Happy Solemnity of All Saints! How wonderful that this year our great feast falls on a Sunday. At the morning Masses, you may very well spot some of our children dressed up as saints, which we’ve encouraged our young families to do this weekend. After the spooky celebration of Halloween, it is good to remind ourselves that All Hallows’ Eve was not invented by secular culture and does not belong to it. October 31 is the vigil of All Hallows, the blessed souls of heaven. And so today we set before our eyes these little ones, whose saintly costumes show our true image.

It may sound strange, but clothing is an integral part of expressing our Christian life. In the liturgies of the Church, for example, the priest, deacon, and servers don’t walk into the sanctuary wearing whatever they want. The sanctuary of a church is meant to be a visual representation of heaven, and so those who enter it are clothed in the garments of heaven.

The priest’s white alb is the innermost of all the vestments, worn closest to the body. It is the garment of Baptism, which signifies our Christian dignity as sons and daughters of God. The alb is girded at the waist by the cincture, the garment of chastity, by which we remain pure in body and heart. Over his shoulders, the priest wears the stole, the garment of immortality. This garment was lost through the sin of our first parents but regained by the crucified Christ. The priest wears the stole as the primary image-bearer of Christ in the Mass, since he is the one who brings immortal life to God’s faithful in the Eucharist. Outermost, he is cloaked in the chasuble, the garment of Christ’s yoke worn by a shepherd. It is the clothing of God’s provision and protection. He calls us by name and leads us on the way of salvation; we recognize His voice and follow Him.

Scripture often speaks of heavenly things in the language of clothing. Proverbs praises the virtuous wife as being “clothed with strength and dignity.” Isaiah rejoices that God “has clothed me with the garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness.” St. Paul writes to the Galatians, “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” To the Colossians, he writes, “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” In Revelation, the fine linen worn by the bride of Christ is described as “the righteous acts of God’s holy people.”

At the end of this mortal life, when we stand before God, how will we be clothed? Will we see ourselves then as we see our little costumed saints today? As we head into the bustling holiday season, let us remember once more, on this All Hallows’ Sunday, the God who has authored our lives, and commit ourselves anew to the holy life we owe Him in thanksgiving.

From Fr. Brian

There will be a Euchre Tournament on Wednesday, November 4 in the Good Shepherd Knights of Columbus Hall at 6:30 pm. Cost is $5.00 per person. All levels of experience. Bring your own snacks and beverages. Pizza is available for purchase. Friends and Family welcome! 

Hope to see you there!!

*They will be held the first and third Wednesday of the month.

This Sunday, we are celebrating all the married couples in our parish, so I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the three goods of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.  St. John Paul II describes these goods in his apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio.

“Conjugal love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the person enter- appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal unity, the unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open to fertility (cf Humanae vitae, 9). In a word it is a question of the normal characteristics of all natural conjugal love, but with a new  significance which not only purifies and strengthens them, but raises them to the extent of making them the expression of specifically Christian values.”

His Holiness begins with the goal of marriage: “a deeply personal unity, that goes beyond union in one flesh.” Marriage is not merely physical; rather, its aim is to form a union of the heart, mind, and soul of two people. This does not mean that the two persons lose or forget who they are and become a new person who cannot act unless their spouse is in the same room. Rather, the unity that forms helps the spouses become more fully who they have always been called to be. This unity helps each person become more fully alive and free, allowing them to draw on the grace God bestows through their marriage bond. For this deep spiritual union to exist, the goods of marriage, which also serve as requirements of the sacrament, must be lived out:

1.Indissolubility: Marriage cannot be dissolved. Once the spouses exchange their consent to one another in the presence of God (before a member of the clergy and two witnesses), there is no end to the marriage. Only death dissolves a marriage.

2.Faithfulness, or fidelity: Just as Jesus Christ was completely and totally faithful to His Father and to the Church, so too should spouses be totally faithful to God and to one another. Because Jesus lives His covenantal union with His Bride in this way, those who have entered into marriage are called to the same lofty goal.

3.Openness to life: Spouses must always remain open to life. This is non-negotiable, because true love and faithfulness always bear fruit, whether physical fruit in children or spiritual fruit. Spouses must remain open to that fruit in the conjugal act. To close oneself off to being fruitful in any way denies one’s spouse an integral part of oneself: one’s paternity or maternity. Even NFP can be used with a contraceptive mindset. If that is the case, the deep spiritual union between the spouses cannot continue to develop, because one or both of them is withholding something incredibly important from the other.

All three must be lived out for this deep union to grow.

May God bless you in your vocation of marriage, and may we all give thanks to God for the incredible blessings He bestows on our parish because of your willingness to say yes to His will.

The Good Shepherd Advent Service is back! After a multi-year break, we are thrilled to welcome everyone back for our cherished annual gathering! All parish ladies are invited as guests or hostesses. The service will be held on Sunday, November 29, from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. in the Family Life Center. Registration forms are available at the front entrance of the church and on the table outside the parish office. RSVP is required. Seating is limited. Deadline to register is Sunday, November 22.

Men of the parish are invited to come and enjoy growing in their spiritual walk with others. We will meet in the Knights of Columbus Hall from 6:30—7:30 on Wednesday, November 11 for our next Cor Meeting. We always have snacks and refreshments! Invite a friend or family member. We look forward to seeing you!

See what men are saying about it in the film below:

The mission of the Cor is to refocus Catholic men on Jesus Christ and to form and strengthen them in faith and virtue through a brotherhood committed to prayer, formation and fraternity.  The goal of each Cor gathering is to provide the opportunity for men to encounter Christ, to pray together, to be formed in their faith, and to strengthen their bonds of brotherhood, preparing them for courageous leadership and the mission of Evangelization for their families and communities.

The next meeting and breakfast will be held on Saturday, November 7 at Good Shepherd in the Family Life Center from 6:30—8:00 a.m. Breakfast at 7:00 p.m. All men are welcome to attend.