What is a Saint? Better yet, we can ask, “Who can be a Saint?” We know that the answer is each and every one of us. Yes, we do have canonized saints in the Catholic Church. They are recognized in this special way to be an example of faith for everyone. The challenge for us as we think about our traditional Feast of All Saints on November 1st is to remember that we are challenged by their example to live lives of faith and commitment ourselves. As we strive for sainthood in our own lives, we thank God for these witnesses from the past. They truly are “holy ones” that we can imitate in so many ways through prayer and service in the name of Jesus Christ. And let us continue to pray for on
We know that there are many ways in which Christianity is expressed in our world today. The Ecumenical movement is the attempt for various Christian communities, including the Catholic Church, to work together in dialogue and service. We will be observing Reformation Day this coming October 31. We can see divisions in Christianity between Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant communities as a sad part of our history, or we can recognize how important it is to work together with all Christians for unity. We can be people who are positive in working toward reconciliation and understanding between all people of faith. Let’s recommit to do our part to build a better world for the future! And let us
We continue to observe Respect Life month in This is World Mission Sunday weekend. We remember the invitation of Jesus to go out and “teach all nations”. Our missionary efforts around the world are very important. We want to bring a message of faith and hope to as many people as possible. We can trace the origins of our own faith in Christ to that original missionary work of the Apostles. So we are called to be Missionary Disciples in our own time. However we support the missions in prayer and with finances, we know that we are doing the work of Jesus in a very special way. Let us continue in this effort to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth! And let us continue to pray for one anothe
October 3-4 is Respect Life Sunday weekend. We think of our Church’s faith commitment to the dignity and value of human life from “natural beginning to natural end”. We want to continue especially for an end to abortion, euthanasia, unjust warfare and capital punishment, which all have been identified by our faith community as threats to the dignity of human life. We know and believe that life is truly a gift from God. Jesus valued every person to whom he ministered in his lifetime. He ultimately gave his life so that the reality of the Resurrection could be ours. As Jesus valued each person, we too want to reflect that approach in all that we say and do. My thanks to everyone in St. Cece
