Office of Catholic Schools and Centers at 6363 9th Ave. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33743 US - Home

Office of Catholic Schools and Centers
PO Box 40200
St Petersburg, FL 33743-0200
Phone: 727-347-5539
Fax: 727-341-6848
Email: ocsc@dosp.org

Letter from the Superintendent 

The Communion of Saints

November will soon be upon us. While November is associated with Thanksgiving when we express our gratitude for God’s many blessings, it holds another meaning for those of us who call ourselves Catholic. November is the month in which we remember and honor our mentors, our first teachers, our ancestors in faith, and those who were influential in our lives and have been called home to God.

Our Catholic faith has a lineage which leads directly to Jesus Christ, the Apostles and the first believers. It was they who established the Church on a solid foundation and began the process of transmitting the faith to other adults and the youth. The Bible Stories we read as children were written to teach us about the love God has for us and his fidelity to his word. They portrayed biblical heroes whose lives were led by faith in God.

Our individual faith life also has a lineage which leads directly to Jesus Christ, the Apostles and the first believers. While we may only be able to remember our grandparents or our great grandparents, their faith was nourished by their grandparents and their great grandparents. Therefore, in November, each one of us remembers those family members and friends who influenced us profoundly, have died and are now sitting at the right hand of the Father. Our family heroes connect us with our faith heroes forming an intimate bond known as the Communion of Saints.

As we reflect on our life and those who were our mentors and teachers, those who transmitted the faith to us, those who shared their knowledge and expertise with us, and those who loved us unconditionally; we are compelled to remember them in a special way in our personal prayer and when we gather with the larger Church to celebrate Eucharist. If there were special individuals in your life who you like to be remembered in a special way during November, you can email us their names to be included on a Prayer List to be distributed to each of the Catholic schools. The children will remember your loved ones in their daily prayers. The email address is OCSC@dosp.org and put prayer intention in the Topic Line.

There can be no greater way to acknowledge our dependence on those who have preceded us in death than by praying for them. When Thanksgiving Day arrives and we gather with our family and friends we will know how blessed we have been and are. Having spent the month praying in gratitude for our ancestors, we should have a deeper meaning of our national holiday, Thanksgiving.

 Prayer Intentions for November 2009