Year of Prayer 2024-2025

For the next year, our Pastorate will be providing resources and hosting events each month to celebrate the variety of ways we can each grow in love with the Lord through prayer. 

Fr. Neterer: "I think prayer's a great thing!"

Fr. Shocklee: "You need to pray, sinner!"

Fr. Peter: "I think of the Liturgy of the Hours."

Books

Videos

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This Month's Challenge:

Visit a cemetery, pray for the dead, or go to a funeral.

“Being holy is not a privilege for the few…; in Baptism we all have an inheritance to be able to become saints. Holiness is a vocation for everyone.”
 - Pope Francis, Solemnity of All Saints, 2013

An Introduction:

Why are we focusing on the Communion of Saints in November? 

Important days this month & key terms:

• All Hallows Eve (Halloween), October 31st: The "eve" or "vigil" signifies the beginning of the feast or celebration, so Halloween is the traditional beginning of the Solemnity of All Saints.
• All Saints Day, (Solemnity of All Saints) November 1^st *HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION*: celebrating those who are in Heaven with the Lord, both those whose names and stories we know (canonized Saints) and those we don't (unknown saints). We ask the saints enjoying eternity with God to pray for us to get there too (we ask for their intercession).
• All Souls Day (The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed), November 2nd: We remember all those who have died in an imperfect state. These souls are not lost to hell, but God purifies their souls in purgatory. When ready, they will go to Heaven. God hears our prayers for them, and our fasting and sacrifices can help them.
• Nov 1-8: A plenary “cemetery” indulgence can be obtained by fulfilling the usual conditions in addition to devoutly visiting a cemetery and praying for the departed.
  • Some links to go deeper about cemetery indulgences: 
    • Catholic Culture
    • Relevant Radio
• Indulgence: remission granted by the Church of the temporal punishment due to a sin which has already been forgiven. There are various ways to obtain an indulgence, including: Vising a cemetery and praying for the dead during November or praying the Eternal Rest prayer 
  • Some links to go deeper about indulgences in general: 
    • CCC 1471-1479: Indulgences & also the connection to the Communion of Saints
    • Indulgentiarum Doctrina (The doctrine and Practice of Indulgences)
    • The Enchiridion of Indulgences (List of Indulgenced Acts)
    • Explanation of Indulgences from the Office of Apostolic Penitentiary (Vatican Office responsible for things connected with indulgences)
    • Catholic Answers explanation of Indulgences
    • Catholic Culture- includes Indulgences in November
• Eternal Rest or Requiem prayer:
   

  Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,  and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May the souls of all the faithful departed,  through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  ~Amen~

  Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.  Et lux perpetua luceat eis.  Fidelium animae, per misericordiam Dei,  requiescant in pace.  ~Amen~

We are all meant to be saints! 

"The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint." -Leon Bloy

What or who is a saint?

• saint (little s): all holy men and women in Heaven
• Saint (big S): holy men and women in Heaven who have been canonized as Saints
• For more on saints and Saints, visit USCCB document on Saints

              

How does someone become a Saint?

• Servant of God: 5+ years after death (or special exception), inquiry by the Diocese
• Venerable: Papal approval of “heroic virtue”
• Blessed: Papal beatification of verified martyrdom or miracle
• Canonized: Papal approval of 2^nd miracle
• History & Process of being named a Saint- USCCB document on Saints
• Angels: NOT human! No human can become an angel when he or she dies. Some angels are called saints (e.g., Michael, Raphael, Gabriel) because they are holy, in heaven, and play a significant role in salvation history.

