Fr. Todd 11/2/25

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,

            I am looking forward to the School Gala this upcoming Saturday, Nov 8th- always such a great event celebrating and supporting our school.  As of your reading this, I don’t know if any tickets are left or not, but you can check with the parish office.  I hope to see you there!

            November is the solemn month of the year in the Church when we specifically remember and pray for those who have died.  Because November 2^nd, which is All Souls Day, falls on a Sunday (this weekend) all of our Masses are for the souls who have gone before us. This is a powerful way for us to begin this month and not just hold our loved ones in our hearts but to be lifting them up in prayer.  A few ways to do this:

1.      For this month Fr. Paul and I will be ending our petitions at Mass with a traditional prayer for the deceased.  If these prayers are not familiar it is good for us all of us to know them.

·         "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them".

·         "May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace"

2.      We will celebrate Masses of Remembrance this coming week.  At these Masses we invite families to write the names of loved ones on simple crosses that they bring to the front so we can take time to pray together and present them anew to the Lord.  We light a candle in their honor and as a sign of our prayers for them.  These are moments important both for them to know receive our prayers and also for us in ongoing process of grief.  These Masses remind that there is no timeline on grief.  Grief comes and goes at times that can be very surprising.  These Masses are important moments in that process to keep on walking through it with the Lord.

In these Masses I encourage us to pray for any hidden griefs.  For example, I think of our families who have suffered miscarriages.  Losing these little ones was perhaps never made public but how their loss cuts to the heart.  If you haven’t done so already, consider naming your child, writing their name on one of the crosses, and pray for them.  Let Jesus come close to you in that loss.

·         Mass of Remembrance at Sacred Heart: Tuesday, Nov 4^th, at 6pm

·         Mass of Remembrance at St. Mary on the Lake: Thursday, Nov 6^th, at 6pm

3.      Take the opportunity this month to pray for the repose of the soul of someone that you don’t personally know and/or someone that you wouldn’t necessarily think to pray for.  The focus of this month reminds us that we can literally pray for anyone.  They could be unknown to us; they could be an enemy.  At times we hear stories of people’s lives publicly and tragically self-destructing, eventually ending in their passing.  Often, we will say how sad that is and stop there.  Let’s this month take the next step to pray for them as they come before the Lord.

God Bless,  Fr. Todd