Today is the second to the last Sunday of the Liturgical year. Next Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. So, as we come to the end of the liturgical year, the Church focuses our attention on the final days of the world, our own death and the Final Judgment. On this Sunday the Scripture Readings traditionally speak about “The Day of the Lord,” or the “Second Coming” of Jesus in glory as Judge at the end of the world.

 In the First Reading of today, Prophet Malachi tells the Israelites about “The Day of the Lord.” He warns them telling them that the Future is known to God alone, and God will bring healing and reward for the just who forearm themselves with words and works like peace, justice, mercy and truth, and retribution for the proud and evildoers. 

  St. Paul encourages us not to be weary of doing good. He suggests that our best preparation for the future is to devote our attention to present duties, to maintain a holy and wholesome balance between prayer and service, work and play, and to develop enduring family ties and values. Today’s Gospel passage warns that the date of the end of the world is uncertain.  Signs and portents will precede the end, and the faithful will be called upon to testify before kings and governors.  The Good News, however, is that those who persevere in faithfulness to the Lord will save their souls and enter God’s eternal kingdom. The question of us on this 33^rd Sunday is: Am I faithful to the Lord? Do I  persevere in my faith? 

Confirmation & Eucharist Enrollment – 2019-2020

  This year our parish is blessed to have nineteen (School & Faith Formation) 8^th graders who are going to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. They are going to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This Sunday Sacramental Enrollment is going to take place at the Noon Mass. I would like to request all of you to pray for our nineteen 8^th graders, parents and sponsors. We are also blessed with eighteen (School & Faith Formation) children who are going to receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist (The Body and Blood of Christ). Let us pray that through their preparation they may understand well about the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist and grow in devotion to this everlasting food. 

God bless you! Have a great week.

Fr. Kishore Babu Battu SAC

Towards the end of this week we will enter into the month of November. And as we all know on November 1^st the Church gives us the opportunity to celebrate the feast of All Saints. Since it is a very important liturgical day, it is declared as a holy day of obligation, meaning that Catholics must observe it by going to Mass, as they do on Sundays. We will be having two Masses, 8.30 am and 7.00 pm.

 And here’s a little more information on The Feast of All Saints Day – November 1st.

 On this day we honor, venerate (and petition) those disciples of the Lord who have gone before us into the kingdom of heaven. And we hope that one day we, too, will be counted among their number. The Feast of All Saints does not simply recall the “hall of fame” saints such as Peter, Paul, Francis of Assisi, Margaret Mary, and Stephen. In fact we also honor all those countless disciples who have lived lives of faith, service and virtue and have thus entered into the joy of heaven. “This invites us to turn our gaze to the immense multitude of those who have already reached the blessed land, and points us on the path that will lead us to that destination,” Pope John Paul II. We thus have great reason to hope that this number includes the virtuous friends and family members who have preceded us in death.

Most saints were ordinary people like you and me who struggled with difficulties and personal failings before “getting their act together.” Saints were real people who had strengths and limitations, virtues and failings. There were saints who were grave sinners before turning their lives around. But if they could do it, we can too. Sainthood is not perfection; it is growth and consuming dedication to Christ and his Gospel.

Each and every one of us is called to holiness, not in some sterile, plastic way but amidst the messiness and trials of daily life and with the help of those around us. Holiness is a journey, not simply a destination. It is growing in the love of God and learning to do his will more completely. As we celebrate the Feast of All Saints, let us each embrace this journey and look to those who have gone before for inspiration and guidance. 

 All you Holy Saints of God – pray for us.