Dear Parishioners,
Thank You
A big thank you needs to go out to all those who participated in this year’s annual Bazaar. While I don’t know the financial results, it was a huge success as far as participation is concerned. Many people have been waiting for two years either building up a storehouse of crafting goods to be donated to the Bazaar or waiting to go shopping for that perfect hand-made item that they will enjoy for years. A shout out and thanks to this year’s coordinator, Susan Finley. She joins a lineage of people who have shouldered the burden and joy of putting it together. A thank you is needed to all those who have been meeting continuously over the past many months to make the amazing crafts possible! Thank you also to the kitchen crew who offered us cinnamon rolls and turkey dinner! I also want to thank our Evangelization Team who hosted our Open House which accompanied the Bazaar. It, too, was a huge success.
November, A Month of Remembrance
We are now well into November, kicked off by our celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Traditionally in the Church, the whole of the month of November commemorates those who have died. Our culture, unfortunately, prefers a more antiseptic approach to death which often finds families not offering funerals for their loved ones. And while we certainly should be celebrating the lives of our deceased loved ones, it is highly problematic to either ignore or pretend that we are mourning. It is not a bad thing to mourn, but rather a healthy part of healing. We don’t like mourning and would prefer avoiding it. But, if we don’t properly mourn, then that unresolved loss can come out in unexpected ways such as fits of anger and lashing out at others, all of which are defense mechanisms to keep us far from our deep-seated hurts.
The Church, in her wisdom, knows that it is important to mourn and say goodbye. We Christians mourn with hope (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13). It is with this understanding that the Church ritualizes the process of mourning in her beautiful rites of a funeral Mass. I personally find great consolation through every funeral in which I participate. They are not merely sad gatherings, but events that challenge us to hope, seek counsel, and understand how great the gift of salvation is for those who die in the friendship of the Lord. The funeral Mass is ultimately our prayer to the Father for our beloved dead through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ which conquered death and opened up the possibility for heaven.
Through the month of November, we are encouraged to pray for our beloved dead, for many are on their journey of being purified by the grace of God (a.k.a. purgatory) and could use our help as we accompany them on their way. To this end, I want to encourage you to consider writing the name of a deceased loved one in our Book of Remembrance which is located near our votive candles on the south side of the church. I also want to encourage you to consider attending any of our funerals regardless of whether you knew the deceased or not. It is a great spiritual and corporal work of mercy to pray and bury the dead.
Blessings,
Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor