November is the month that the Church remembers our beloved dead as we pray for our deceased relatives and friends. It is also a good time to think about our own deaths and the help we might need as we approach God’s judgment. The best possible help we can get is a funeral Mass. The merits of one Mass are infinitely more valuable than a simple service at a funeral home. If you want the best help for yourself or loved ones, have a Mass and make sure your family and parish are notified before hand. All too often, surviving family members are choosing a service at a funeral home instead of a Mass because it is more convenient. Not a good reason! I just revised my will today and left money to be used for memorial Masses for my soul. I figure I am going to need all the help I can get. What about you?
As we come to the beginning of Advent on the last day of November, the readings remind us to be vigilant and look to the end (Isaiah 63:19b; 64:2-7; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37). It is a sober reminder, at the start of this joyful season culminating in the celebration of our Lord’s birth at Christmas, that we must be ready to meet Jesus at the Second Coming or at our death. As Isaiah says in the first reading, “Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways.” The best way to start doing right is through confessing what we have been doing wrong in the Sacrament of Penance. As St. Augustine said much more eloquently, “The beginning of good works is the confession of bad works.” So avoid the Christmas rush, and come to Sacrament of Penance sooner rather than later. Confessions are held each Saturday from 3:30—4:30 p.m. If you cannot come then, call the rectory and make an appointment. One of Jesus’ greatest blessings is the peace of mind and heart experienced after this beautiful sacrament of spiritual healing.
- Father Carl
“We listen to a sermon if we happen to like
the preacher… We must not act thus humanly.
It is not the shell we should look at.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars
