Pastor’s Desk – November 2023

– October 19th Thanksgiving Day

Thursday we will all celebrate Thanksgiving Day, a great American tradition and perhaps our best “Family” Holiday. Everyone has a place at the table! In recent years, the great day may have been compromised by the pandemic and its after effects. With concerns about a resurgence, some family members, to our disappointment, may still elect not to come! The political scene in the country may be the occasion for a heated argument between family members. Polarization may be found all over! We are blessed however by the deep biblical resonance of this holiday – Holy Day! Thanksgiving is at the heart of Hebrew and Christian Prayer, “Give Thanks to the Lord for he is good, His mercies endure forever”!

We can celebrate the day and witness to our faith in various ways:

Family should be a warm and loving place where people can respect and learn from each other. In this way God, who made us all, will be glorified. We will have given Him the best of thanks. Jesus sat down with tax collectors and sinners; we don’t all have to be of the same exact opinion to sit down at the Thanksgiving table! Let’s enjoy one another’s company.

From Padre Pio “Pray and Don’t Worry”! Happy Thanksgiving, and an early Merry Christmas!

– October 12th This Special Season

November is traditionally called the month of the Holy Souls. It surely is right to speak that way. But November is much, much more! All Saints Day precedes all Souls and adds a rich layer of Celebration to the entire month. People whom we knew here on earth are among those now in Heaven and in fact are waiting for us there. We not only Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory but we include ourselves in the great panoply of God’s plans for the whole of humanity and the cosmos itself! We also have at the end of this amazing month the feast of Christ the King- The returning King who comes to receive power and glory and to judge the living and the dead!

In November then, we mix the seriousness of God’s judgement with the homey joys of Thanksgiving Dinner. We recently had a great experience of community building with our young adult Starfish Coffee House group; special thanks to Kelly McGuinness for her behind the scenes work and to Rosie Nelan for her networking. What a great nightwe had!

– October 1st The pilgrimage to Auriesville, N.Y. 

By now, we who made the pilgrimage to Auriesville, N.Y. have had time to reflect on its impact. Even active parishioners do not get many opportunities to experience the larger church, beyond the parish, the Diocese, and the Church’s world-wide structures (Vatican.) So this simple gathering of about 8,000 people “fit the bill”! Bishops, Priests, Religious, lay folk all coming together, all thanking the Lord for his abundant blessings and looking forward to Eucharistic Revival in our time.

Every pilgrimage has its own set of unique challenges and blessings. Generally, there is just enough time to have a break! There will be a National Event as well in Indiana in 2024. If anyone wants information, please call the rectory! Pilgrimage links us to the universal church present throughout the world. We return encouraged in our “walk” with the Lord and ready to meet the local needs and challenges.