Dear Parishioners:                    

On All Souls' Day, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller ( 15 January 1793 – 23 August 1865)

As we begin this All Souls Month, we continue to pray for the souls in Purgatory. We especially remember those members of our parish who were laid to rest this past year and whose names are listed in the bulletin. Over the last year, more than sixty souls have had a Mass of Christian Burial here at OLM. We offer the 10:30 AM Mass for the gentle repose of their souls and the consolation of their grieving families.

As we remember our beloved dead in our prayers and at Masses in this All Souls Month, let us offer this prayer attributed to the great English Dominican Friar, Father Bede Jarrett, OP, who wrote:

“We seem to give them back to You, O God, who gave them first to us. Yet as You did not lose them in giving, so do we not lose them by their return. Not as the world gives, do you give, O Lover of souls. What You give, You take not away, for what is Yours is ours also if we are Yours. And life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing, save the limit of our sight.

   Lift us up, strong Son of God, that we may see further; cleanse our eyes that we may see more clearly; draw us closer to Yourself that we may know ourselves to be nearer to our loved ones who are with You. And while You prepare a place for us, prepare us also for that happy place, that where You are we may also be for evermore.”

Tuesday is Election Day in our country, state, and town. I urge you to vote but to cast a vote for candidates after praying and reflecting on your conscience. In today’s vitriolic political culture of sound bites and partisanship, it’s not always easy as Catholics to practice our call to faithful citizenship. The public square is filled with partisans, but the Church’s social teaching is consistent and neither “left” nor “right,” “liberal” or “conservative,” Democrat or Republican.

As people of Faith and reason in a world often at odds with our values, our guiding star is Christ’s commandment to “love one another” rather than any alternative ideology. The U.S. Catholic bishops teach us to respond by supporting a consistent ethic of life and by avoiding two temptations in civic life.

The first temptation is to fail to make a moral distinction between different kinds of issues involving human life and dignity. The second temptation is to focus solely on one or two moral issues and ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity. Not all issues have equal moral weight.

Some issues involve intrinsic evil and are therefore incompatible with the love of God and neighbor. Abortion, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and immoral, destructive experimentation on human embryos, are under this category. They are never acceptable and must be rejected. Moreover, these are intrinsically evil acts, those that directly attack life, and are a direct violation of human dignity. The right to life is our first right and must be defended with maximum determination.

While certain issues (such as doing all we can to save 4,000 children from being aborted each day in our country) have a special claim on our consciences, we can’t ignore other issues, such as the death penalty, poverty, immigration, economic injustice, and discrimination. These are not “optional concerns which can be dismissed.” These issues involve using the virtue of prudence to determine the best solution to a particular problem.

  Sadly no political party or candidate can check all the boxes in these areas of Catholic concern. So, how do we vote? First, listen to our Church, which offers us a 2,000-year-tradition of social and moral teaching. Secondly, prayerfully consider first what the Church teaches in matters that involve Catholic social teaching. A well-formed conscience (not what we feel or think but God’s eternal voice resounding in our human hearts) is essential in making sound moral judgments.

   As we enter the voting booth on Tuesday, let our measure of candidates be our Catholic Faith, not our political loyalties or ideologies. Be guided by the common good, not self-interest. It won’t be easy, but we have Faith—and God—on our side. Think, pray and vote! You may have noticed the work being done in Mercy Park. We are preparing to place our new Sacred Heart of Jesus statue there!

Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!