Autumn Message from Father Gabriel
Published by Father Gabriel October 22nd, 2008 in Announcements.
Like so many of you, I love these days of autumn. They are amazingly beautiful from the perspective of nature, and they are profoundly rich from the perspective of the spiritual life. August 15, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin into heaven, begins the spiritual unfolding of the autumn season by acknowledging that Mary was the first to be harvested from the human race. As such she prefigures all of humanity whose destiny is the full presence of God. Thus do we enter this twilight time of the year filled with hope.
The days and weeks that flow throughout September and October see the natural world changing drastically. Vibrant colors give way to the dark brown of decay as the earth prepares for, what appears to be…the death of winter. The church looks more poignantly to the end times and the other world where God’s Kingdom will be fully realized. The liturgical feasts of angels, martyrs, and the dedication of churches, all come to a climactic celebration on November 1st, when we honor the holy men and women of every time and place. Because All Saints’ Day (November 1) falls on a Saturday this year, it is not a holy day of obligation. Catholics are, nonetheless, highly encouraged to participate in the Eucharist which at St. Joan of Arc will be at 8:15 a.m.
In the midst of this celestial festivity, it is natural that we are reminded of our mortality. So on November 2nd, the Commemoration of All Souls, we pray for the faithful departed. In addition to November 2, Saint Joan of Arc will have a special liturgy on Monday, November 10, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the parish church for all our beloved dead. During this Mass we will read the names of family members, loved ones and parishioners who have passed into the next life, and we will light a candle in their memory as the church bell tolls. Everyone is invited to join in this somber yet hopeful ritual, so that those who have died might not be forgotten, and that those who have died might not forget us.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
Father Gabriel, O.S.B.
