November begins with two solemn days: All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

On the first, we celebrate the souls of the faithful departed who are already in heaven, enjoying eternal bliss in God’s presence. On the second, we pray for the souls of the departed who are on their way to heaven, but are going through a process of purification and healing from the consequences of sin, in purgatory.

The Church, that is, all the followers of Christ, exists in three different ‘places’ or states:

(1) In heaven, which we call the “Church Triumphant”

(2) In purgatory, which we call the “Church Suffering”, and

(3) In the world, which we call the “Church Militant”

We are all connected to each other, because we are connected to Christ. We call that connection the “communion of saints.” It endures, even beyond the veil of death. What gets transmitted through that connection? Prayers.

We pray for our beloved dead year round, but especially on All Souls Day, and throughout the month of November, especially the first “octave” Nov 1-8. It is customary to visit a cemetery and pray for those laid to rest there, and we are blessed to have a cemetery on our parish grounds.

We pray for the souls in purgatory, who can still pray for us, but can no longer pray for themselves, now that they have passed into eternity. They rely on the benefit of our prayers to help them.

It also helps us to remember heaven, to “seek the things of above,” as the apostle says. Only by keeping heaven in view do we grasp the meaning and purpose of our life here on earth.

This is what is meant by the virtue of HOPE. Hope is to desire heaven, to look for our happiness from being in God’s presence, and not from other, lesser goods. We all aim to be happy, but sometimes we aim in the wrong place and we miss the mark. (The word for “sin” in Greek is “hamartia,” which means “to miss the mark.”) So in other words, hope means having good aim.

The next meeting of the Racial Justice Book Club will be Monday, November 17, 7 pm, to discuss Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. A Black nurse is told not to touch the baby of a white supremacist but then has to deal with the baby's emergency. This New York Times Bestseller tells the story of the decision she makes and its consequences.

Meeting ID: 422 404 7769
Passcode: 437403  

Volunteer Meeting: Tuesday, December 2nd @ 6 pm Vianney Room