Dear Friends,

Three days this coming week are significant in our Catholic faith. October 31 is known as ALL HALLOW'S EVE, also known as Halloween. Many of us have been formed to see Halloween as scary, evil, and terrifying. The essence was to have humor about our fear of scary things. One ancient thought was that it was a time to mock scary things saying that God has power over such things. All Hallow’s Eve is the day before ALL SAINTS DAY, November 1. 

Every family has people they honor as role models, people to learn from, and people who bring out the good in others. Our Christian family calls them Saints. The best definition of a Saint that I have heard is, a Saint is a sinner who tries. Saints are reminders that they inspire us to follow Christ and learn from their examples and mistakes.

November 2 is known as ALL SOUL’S DAY. The beauty of our Christian faith is we do not lose our deceased loved ones. Heaven and earth are connected through our love and through the Mass when we eat heavenly bread, the Body and Blood of Christ. Our deceased loved ones are gathered at the heavenly banquet at the same time we gather for our Mass. They pray on our behalf and our faith teaches us we will enjoy their company again in God’s kingdom. A comfort to us who have lost loved ones to death. 

ALL SAINTS DAY - this Friday, November 1, is a Holy Day and we have Masses in the church at 8:00 am, 12:05 pm, and 5:30 pm. These upcoming three days speak to the world about our faith, not to be overwhelmed when we see evil in the world, we have role models who inspire us, and when our loved ones die, we do not lose them as we will see them again. These three days are a gift. 

Peace in Christ,

Fr. Eric