Dear Parishioners,

I was sad to have missed the Mass of Christian Burial for Barbara Pavlick while I was away at the Good News Conference in Florida, but I was able to see her at Holy Family Hospice before I left, while one of her sons and her husband was there. Barb’s funeral was celebrated on November 17th and Deacon Pat preached while Fr. Jim Roach (from St. John Cantius) presided at the Mass. Barb and her husband Alex, both very faithful Catholics, joined us for our trip to Italy this past March, and I’m glad that they were able to do so before Barb passed away. Barb was a gentle and humble soul and I trust she is now enjoying the eternal peace that comes not only from the absence of sickness but from the presence of our loving God. We extend our sympathy to her husband Alex and to their sons Joe & Jermaine. May she rest in peace.

While away at the evangelization conference in Orlando, I was able to meet Bishop Barron in person & thank him for his great work as he signed one of his books for me, “Pivotal Players.” In the book, he lists 12 people who have had a pivotal role in the evangelization of the world. So I asked him to write “#13” in the book for me as I consider him to be one of the great pivotal players of evangelization today. He did so, though I’m not sure he understood why. I enjoyed his talks and the Mass he celebrated for the hundreds of people who were in attendance. I also enjoyed the conversation that took place between the bishop, Dr. Jordan Peterson & Fr. Mike Schmitz on stage. I bought even more books while there, knowing that I have so many unread books here at home. But I love to read and to learn more about how others are proclaiming the gospel today in a world that is so often devoid of faith and understanding.

You will be reading this after we have all celebrated Thanksgiving with good food, family and friends, but I do hope you all enjoyed the holiday. This time of year always calls for some traditional ravioli and soup noodle making, so my sister & I plan on doing that the day before Thanksgiving. With my dad & Mildred now gone, and the sister who usually hosts the Thanksgiving Dinner is away this year, that leaves my sister Judy & I to fend for ourselves. We plan on eating at a local restaurant for our holiday meal and we are nonetheless grateful for the opportunity to do so. But life certainly changes as we get older and our immediate families shrink and our friends of many years pass away. In fact I am waiting to hear about the imminent passing of a dear friend from St. Ladislaus where I was pastor. I celebrated her husband’s funeral just a few months ago in June, and so I gave the anointing, Viaticum (one’s last Holy Communion) and last rites to his wife over the last few days. I have been involved in so many of their family events such as the baptism of their grandchildren, then their graduation from high school, and so on. It is at this time of year when the Church reminds us of “the last things” so that by keeping death always on our minds, we may do well to live this short life as best we can with the help of God’s grace.

This weekend we even bring the Church’s liturgical year to a close with the celebration of the feast of Christ the King. With the dying of nature around us at this time of year, we trust that the spring of new life will undoubtedly come in a few months. A reminder that this Friday, December 8th, is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, a holy day of obligation. Mass as usual will be celebrated with our school students at 8:30am and then again at 7pm. Let us remember how God prepared Mary to be the tabernacle of His Son by gracing her with the absence of original sin at her conception by the Holy Spirit. May she be our inspiration as we soon prepare for the celebration of her Son’s birth.