Dear Parishioners,
Looking ahead at Mass times for this week, there are two things to keep in mind. The first is that we move our clocks back one hour next weekend. The second is that the celebration of All Saints (holy day of obligation) and the remembrance of All Souls have caused a change in the Mass times for early this week. Be sure to check the bulletin for both times and locations of the Masses. Hopefully, between our three parishes, at least one of the Mass will fit your schedule.
All Saints is one of the more important feast days of the entire year! It is when we pause from the busyness of life to reflect in a greater way on what life here on earth is really about – getting to heaven. We celebrate the heroic, faithful lives of the Saints and the amazing joy that they now are experiencing forever. They still pray and intercede for us from heaven just as they did while here on earth.
God tells us (1 Cor. 2:9) that what He has prepared for those who love Him is infinitely beyond anything we will ever experience on earth. God says that the greatness of heaven is even beyond our imagination and far beyond the greatest love we ever experienced here on earth. God also tells us that the indescribable joy of heaven never fades or diminishes, and never becomes dull or boring. What an amazing place! Why wouldn’t we sacrifice everything here in our short time on earth to experience the infinite wonder of heaven for all eternity? This is the greatest investment opportunity any person can make. The good news is that this investment is available and attainable for each of us.
This might be shocking to you, but God intends that every person, including you and me, become a saint! This is hard for many people to believe because they think it is impossible. The Church has said from the very beginning, and restated it once again at Vatican Council II, that every person is called by God to become a saint on earth. Saints are not born but made by the combination of God’s grace, the trials and difficulties of this world, and the courageous, willing spirit of those who truly love God and neighbor. This is what life is about, not all the worldly things we get caught up in day after day.
We know that no one enters heaven without their love for God and neighbor having been purified from every aspect of unfaithfulness, selfishness, indifference, ingratitude, immodesty, lust, greed, etc. Each of these are opposed to and go against what love really is. Our love can be measured by our willingness to sacrifice for God and for our fellow human beings. That’s why the book of Revelation says that the “holy ones…keep God’s commandments”. What happens to those who die without having done this? Check back here next week for the answer.
Praying that we become saints,
Fr. Miller
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Fr. Miller
Pastor