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October 29, 2023
Dear Parishioners,
We continue to pray for peace in the Middle East at our Masses each day in our parishes, and I encourage all of you to join us in asking God to help all those involved to find a way to de-escalate the situation and end the violence.
This past weekend, 12 of our young parishioners celebrated the Rite of Acceptance/Welcome as the first formal step in their preparation to be received into the Catholic Church during the Easter Season. It was great to see them and to celebrate this important moment for their families. Most of the children have not been baptized, and so are now officially “Catechumens,” the ancient name we give those who are in a time of intensified preparation to be received into the Church. Catechumen comes from the Greek word Katakhumenos, which is roughly translated “One who hears instruction.” These students join the 6 adults who are currently preparing to receive the sacraments in our parishes. Very hopefull!
At last weekend’s Masses at the Cathedral, parishioners were invited to become part of a new “Community Outreach Ministry” that has been launched by the Cathedral Parish Team. I am so encouraged that over 25 parishioners signed up to be a part of this effort! We will be pulling the group together for an initial meeting to discuss various ways that we can reach out to our neighborhood. It will be interesting to see what ideas and initiatives come up.
This coming week on November 1st we celebrate the great feasts of All Saints and All Souls. Of course, Halloween, which derives from “All Hallows Eve,” is on the eve of All Saints. Unfortunately, our society has largely forgotten to celebrate the saints, and instead chosen to celebrate candy, costumes, and spooky things. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying these things, per se, but I think it is very important that we explain to our children and our community the truly important celebration of this week: the communion of saints. Certainly we celebrate particular saints feast days throughout the year, but this feast gives us the opportunity to remember that we are all given the grace by God to be saints. This celebration reminds us that not only are we capable of being holy, but that being close to God and open to his will is the highest and most fulfilling way to live. The saints are the heroes of our Church: the men and women who show us the way to live as followers of Christ. They also give us hope, as they demonstrate through their words and actions the great good that just one person can accomplish when united to God.
All Saints is a Solemnity that has been designated a Holy Day of Obligation by our Bishops, meaning that it is a celebration of the highest level that we celebrate by coming to Mass together. We have Masses as early as 7AM and as late as 7:30PM in order to make it possible for you to observe this feast. Please take advantage of the many opportunities you have and come!
On Thursday, November 2nd, which is the Feast of All Souls, the Bishop will join us for our traditional annual “Mass of Remembrance” at the Cathedral, where we pray for all our loved ones who have died and whose final resting place remains a mystery to us. We know that God wants everyone to accept his invitation to heaven and gives us the freedom to accept or reject his invitation by the way that we live. We also know that through prayer we can help one another, and even those who have died, to be more open to God’s grace. And so it is important that in hope and trust we pray for those who have died, knowing that God can work through our prayers to help a person freely accept the gift of his love.
Have a wonderful week!
