Dear Parishioners:
As announced at Mass last week, our church boiler died. Thankfully, temperatures have been fairly mild recently. But November is here, and the cold weather is coming. We hope to have a new boiler installed soon. We estimate the cost of a new boiler is about $40,000. So please dress warmly for Mass until it is up and running!
Proposed bollards for front door of the school.
We are also planning to upgrade some security measures at the school in the coming weeks. Bollards will be installed at the school’s front and back doors. This was one of many recommendations from the parish and church security review we completed last year. We have been updating and improving our security procedures and protocols for many months. Installing bollards is another step in enhancing our security and increasing the safety of our faculty and students.
At the 10:30 am Mass on Sunday, we remember fifty-two of our fellow parishioners who passed away this past year. Their families will join us at Mass as we remember and pray for the repose of the souls of their beloved dead. We also pray for the consolation of their grieving families.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. It falls on a Sunday this year, so we can especially celebrate all the saints, known and unknown. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops defines saints as “persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.”
The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs, Fra Angelico
When we pray the Apostles’ Creed, we say, “I believe in…the communion of saints.” The communion of saints includes men and women who have placed their hope in Jesus Christ and, through Baptism, are his adopted sons and daughters. It includes the living and the deceased, whether they are with God in heaven or undergoing a purification.
Before his death, Saint Dominic said, “Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death, and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life.” In a very special way, on the Solemnity of All Saints, we can pray not only to our favorite saints, but also to our departed brothers and sisters whom we believe are already with God.
All Saints and All Souls make up the two-day celebration of the Communion of Saints: those in heaven with God and those on their way there. On All Saints Day, the Church celebrates those Christians who achieved spiritual maturity. It is a day to venerate all the holy men and women who have been canonized by the Church.
Purgatory by Ludovico Carracci (17th Century)
A day later, on the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day), the Church remembers and prays for the faithful departed: our brothers and sisters who have died marked with the sign of faith. Particularly, we pray for all the souls in purgatory.
On Monday, November 2, we will celebrate All Souls Day with Masses at 7:30 am, 9:00 am, and Noon. Please join us in praying for all souls, especially the poor souls in purgatory. The 9:00 am Mass is a school Mass, and the Middle School will lead us in procession to St. Patrick Cemetery, where we will pray for all the souls who rest in that sacred ground. We pray especially for all the souls whose names are inscribed on the All Souls envelopes. Purgatory is necessary so souls can be cleansed and perfected before entering heaven.
Pope Benedict XVI said: “I would go so far as to say that if there were not purgatory, then we would have to invent it. Purgatory basically means that God can put the pieces back together again.”
November is All Souls Month, as we remember the souls in purgatory and also our own beloved dead, the deceased of our parish family, and the dead who have no one to pray for them. It is time to visit the cemetery and pray at the grave of a loved one, and also pray for all the souls in the cemetery.
I am away on retreat this week at Arnold Hall Retreat Center located in Pembroke, Massachusetts. Please pray for me and also my brother priests on retreat. May it be a fruitful time of renewal.
Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go Pats!!