Author: SHSS

As we see the change in colors, the summer sun gives way to the dimmer light of fall and winter, we are placed in an atmosphere of remembering. We remember with thankfulness our many blessings on Thanksgiving Day, and we remember those who have died for our country on Veterans’ Day. November lulls us into looking back over the past year and remembering events of the past. Thus, just before the great and joyful season of Advent and Christmas, we take this month of shorter days, colder afternoons, and falling leaves to remember in hope those whose lives have touched us.

All Souls Day: Remembering Our Faithful Departed

On All Souls Day, we the Church, remember and pray for our beloved dead who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. The reason we pray for our faithful departed is that we believe that our prayers can assist our loved ones. We pray that God may have mercy on them, look upon their faults with a merciful heart, and forgive them their sins or failings.

We are also told in 2 Maccabees 12:43-46 that it is a “good and wholesome thought to pray for the dead.” The reason praying for the dead is a good and wholesome thought is stated in the reading: “… because (Judas Maccabees) had the resurrection of the dead in mind.” We pray for the dead because we believe in the resurrection of the dead and life of the world to come. This we profess when we say the Creed.

The liturgy of the day moves us to hope. The readings remind us that those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith are in the hands of God. Believing that our loved ones are with God gives us hope and peace of mind and heart.

Faith and Love Survive Death

While our faith is our strength and eternal life our hope, our hearts still hurt and our spirits still feel the loss. Love never dies; people die. God is love. The love we have experienced in the lives of our loved ones and the love we have for them survives death. Why? The reason is that we believe God is love.

In the First Letter of John, we read, “We are God’s children now; what we shall later be has not yet come to light. When it does, we shall see God as He is.” This tells us that we survive death, that our relationship with God continues, and that death for the Christian means “life has changed, not ended.

The Journey of Grief

For all of us who are going through this year of mourning, life has changed. It seems that grief comes to us in different ways. Just when you think you are healed, you will find yourself in tears. Depending on the depth and the closeness of the relationship, the loss of a loved one leaves us with an emotional wound. We mourn our loss not just for a year but in many ways forever until we see them again.

There is no time limit on grief. The pain may disappear for a while, but it returns at certain times and rises when we remember events and special days. Grief is the price of love. In the end, it is better to have loved and have the pain of grief than never to have loved. If we can always hold our departed loved ones in our hearts, how much more does God hold us to His heart?

A Call to Compassion

Today and every day, the Church prays for her children who have gone before us. We pray for them because we believe in the Resurrection of Christ and life of the world to come.

I invite all, especially those who are mourning this year, to see the heart of God manifested to us in the kindness, understanding, and compassion we have received from our friends, neighbors, and relatives. As we walk through this coming holiday season, perhaps we can pray for each other that we may find our hope, peace, and joy in knowing that God is with us.

May God give rest to our loved ones and consolation to all who mourn. May our faith be our strength and eternal life our hope.

Msgr. Guy A. Massie
November 1, 2025

The Lesson of This Sunday

The lesson of this Sunday is that those who wish to be right before God must make God’s concerns their own. The responsorial gives us the unifying theme of today’s readings: “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.” The first reading from the Book of Sirach tells us that while God is an impartial listener, the writer goes on to say that God is especially concerned with the weak and the poor.

In the Gospel reading, we are told the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. In the second reading, from Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy, we hear that he is near the end of his life—having poured himself out for the proclamation of the Gospel.

Questions to Reflect On

When you heard and sang the responsorial psalm at liturgy, what was your reaction? Did the psalm annoy you? Did it sound too political? Did you wonder what it means? Who are the poor people? Do poor people really exist, or are most of those who claim to be poor frauds? What does it mean to be poor?

These are important questions because God seems most concerned about them.

Who Are the Poor?

If we look at the Gospel to answer these questions, we may find even more questions. Who in the Gospel is the poor one?

The poor are those in need and who cannot help themselves. One may be financially wealthy and yet be poor. Poverty comes in many forms. We may be poor in health, knowledge, influence, or even in self-knowledge.

Is it the Pharisee who is poor? The Pharisee is filled with himself, and even his prayer centers on his own accomplishments rather than on God. It is true that the Pharisee fulfilled the laws of religion, but it seems his heart was not converted to God.

Prayerful and faith-filled people have God as their goal. Through prayer and study of Scripture, they learn the mind and heart of God. The faith-filled person is more forgiving, loving, and merciful. Is the Pharisee growing in faith? He believes himself to be perfect—to the point of looking down on others.

Who among us is so perfect as to feel confident before God, the All-Perfect One?

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Is the Tax Collector the poor one? He has been alienated from worship and from his people. In fact, the Tax Collector may have been wealthy. They worked for the Romans, taking their commission from the taxes they collected to support the oppressive Roman Empire.

Tax collectors were despised as traitors by the local population.

The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor

Let us think about this for a moment. The answer is that they are both poor.

The Pharisee is poor in self-knowledge. He thinks he does not need the mercy of God. He is so blinded that he cannot see the truth about himself.

The Tax Collector, who is not religious, knows his faults. He knows he has been dishonest and is far from perfect—and he admits this to God. He clearly seeks mercy in his situation.

In the end, the Tax Collector is the blessed man. He knows he is in poor relationship with God and begs for mercy. He is justified by God because he asks for mercy.

The Pharisee is poor but cannot admit it.

A Call to Mercy

If you wish your prayer to be heard, have mercy on the poor. Never ask God for what you deny others.

If you seek healing, help heal the need of another. None of us is perfect; none is without need. All of us are beggars before God, seeking mercy.

Msgr. Guy A. Massie
October 19, 2025

Dear Parish Family,

In Sunday’s Gospel and the first reading from the Book of Exodus address the need for praying always. The second reading from St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy instructs us to know the faith and to keep the faith. What is faith? What is prayer? How do we learn to pray? What is the difference between saying a prayer and truly praying? It is often said that Catholics do not know the foundation of their faith nor do they have knowledge of Scripture. Is this true? What is the difference between cultural religion and faith? How do we address these questions? The answers are found deep within ourselves.

What Is Prayer?

Prayer, we were taught, is the lifting up of our hearts to God. We uplift our hearts in joyful thanksgiving. Prayer is praising God. Prayer is a lament to God when we are in pain or distress. Prayer is a petition for what we need. Prayer is done in many ways. It is a radical and honest communication with God that finds its beginning in the deepest recesses of our hearts. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that we do not know how to pray as we ought, are we ready to receive the gift of prayer.

The Nature and Practice of Prayer

Man is a beggar before God. Even to pray, we need God’s grace. Prayer is not the words alone—it is the sentiments which the words express. Prayer is found before the presence of the Lord. Look at the psalms in the Bible. Jesus, in his human heart, prayed these psalms. Notice that the psalm really leads you to your inner self as you stand before God. Prayer is a state of the soul. A prayerful disposition is when our spirit is open to the movements of the Holy Spirit deep within us.

Different Forms of Prayer

Prayer can be liturgical, for example, when we all pray together at Mass or at the Liturgy of the Hours. Prayer can be private. Prayer need not have words. Prayer can be sitting in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in silence. Prayer is a journey to God and with God. It is a journey into the deepest parts of ourselves.

The Effect of Prayer on Faith

In the end, prayer changes our hearts. It leads us to a deeper faith. Prayer moves us to a deeper conversion to the mind and heart of Christ.

Msgr. Guy A. Massie
October 19, 2025