Pastor's Corner - All Saints Day and All Souls Day

Sunday October 31st, is Halloween, which of course is followed by the Solemnity of All Saints on Monday and All Souls Day on Tuesday. Please be sure to check the schedule in this bulletin for Mass times and location, since our liturgies on these two days will take place in church (not Valentin Hall) in order to accommodate the expected larger attendance. This year, because All Saints Day falls on a Monday, it is not a holy day of obligation, meaning that attendance at Mass that day is not required. However, the celebration of this feast is no less solemn or important just because, for this year, it is not a holy day of obligation. I encourage you to celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day by attending mass, even though it is not required. In addition, the blessing of graves in St. Landry Cemetery will take place after the Vigil Mass on Saturday, October 30 at 5:30pm.

All Saints Day is the celebration of what is commonly referred to as the "Church Triumphant," those people who have gone before us from this life, and whose souls are now living in eternity in union with God. We hope many of our family members and friends are members of Church Triumphant, and we celebrate them because they are now living in a state that we hope is also our final end, and because while living here on earth, they gave us an example of living a life in Christ, which is the greatest gift any of us can give to another. All Souls Day celebrates what is known as the "Church Suffering," meaning that they have passed from their human life on earth and are now in purgatory, but "suffer" because they have not yet reached fullness of union with God. Praying for the dead is a good and pious act, and is one of the traditional Spiritual Works of Mercy. Both these pious devotions are good for our souls and help us to grow in our knowledge and love of Jesus Christ, so I encourage all of us to not only attend mass, but also to participate in the other prayer services offered during these days.

Father James Brady