Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,
The approaching celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day remind us that we are part of the Body of Christ. His Body is composed of the saints in heaven (The Church Triumphant), the souls in purgatory (The Church Suffering) and the baptized faithful here on earth (The Church Militant). The saints pray for the souls in purgatory and for the Church on earth. We pray for the souls in purgatory, and they pray for us. All of us worship one Lord, celebrate one liturgy (the wedding feast of the Lamb of God), and share one life (The Resurrected life of Christ). We anticipate and hasten the day when “God may be everything to everyone” (1 Cor. 15:28).
People often have questions about purgatory. Purgatory is not a place of punishment, but is a fruit of the mercy of God. I suspect that for many of us our purification from sin and its effects will continue after our earthly life, because we have not yet been perfected in grace. In order for us to be in the presence of the all-holy God and his saints and angels, we must be completely free from the effects of sin. This involves suffering, but I would argue that it is a joyful suffering; it is a suffering that sets us free and makes us capable of true communion with God. It has become popular to assert that immediately after a loved one dies that he or she is already in heaven. That isn’t necessarily the case, though. To “enjoy” heaven, we must be properly disposed, purified and made ready for the glorious splendor of life in the Trinity. That may involve a time of purgation for us, and thanks be to God for that period, because heaven can only be enjoyed by the human person perfectly transformed in Christ. That is one of the reasons why the Church focuses on praying for the holy souls in purgatory in November. We offer prayers, and especially the Mass, for their purification and swift entrance into heavenly glory.
Thank you to Fr. Stefan and his team that put together our ministry fair last weekend! It was a wonderful showing of our parish’s many ministries, and I hope that many of you took the opportunity to get involved in a more intimate way in our parish’s life. If you are still considering becoming more actively involved, please take one of our parish ministry booklets after Mass this weekend.
I look forward to celebrating All Saints Day, All Souls Day and the Feast of St. Martin of Tours on November 10 with all of you!
In Christ,
Fr. Dave
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