Dear Parishioners,

We celebrated a funeral Mass for Louis Kazimer III on Friday, October 28th. Louie worked at KFC for 32 years & on his 30th anniversary there, received a bike that he enjoyed riding. He was a faithful Catholic who attended Mass while he was able, read the Bible & had a devotion to St. Christopher. As always, I expressed to his family, especially his mother, brother & sister, our sympathies & the assurances of our prayers and faith during this time. Let us remember him, as we do all the deceased in a special way, during this month of November. The basket on the altar holds the envelopes upon which you wrote the names of your deceased loved ones whom we pray for at every Mass during this month.

Last weekend I mentioned in my homily how much I enjoy the continuous opportunity to learn more about the scriptures & about our faith, which is based upon the Word of God revealed to us in the Bible. Much of what I learn comes from spiritual books that are written either by contemporary authors or which were written by or about the saints. The book I just finished contained 365 quotes from Fulton Sheen, an Archbishop who has not yet been canonized but who is in the process of being recognized as one of the official saints of the Church. He was an American bishop known for his preaching and was heard on radio & seen on television especially during the 1950s & 1960’s. I’m sure some of you will know who he is and will remember hearing & seeing him. Since there is nothing else pressing to report to you in this bulletin I thought I would share some of the quotes I found especially interesting in the book I just finished reading.

Here Sheen speaks of the uniqueness of the Christian faith: “In all other religions, one has to be good to come to God, but in Christianity one does not. Christianity is a ‘come as you are’ party. It bids us stop worrying about ourselves, stop concentrating on our faults and our feelings, and thrust them upon the Savior with the firm resolve of amendment.”

This is an interesting statement which would seem to speak especially about those today who have given up the practice of the faith intentionally: “In almost 9 cases out of 10, those who have once had the faith but now reject it, or claim that it does not make sense, are driven not by reasoning but by the way they are living.”

Even today, great evangelists (like Bishop Robert Barron), speak of the necessity of making a daily holy hour. Of course this is especially important for priests and something I strive to do at the beginning of each day, but everyone is called to be a person of prayer. Of course no one will just start making a holy hour every day if they have not done this in the past. It can begin very slowly, with even just a couple of minutes, which leads to 5 minutes, which leads to 10, which grows to 20, etc., until the time goes by so quickly that you find yourself praying for an hour. But this is not just an hour of talking to God. It is one of listening as well. For most people, this time of prayer is taken up with various types of speaking and listening: you can use the rosary, read part of the Bible, read a spiritual book, or just sit quietly in God’s presence. Whatever moves you to prayer is good. About this holy hour, Archbishop Sheen said, “I have never in 55 years missed spending an hour in the presence of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. That’s where sermons are born. That’s where every good thought is conceived….prayer begins by talking to God but it ends by listening to him.”