I am not a person who usually watches a lot of television. However, when our parishes were closed down between March and June, that all changed a bit. Once I had completed all of my parish calls and duties, I tried to read as much as I could. Once I had done as much as that as I could, I found myself turning to the television around 8:00 in the evening.   One of the things that surprised me is the number of television shows that are related to developing and celebrating the talents that some people possess. Some of the shows that can be found on the television include titles like “The Voice,” “America’s God Talent,” “Britain’s Got Talent,” “So You think you can Dance,” and “Dancing with the Stars.” All of these shows have in common the desire of those who appear on the show to have their unique talents and qualities recognized in the hopes of becoming famous. Continue reading →

The most beautiful liturgy in the Church year is the Easter Vigil. It begins with the blessings of the fire and candle.

During this part of the Vigil, the Easter fire and candle are blessed. The light of the fire represents the Risen Christ, who has destroyed the darkness of death, to become the light of the world. Once the Easter candle is lit, it is carried into the church, as the proclamation “Christ the light” is sung three times while the candle is carried into the church and brought to its place next to the ambo. As the candle is being carried into the church, the baptized members of the Church light their candles and slowly the church building is illumined by the light of all the baptized who are gathered to celebrate the Easter Vigil. Continue reading →

During the month of November, we the members of the Church on earth, celebrate the members of the Church in Heaven. As we do so, we celebrate those who are already in Heaven, we pray for our departed loved ones who we hope will be admitted to Heaven through God’s mercy, and we remind ourselves that Heaven is the destiny to which we are also called. Heaven is our true homeland.

We begin the month of November on this November 1^st by celebrating the Solemnity of All Saints—a solemnity so important that we celebrate it even when it falls on a Sunday. On the Solemnity of All Saints, we the members of the Church on earth, celebrate the many men and women of previous generations who were once members of the Church on earth, who are now members of the Church in Heaven. Today, we celebrate that “great cloud of witnesses,” who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, and are now members of the Church in Heaven. These saints are the great Christian witnesses who lived their lives in communion with Christ on earth and are now alive and well with Him in Heaven for all eternity. When we think of the saints, we think of those great Christians like St. Pope John Paul II, St. Theresa of Lisieux, St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, the Canadian Martyrs, St. Peter and the other famous saints whom are churches are named after. Rightly, we can also think of the less famous members in the Church in Heaven, like the holy people in our own families, who have not been declared by the Church to be saints, but who have inspired us by their way of living and communicating the faith. In the saints we see an example of how we are to live and we are reminded of the fact that Heaven is our true homeland and destiny. St. John Paul II during his own lifetime was a great lover of the saints. He canonized so many of them because he believed that we needed examples of all kinds of saints to remind us that the Christian life was possible for all of us, no matter what our profession or way of life. The saints remind us that through God’s mercy, salvation is possible for each of us. Continue reading →