A Letter from Fr. Paul - Sunday, November 1st

We have received a letter with pictures from Tanzania informing us that the six wells constructed with our 2020 Living Waters collection have been completed.  Sue Haertel will be sharing more information in upcoming issues of the newsletter.  Thank you for your generosity.  PACT: Pius Parishioners Always Come Through!
 
This weekend we have the witness talks for our 2021 Stewardship Pledge.  Witness talks are also on our website.  Materials were mailed out this past week, so you should receive them soon, if you have not already.  Please be as generous as you can in supporting our community and its ministries.  Thank you.
 
This year November 1st is a Sunday, so the Solemnity of All Saints trumps the 31st Sunday of Ordinary time (only solemnities can do this, not feasts or memorials). In this celebration, we honor those who have died and are in heaven. The next day, in the Commemoration of All Souls, we pray for those who have died but are not yet in heaven. These two celebrations remind us that we are the Body of Christ, one family in Christ, and our relationships are not broken by death, since “life is changed, not ended.”  On All Saints we pray to those who are in heaven, asking them to intercede for us; on All Souls we pray for those who need our help and support.  We are helped by those in a position to do so and we help those for whom we are in a position to do so. We are one family, the Body of Christ!
 
When we think of “saints,” we tend to think of the people in statues or icons we have seen, people who have done “great” things, people who have been recognized and venerated by the Church.  But the reality is that 99.9999% of saints are simple people like you and me, our family members, our neighbors, those we work with.  They will never be publicly recognized, they will never be venerated throughout the Church.  They simply did their best to bring Christ’s love, forgiveness, and compassion to the world.
 
We are called to be saints, not by doing great, memorable things, but by living each day the best we can, according to Gospel values.  As we celebrate this feast and honor all those who have done their best to live Gospel values, I invite us to reflect on how we are doing, zeroing in on one area where we can improve and strategizing on how we can do that.  And as we struggle to be better disciples, let us support each other in prayer.  God bless.