Father’s Corner

Dear Loving parishioners,

Love and Peace of Christ!

The feast and its objectives: All baptized Christians who have died and are now with God in glory are considered saints. All Saints Day is intended to honor the memory of countless unknown and uncanonized saints who have no feast days. Today we thank God for giving ordinary men and women a share in His holiness and Heavenly glory as a reward for their Faith. This feast is observed to teach us to honor the saints, both by imitating their lives and by seeking their intercession for us before Christ, the only mediator between God and man (I Tm 2:5). The Church reminds us today that God’s call for holiness is universal, that all of us are called to live in His love and to make His love real in the lives of those around us. Holiness is related to the word wholesomeness. We grow in holiness when we live wholesome lives of integrity, truth, justice, charity, mercy, and compassion, sharing our blessings with others.

We can take the shortcuts practiced by the three T(h)eresas: i) St. Teresa of Avila: Recharge your spiritual batteries every day by prayer, namely, listening to God and talking to Him ii) St. Therese of Lisieux: Convert every action into prayer by offering it to God for His glory and for the salvation of souls and by doing God’s will to the best of your ability. iii) St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa): Do ordinary things with great love.

All Souls’ Day is a day specially set apart that we may remember and pray for our dear ones who have gone for their eternal reward and who are currently in a state of ongoing purification.

How do we help the “holy souls”? The Catechism of the Catholic Church recommends prayer for the dead in conjunction with the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice and also encourages “almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead” (CCC #1032).

Let us not forget to pray for our dear departed, have Masses offered for them, visit their graves, and make daily sacrifices for them.

May God bless you,

—Fr. Peter All Saints Day-November 1st (Holy Day of Obligation) Masses at 8:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. Kids: Wear your favorite Saint costume!

All Souls Day -November 2nd Mass at 7:00 p.m. Refreshments after the Mass Why Do We Do That? Catholic Life Explained

Question: Is Halloween a pagan holiday or a Catholic one?

Answer: The short answer: nowadays, a little bit of both. But it wasn’t always that way. Halloween and All Saints’ Day are closely connected. In the 800s, the Catholic Church began celebrating All Saints’ Day. It was originally called All Hallow’s Day or Hallowmas. The celebration began early on All Hallows’ Eve. But if Halloween is really about the saints in all their victorious glory, where do we get haunted houses, costumes, and pranks?

All Saints’ Day became associated with the other deceased rather quickly. November 2nd is All Souls Day, where we pray for the souls in purgatory. Throughout the European world, especially with the Celtic and Germanic peoples, the dead were honored in the autumn months. The Celtic pagan celebration of Samhain had its own folk rituals and occurred around the same time as these Catholic feast days.

Within the last few hundred years, this included dressing in disguise and going door to door, asking for food in exchange for a rhyme or poem. Some people masqueraded as “dark” spirits and pulled pranks on others. Today’s celebration of Halloween tends to take on these later practices, rather than the original meaning of celebrating the saints. But remember … this feast was Catholic first!