Fr. Louis Bulletin Letter - November 06, 2005 - November a Month of Prayer for the Dead
So many of you have commented how inspiring these past two weeks have been at Saint Peter’s with Bishop Listecki here for my installation and then for Confirmation. May the many graces the Lord has showered upon us in these days bear much fruit in our parish! The Bishop enjoyed both his visits to Saint Peter’s and is grateful for the hospitality we have shown him at the gatherings at church and by opening the doors of the rectory to him. In fact, he feels so much at home at our rectory that he says he will happily stay with us whenever his schedule has him overnight in the area!
In addition to being inspiring weeks, they have been busy! The Diocese required me to attend several all-day workshops in La Crosse during this time. One was an orientation program for newly-appointed pastors and the other was an eight-hour session on asbestos and its safe management. Also, last week Bishop Listecki appointed me to serve on the Diocesan Seminarian Admissions Board. That body meets several times a year to consider the applications of young men who desire to study for the priesthood for our Diocese. The Board’s work includes study of the candidates’ application materials and personal interviews. The Board then makes a recommendation to the Bishop to accept, defer, or reject the individual’s application. Finally, the Bishop has appointed me as a spiritual director to several men in the area who are in formation for the permanent diaconate. That means a monthly meeting with each directee to discuss his spiritual life and his path to ordination as a permanent deacon. Who ever said a priest’s life is boring!
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November is a month traditionally dedicated to prayer for the dead. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium teaches that “in full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and, ‘because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins’ (2 Maccabees 12:46) she offers her suffrages for them” (50). The Catechism of the Catholic Church also notes the importance of prayer for the dead: “From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead” (1032). Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. Requiescant in pace. May they rest in peace.
Saint Peter, pray for us!