Dear Friends,
Well Halloween is once again upon us. We all understand that the roots of Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve, are religious. How far it has come from that original celebration, glorifying God and His Saints.
Our first graders in Holy Cross always put on a small pageant for All Saints Day, dressing up as a particular Saint special to them and sharing verbally something about their Saint. It is quite precious but also instructive not only for them but for us adults.
Speaking about All Saints Day, November 1, Monday, although it is a holy day, there is not the obligation to attend Mass this year since it occurs on a Monday. We hope that many will attend Mass on Monday. We will have both the 6:30 and 9 AM Masses in Church. On Tuesday, we celebrate All Souls Day, remembering everyone who has died and praying for the repose of their souls. Our annual Mass of Remembrance will be Sunday, November 7 at the 12 Noon Mass. We will pray for all those who have died this past year from among our parish family and loved ones.
At that Mass, Father David Friel will be the celebrant. You may remember that Father was our Forty Hours preacher a few years ago. He is now the Vocation Director for Archdiocesan Priesthood and will inaugurate Vocation Awareness week here at Saint Eleanor. Afterwards, there will be a luncheon and short program for young men interested in learning more about priestly vocations. Please continue to pray fervently for vocations to the priesthood and for all our priests.
In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus clearly answers the question of a scribe about which is the greatest commandment, a question that most of us are inquisitive about as well. Jesus says, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
So simple and yet so truly challenging. For Jesus is revealing to us that God’s law is summed up in a total change of heart and surrender of our will to the Will of the Father. It takes discipline and firm resolve to let go of our own desires and self interest and to see others and the world as God does. And yet, the grace needed to do just this is made available to us through the Blood of Jesus on the Cross, in the Sacraments of His Church. God never refuses whatever we need to enter heaven. Let us turn confidently to Him, let us embrace the Cross of Jesus by offering up our crosses with His, and let us consciously invite the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us in all that we do and say, day in and day out.
God bless you, God love you,
Monsignor McCulken
