Feast of All Souls Day

Good morning. Today we celebrate All Souls Day, a day we recall the love and joy of all those who have gone before us. A day we hope and pray that they along with us may know the joy of seeing God face to face. For some this may be cause for sadness, perhaps even despair, but for all of us as Christians it should be a day of hope and joy. Jesus in today’s Gospel gives us much reason to be hopeful; we are hopeful because the love of God has been poured out into our lives and we have the hope of one day joining those who have left this mortal life to spend eternity looking upon the face of God. Yes, we miss the joy of being with those family members and friends who have died, but we rejoice in their being in glory for it is only death that has died in them. As a monk friend says: “We live to die, and we die to live.” 

Today is likewise a day that we should reflect with appreciation those lives which have touched ours. It is in their lives we have come to know the love and goodness of our Creator. We should be especially appreciative today of the seeds of faith and hope which they have planted in our lives which provide for us expectation of one day joining them in the glory of heaven. Jesus assures us: “Everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” Out of His love for us He wants each of us to one day join Him in heaven. Certainly the love and goodness of those lives we recall today led us initially to God. One place where we can continue to see God's love daily is in our marriage. Like a husband and wife choose each other and seek to do for each other, so God chose us, and we choose to do His will. Each morning in marriage we awaken alongside our spouse, we awaken to a new opportunity to choose to make God’s love and goodness known in how we live our day together. Make a great day! 

Today we recall the love and goodness of all those who have gone before us. Today we celebrate All Soul’s Day.




In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.

May angels lead you into paradise; upon your arrival, may the martyrs receive you and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May the ranks of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, the poor man, may you have eternal rest.

Feast of All Saints

Good Morning. There is probably no teaching given to us by Our Lord more important and more challenging toward living a good life than that of the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes, outlined for us in today's Gospel, ask more of us than simply following the rules. In the Beatitudes we are asked to strive beyond just doing the right thing. In marriage this translates into going beyond just fulfilling the do’s and don’ts of married life, beyond taking out the garbage as scheduled. It means reaching beyond the minimum requirements and making every effort to be that person whom our spouse fell in love with. 

 Pope Benedict XVI in a Homily presented to youth from Korazim, Mount of the Beatitudes offers us some very sound words to consider: “Because you are aware of another voice within you and all around you, a contradictory voice. It is a voice which says, “Blessed are the proud and violent, those who prosper at any cost, who are unscrupulous, pitiless, devious, who make war not peace, and persecute those who stand in their way”. And this voice seems to make sense in a world where the violent often triumph and the devious seem to succeed. “Yes”, says the voice of evil, “they are the ones who win. Happy are they! Jesus offers a very different message…His call has always demanded a choice between the two voices competing for your hearts even now on this hill, the choice between good and evil, between life and death.” 

Yes, living the Beatitudes in our married life means waking up each and every morning and making the effort to be that person God desires us to be despite whatever else may be going on in our lives. On this special day of All Saints we remind ourselves that we are called to a life of holiness. The Beatitudes call us to live beyond the specific rules of marriage and they challenge us to be an attitude that takes us beyond just doing the absolute minimum. They challenge us to not only take out the garbage, but to do it with an attitude—to do it with love. So, choose your attitude! Make a great day! 

Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints.

Feast of Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg

Good morning. From the beginning it was God’s intention that husbands and wives should function as a team, to complement and assist one another. “The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him.” Spouses are there for one another to be of help to each other, especially to help each other get to heaven. This is very important in light of today’s Gospel. Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel that it is no cake walk getting to heaven, there will be challenges, but we must choose to go “through the narrow gate” and not all of us are “strong enough” to do this on our own. That is why God had in mind for us our spouse from all eternity, without whom you might not get to heaven. Let us take one another’s hand and help guide one another so we may all recline at table in the Kingdom of God. Today as we celebrate the feast of Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg and the Eve of the Feast of All Hallows, that is, All Saints Day let us remind ourselves to do what needs to be done toward staying on the path to holiness, always seeking relationships which will help us through that narrow gate. Make a great day! 

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and work of Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg.