This weekend we welcome new parishioners! Come and greet them at the reception after the 10:00 Mass. Any time, give a smile and warm greeting to anyone you have not met.
We also remember and pray for our beloved dead. November 1 was All Saints—“the great multitude which no one could count from every nation, race, people and tongue.” They are the canonized saints but also we honor all the everyday loving people who received no special recognition here but are now in heaven. November 2 is All Souls’ Day, those assured of heaven but now being purified. They can pray for us and we can help them with our prayers. We “pilgrims on earth” are only one part of the Communion of Saints.
National Vocation Awareness Week is November 2-8. Pope Francis and the U.S. bishops urge us to build in our parish a culture of vocations. “The fervor of the community,” the Pope says, “can awaken in the young a desire to consecrate themselves completely to God and to the preaching of the Gospel” as a priest, deacon, Sister or Brother. We know today the decision to be a religious or priest is made not only in the early 20’s but sometimes in the 30’s or 40’s. Ask others if they have every thought of being a Brother or Sister, deacon or priest. This Wednesday afternoon we have adoration. Spend some time with our Eucharistic Lord and pray for vocations.
Next weekend Brother Colin King, OFM, will speak on behalf of “Jamaica With Friars” mission program. Friars accompany students from the Catholic Newman Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago to share in the mission work of the Franciscans in Jamaica. The young adults help the poor and encourage the young.
I write this column while Fr. Bill is in Rome. By the time you read it, he’ll be home. Peace!