Remembrance and the Communion of Saints

Having celebrated the feast of All Saints and All Souls on November 1 and 2, we are reminded of the importance of the Communion of Saints to which we belong. By our faith and baptism, we are connected with all Catholics and other Christians throughout the world and throughout time as fellow members of the mystical Body of Christ. Just as we pray for one another here on earth, we pray for the salvation of our loved ones who have gone before us and ask the saints in heaven to pray for us, too (it’s nice to have friends in high places)! In fact, St. Paul reminds us that we are all called to be saints, since we want to be with God forever in heaven. The saints are not super-humans who never sin, but people like us who strive to grow in faith and seek God’s mercy in Christ. We are all in this together!

In the month of November, our readings often focus on the final days of this life and this world - a reality check for sure, but also a reminder of our faith that this is not the end of the story! As I mentioned last week, the Church has the tradition of praying throughout this month for all of our beloved deceased and for "all whose faith is known to God alone." In addition to the Mass of Remembrance we celebrated in each of our parishes last week, our Collaborative is continuing our custom of placing a "Book of Names" near the front of the church as a visible way for us to remember our loved ones. The book is placed in front of the Pascal Candle which, lit for the first time at Easter, symbolizes the Resurrection of Christ in which we and our loved ones hope to share when Christ comes back in glory! These are the same books of remembrance we used last year, so if there are any new names you wish to add to those inscribed you are invited to do so. These books will remain in place through Thanksgiving weekend and the feast of Christ the King, then be put away as we prepare for the beginning of Advent.

Another example of our unity in Christ is the heart of the Christian faith that is shared by all who follow Christ. We need to celebrate what we have in common with other Christians, especially in ecumenical events that bring us together. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving is the primary ecumenical celebration in our towns each year. This service of thanksgiving will be at 7:30 pm, Tuesday, November 21, at the Federated Church of Norfolk this year (1 Union St., Norfolk), and they have asked me to preach. Please join me and other clergy & parishioners from our collaborative Parishes and neighboring churches to show our unity in recognizing that our Thanksgiving is truly giving thanks to God for all the blessings in our lives and our communities. Especially if you are traveling or busy on Wednesday and Thursday (when we celebrate Masses for Thanksgiving), that Tuesday is a great opportunity to bring our gratitude to prayer before things start getting hectic! I hope to see you there….