Some links to go deeper and learn more about Saints:

• Relics:
  • What are they and why are they important? – Scripture Catholic
  • Why do we venerate them? “Relics are visible, tangible signs to us of their life and our call to live a life of holiness and self-sacrifice” (Relic Chapel website)
• Incorruptible: 
  • Explanation & list of saints you can visit: Tekton Ministries
  • Simply Catholic: The Incorruptibles
• Patron Saints:  
  • What they are & why they matter- Hallow blog
  • Find a patron saint for you! Catholic Online

A note on terminology: worship, honor, veneration & praise:

• Worship inherently includes a sacrifice- because we uphold that the Mass is a once-offered, always remembered sacrifice of Jesus our Paschal Lamb and High Priest, we only worship God.
• Veneration, honor, paise- can be applied to others because there is no sacrifice, only calling “good” that which God has made good!
• Saints should always lead us closer to our Lord. Anything can be turned into an idol if we’re not careful, but these Saints and their relics should bring us into closer communion with Christ and His Church.
• For more: visit Catholic Answers

Why does this all matter?

“Noi eravamo quello che voi siete, e quello che noi siamo voi sarete.” “We were what you are; and what we are, you will be.”

What happens after death?

• 4 last things (eschatology): Death → Judgment → Heaven or Hell
• Heaven: “Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he is,” face to face…” (CCC 1023-1029).
• Hell: The “state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed” after dying “in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love” and “remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice” (CCC 1033-1037).
• Purgatory: also called the Final Purification; “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (CCC 1030-1032).
• Limbo: NOT an official teaching of the Catholic Church. Some say, in theory, there is a dwelling place for good or innocent dead who were not baptized (for example, non-baptized Christians or infants). Instead, the Church professes to “entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: ‘Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,’ allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism” (CCC 1261).
• The Last Judgment: After the judgment we each undergo at death, and after the resurrection of all the dead, the Last Judgment “will come with Christ returns in glory…, and reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during his earthly life” (CCC 1038-1041)
• For more on what happens after death: Catholic Answers “What Happens to Our Bodies Immediately After We Die?”

How can we prepare for a holy death and join the saints in Heaven?

• Anointing of the Sick (CCC 1499-1532): A Sacrament given to us by Jesus to confer “a special grace on the Christian experiencing the difficulties inherent in the condition of grave illness or old age” (CCC 1527) 
  • If someone who receives this sacrament recovers from the grave illness, and later becomes seriously ill again, the sacrament may be repeated (CCC 1515)
  • This sacrament “completes our conformity to the death and Resurrection of Christ… and fortifies the end of our earthly life like a solid rampart for the final struggles before entering the Father’s house” (CCC 1523).
• Viaticum: the Eucharist when given to those who are about to die. “It can be said that Penance, the Anointing of the Sick and the Eucharist as viaticum constitute at the end of Christian life ‘the sacraments that prepare for our heavenly homeland’” (CCC 1524-1525).
• Apostolic Pardon: for more information, visit Catholic Answers

So, what does the Communion of Saints mean?

• Communion: This has many meanings- as Catholics, we often think of Mass and the Eucharist when we hear “communion.” As defined by Fr. John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary, communion is “the most sacred expression for any one of different forms of togetherness. As communion between God and the human soul in the divine indwelling; between Christ and the recipient of the Eucharist in Holy Communion; among all who belong to the Mystical Body in heaven, purgatory, and on earth in the Communion of Saints; and among those who belong to the Catholic Church as a communion of the faithful.” (Catholic Culture)
• The Body of Christ includes the Church Militant, the Church Suffering, and the Church Triumphant
  • Church Militant: The Church on Earth: The faithful who are “fighting the good fight”
  • Church Suffering: The Church in Purgatory: Those who have died and are enduring the purification, “the suffering of leaving behind the old and taking on the new”
  • Church Triumphant: The Church in Heaven: “Those who have reached the fullness of salvation in Christ”
  • Reference for this section: Simply Catholic
• For more information on “A Cloud of Witnesses”: CCC 2683 

How do we interact with each other, within this Communion of Saints? 

