Monday, November 8, is our next Parish Open Forum from 7pm-8pm. We will again meet via Zoom. The purpose of these open forums is to bring the parish together to talk about topics which are of importance to our community. This is the perfect place to bring ideas and concerns, so that we as a parish community can work together for the good of the parish.
In Christ,
Fr. Dustin Collins
Our Gospel instructs us on the sifting of the cockle and the wheat. The issue with these two plants is that it is impossible to tell the two apart until they have begun to mature. Cockle is toxic to humans and when mixed with flour it will cause bread to ruin. A serious outbreak of cockle could cause one to lose their whole crop of wheat.
Heinrich Fullmaurer depicts this passage as a demon walking about a field placing the cockle seed among the wheat as everyone is fast sleep. Thus as time passes the two will begin to grow together and it will be impossible to tell them apart until the time of the harvest. It is here that the cockle will need to be separated from the wheat. In this depiction a woman is busy making bread which soon could unknowingly be threatened by this cockle. So too for us if we allow this cockle into our life for we too will we become threatened.
We now begin to journey towards the end of this liturgical year. With it we are reminded of the certainty of death and the need to order our life towards the Lord. The harvest is symbolic of Judgement where we will be judged either to Heaven or Hell. Death is something that we cannot escape, but we can and should order our life towards Heaven while here on earth. There are many who journey throughout this life without giving this notion a second thought to the detriment of their salvation.
If we are concerned with this coming judgment we must also remain on guard against false teachings which begin to blur the truth of faith and morals. Allowing cockle into our life may not seem to be important due to its ability to blend in, but it does effect our ability to love the Lord our God. The devil does not want unity of faith and thus he does everything in his power to cause division and uncertainty. We cannot give into such division and uncertainty, but must place our faith in the merciful hands of the Lord.
Saint John Chrysostom stated concerning the importance of this cockle: “For in order that not even this might disturb His disciples, He foretells it also, after having taught them why He speaks in parables. The former parable then means their not receiving Him; this, their receiving corrupters. For indeed this also is a part of the devil’s craft, by the side of the truth always to bring in error, painting thereon many resemblances, so as easily to cheat the deceivable. Therefore He calls it not any other seed, but tares; which in appearance are somewhat like wheat.”
Therefore, let us always stay on guard against the lies of the enemy. We must do all that we can to sustain the unity of faith and the truth of morals. Cockle comes into the picture in order to rip us away from such unity, but we must hold fast to maintain it. In this manner once the Harvest of the Lord comes and the cockle is separated from the wheat we will be found worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Today we commemorate All Souls Day where we are reminded of the need to pray for the souls of the faithful departed.
Praying for the souls of the faithful departed is an act of charity. We are called upon to pray for them that they may be cleansed from the temporal punishment for sin and for their cleansing from the attachment of sin. It is Purgatory which purifies the soul before it enters into Heaven. As the Book of Revelation instructs: “Nothing unclean will ever enter it.” Thus it is Purgatory which purifies the soul in order that this may be true.
We have a lot to offer these souls through our charity. From the Second Book of Maccabees we saw the need to pray for the souls of who have gone before us, “that they might be freed from this sin.” We should be active by having Masses offered for them, by praying for them, by offering up our sacrifices for them, and by obtaining indulgences for them. Pope Paul VI exclaimed concerning the importance of indulgences, the “aim in granting them is both to help the faithful expiate the punishment due sins and to urge them to works of piety, penance, and charity.”
Therefore, let us grow our charity for the faithful departed. Through this charity may we see our own need to order on life on this earth towards God and the coming of His Heavenly Kingdom.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest In Peace. Amen.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints Day.
When an ordination Mass takes place, the one being ordained lies prostrate upon the ground. What is chanted as they do so is the Litany of Saints. When called to the bedside of someone who is dying one of the prayers for the dying is the Litany of Saints.
Through the Litany of Saints we are reminded of the vast number of those who are now in Heaven who are praying for us. When one undertakes their priestly ministry they are in need of these prayers. When one is journeying from this life to the life to come one is in need of these prayers. Nevertheless, there are so many who toil about life without giving the saints a thought.
The life of the saints are lives of triumph. They have been called home to the Kingdom of Heaven and have been found worthy of it. They have struggled with the allure of sin, but found Christ and His love for us to be greater. They struggled with sickness and sadness and yet they came to embrace Christ and allowed Him to be their light in the midst of all their struggles. Christ became their joy and there was nothing which could take this joy away from them.
In our society we can say so much concerning actors, musicians, and athletes, but so often fail to be stirred with the same joy when it pertains to the saints. I cannot say where actors, musicians, and athletes lead us, but I can say that the saints always, that is 100% of the time, lead us on a path towards God.
Let us come to foster devotion to the saints within our home and through this devotion may we come to desire to be like them. It should be the goal of every Christian to be a saint. If we are not numbered among the saints we will not inherit the Kingdom of God. We are not called to live a life of mediocrity, but rather a life of greatness- a life of holiness!
May all the angels and saints of Heaven, pray for us.
This year All Saints Day, November 1st, is on a Monday which means that it will not be a Holy Day of Obligation. For this solemnity we will have Mass at our regularly scheduled time of 7am, 8:30am, and 6pm (Latin).
All Souls Day, November 2, is on Tuesday. Our Mass schedule will be 7am, 8:30am, 11:15am (Monte Vista Catholic Section), 5:30pm (Latin), and 7pm (Spanish).
A pleanary indulgence can be received from November 1-8 if one visits a cemetery and prays for the departed. To receive this indulgence one should also be detached from sin, pray for the intention of the Holy Father, make a sacramental confession, and receive Holy Communion. We have a cemetery right behind the Church, so we do not have to go far in order to receive this indulgence.
In Christ,
Fr. Dustin Collins