. Lane, of Atlanta, GA and Dr. Jeff
Anderson, prayer warrior and speaker from
Huntsville, AL. The conference continues all
day Saturday.
Friday—Oct. 16, 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. (Mass at
5:00 p.m.)
Saturday—Oct. 17, 8:45 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
(Mass at 9:00 a.m.)
Place: Our Lady of Sorrows Family Life
Center
For more information visit
www.catholiccharismaticrenewal.org or call
205-999-8947.
____________________________________
FLU & PNEUMONIA SHOTS
Parents, grandparents, and friends who are
interested in receiving the flu and pneumonia
shots—Adamsville Pharmacy (Johnny
Brooklere) will be at the Learning Center on
Tuesday, October 13, at 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
Flu shot--$29.00 (do not take if allergic to
eggs; if pregnant ask your doctor)
Pneumonia shot--$45.00 (every 5 years; ask
your doctor) Cash or checks payable to
Adamsville Pharmacy. Please call Learning
Center if interested @380-2646. Leave a
message if no answer.
_______________________________________
JOHN CARROLL CATHOLIC HIGH
SCHOOL TO HOLD OPEN HOUSE
John Carroll Catholic High School invites all
prospective students and parents to an Open
House on the 300 Lakeshore Parkway
campus, on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 1:00 to
3:00 p.m. Faculty members and
administration will be on hand to provide
information on John Carroll’s overall program
of academics, athletics, clubs, and activities.
For more information please call John
Deamer @ 940-2400, ext. 239
The Service Team of Magnificat invites all
the women of the diocese to the Fall
Magnificat Prayer Breakfast to be held on
Saturday, November 7 from 9:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. at St. Elias Maronite Rite Catholic
Church. The speaker will be Kathy Hains of
Baton Rouge, La. She will share the reviting
story of the loss of her daughter and son-in-
law that resulted in a multiplicity of emotions
and the tremendous need to forgive the
responsible parties. Tickets for the Prayer
Breakfast are $10.00 and they may be
obtained from our ticket chairwoman, Penny
Vaughn. Please send your name, address,
city, state, zip code, phone number and e-
mail address and the names and numbers of
other ticket holders in your group. Also send
a self-addressed, stamped envelope along
with a check made out to Magnificat to
Penny Vaughn, 980 Graham Lane, Mount
Olive, Al 35117. Priests, Deacons, Religious
Brothers and Sisters’ tickets are
complimentary but reservations are still
required.
_______________________________________
In today’s Second Reading it says, “Indeed
the word of God is living and effective”.
Learn how to make the Word of God shine in
your marriage. The next Worldwide
Marriage Encounter Weekend is November
6-8 in Cullman, Alabama. Early registration
is highly recommended. For more
information visit our website at:
wwmealabama.org or call (800) 540-9963.
____________________________________
OLS Annulment Education and support
would like to invite everyone interested in
learning more about the Declaration of
Nullity, commonly know as Annulments, to
join us Sunday, October 18 at 11:30 a.m. to
1:00 p.m. in room 102 of of the Family Life
Center. This event is open to everyone to
learn more about the Declaration of Nullity. If
you are a divorced Catholic, know a divorced
Catholic or just want to learn more about
what the Church teaches about Annulments,
we encourage you to join us and learn more
about the Declaration of Nullity. Anne Marie
Verchot, RCIA Director at Our Lady of
Sorrows and a Diocesan Trained Advocate
on the Declaration of Nullity will be leading
the meeting. For additional information,
contact David Asbach at 383-5634 or
daa28@aol.com or Anne Marie Verchot at
482-8627 or verchot@bellsouth.net.
_______________________________________
Reminder:
If you have borrowed any library books,
DVD’s or video’s from the Church Library.
Please remember to return them to the
Library.
____________________________________
Toy Bowl Basketball Registration
Deadline is Monday October 12, all students
enrolled in OLS School and PSR programs
grades 1-8 are invited to play. Please see the
OLS School website for details and
registration forms. www.olsschool.com. (Left
column on Homepage, click Basketball and
Volleyball). For questions call David
Thornton, OLS Athletic Director, 427-4535.
_______________________________________
The monthly Holy Mass at Her Choice
Birmingham is coming up soon! Monday,
October 12 at 3:30 p.m. in the downstairs
conference room is where it be will held.
(Mark your calendars that the 2nd Monday of
every month we will have Holy Mass at Her
Choice.) Everyone is encouraged to come
pray for the babies who are in danger of
being aborted and for their mothers. Please
pray for this ministry, too, that it will be able
to continue to reach those who are the most
vulnerable among us and are in grave
danger.