• Intercession: plainly put, it’s asking for prayers on someone’s behalf, and/or connecting our prayers with theirs. It’s “a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did” (CCC 2634-2636)
  • We can intercede for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and those in Heaven can intercede both for us and those in Purgatory.
  • In a similar way to asking your aunt who is a prayer warrior to pray for you to find a new job, or asking your friend to pray for your family after the loss of a loved one, so too we can ask those who are cheering us on from Heaven to pray for us.
• Inspiration: Every canonized Saint had their weaknesses and sins, but they all kept striving to love the Lord and their neighbors and, in the end, through the grace of God, were victorious. We look to the saints as examples of how holiness is achievable.
• Imitation: No two people ever created by God have been exactly alike, and God did not intend us to be. Rather than desiring to be exactly like a known Saint, we can use their example of how we can rely on the Lord and use our God-given gifts unique to us to overcome our struggles on earth and unite ourselves more fully with Jesus Christ. The end goal is imitating Christ!
  
  “To imitate the saints is NOT to set out to live an “unequaled life,” to gather “innumerable hosts of disciples,” or to seek martyrdom. To imitate the saints is to love as God has loved you. To live that love in your life and with your neighbors.”
   (Catherine Cavadini, “The Church: Imitating Her Saints”).
  
  
  
  
• “Offer it up!” & Suffrages: This is one way we can help our brothers and sisters in Purgatory, by offering our pain, suffering, frustrations, and difficulties to be united with “that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church…” (Colossians 1:24)
  • Catholic Answers Magazine: “What it Means to ‘Offer it Up’”
  • The Fatima Center: “ ‘Offering it Up’: Penance and Redemptive Suffering”
• Offering a Mass for someone: Each Mass has a particular intention which you will hear stated during the Prayers of the Faithful, or “Intercessions.” This can be said for anyone, living or deceased. It is important to have Masses said for those who have died, to ask God to grant them special graces to welcome them home into Heaven. It is also important to have Masses said for those who are living, to ask God to grant them special graces to live our lives well and be more prepared to be welcomed into Heaven!
• For more information on Gregorian Mass: Shrine of Divine Mercy link
  • Because of the Communion of Saints, present at each and every Mass, you can request a Mass to be said for your loved one even if you are unable to attend (e.g., the Mass is in a different state/country). It is nice to be able to attend a Mass said for your loved one in person, but it is more important for the Mass to be offered for them!

Resources:

Videos:

Formed:

• Real + True: What Is the Communion of Saints?  
• Eternal Rest: The Art of Dying Well (4 episodes)
• Symbolon: The Faith Explained- Episode #9 on the Communion of Saints
• Symbolon: The Faith of the Church Episode #12 on Communion
• The Church is a Communion of God's Family
• Sacred Art: The Communion of Saints
• Angels & Saints: Why Does the Church Canonize People?

Books, Audiobooks & eBooks:

• Susan Tassone: Day by Day for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
• Peter Kreeft: How to Be Holy (Formed eBook)
• Ferdinand Holbock: Married Saints & Blessed (Formed eBook) 
• Pope Benedict XVI Holiness is Always in Season (Formed Audiobook)
• Emily Stimpson Chapman These Beautiful Bones: An Everyday Theology of the Body

Articles:

Kids & Family:

Music

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“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass grow in silence; see the stars, the moon and sun, how they move in silence." 
- Mother Teresa of Calcutta, "Something Beautiful for God"

Why "silence" in January?

Our January Challenge: 

Why is silence so important?

-For more from this sister, please click HERE.

How do we find or create silence?

How can we pray in silence?

1. Spend extra time in adoration of Jesus in the StP Chapel, SJA worship space, the hospital chapel. 
2. A quiet place in your home. 
3. Stations of the Cross at SJ or SP. 
4. In the car listening to Catholic speakers and/or music. 
5. Pray a daily Rosary
6. Pray a daily Angelus.
7. Pray a daily Divine Mercy Chaplet.
8. Spend some time at the Tipton Retreat Center.

Resources:

Videos:

Articles: