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Father Jack’s Letter
Dear
Co-Missionary,
The death of a loved one is never easy to accept. In spite of our faith and hope in the resurrection, we mourn because we loved them and we miss them. As we mourn, let us stay mindful of the merciful God who loves them and who loves us.
It is a holy and righteous thing to pray for the dead. In your continuing love for your own family dead, let us remember them through prayer to the loving and merciful Father so that they will no longer linger on the doorstep of Heaven, but will be admitted to joy everlasting.
All Souls Day, November 2, is a special time to pray for the souls of our beloved dead and for those most lonely and abandoned souls who have no one to pray for them. During the nine days leading up to All Souls Day, our Basilian priests in Sugar Land will hold a novena and prayer vigil for the intentions of the souls of your beloved family and friends who have been called home to the Father. On All Souls Day, a special Mass of Thanksgiving to God will be celebrated for welcoming our loved ones into His Eternal Kingdom, and your intentions will remain at the altar during this Mass.
This year, during the prayer vigil, we will follow the old custom of reading the names of your loved ones aloud at the altar of St. Joseph's chapel during the service.
I invite you to list the names of your loved ones on the coupon following this letter and send it to us. You are also invited to list their names on the Souls List following the coupon and recite the prayer every morning from October 25th through November 2nd. In this manner, you will join us spiritually in the prayers for your dead wherever you are.
As you continue to do His work in this world while you wait in joyful anticipation for the coming of the Lord, we hope you will also send a generous donation as alms for the poor and needy souls served by the Basilian Fathers Missions. We thank you for blessing us with your prayers and alms.
In His Love, Peace and Joy,
Rev. John R. Whitley, C.S.B.
Will the Real St. Therese
Please Stand Up
In our love for her, the images of St. Therese which we most often see and venerate are those which show her beautiful and healthy. And yet, Therese was a saint who suffered much, both mentally and physically. Afflicted with tuberculosis, she spent the last eighteen months of her life in a continuous agony, at times barely able even to breathe. In addition, she passed through what the mystics have called the “dark night of the soul,” in which her spiritual sufferings were also extreme.
It is this Therese, sick and suffering, and not the rosy cheeked flower bearer, with whom so many of us can identify. Like her, as human beings, many of our sunny days are clouded over with stress, worry, sadness, illness, and pain. How can we understand God as a loving creator as we burn in a crucible of suffering?
What was the key to Therese’s understanding of suffering? In her essay
St. Therese: Light in the Culture of Death, Susan Muldoon, OCDS tells us: “Therese lived with the simplicity of a child, poor in spirit, full of unshakable confidence in the merciful love of God. The way of spiritual childhood is open to all, especially those who are experiencing suffering and temptations that they cannot understand or remove. Therese once said, `I really count on not remaining inactive in heaven. My desire is to work still for the Church and for souls. I am asking God for this and I am certain He will answer me.’”
Sister Muldoon’s essay and other essays about St. Therese are found in the book
St. Therese, Doctor of the Little Way, by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, published by Park Press, Inc., in 1997. This is a book which should be on the shelf of any devotee of the Little Flower. The book is available from: Immaculata Bookstore, Our Lady’s Chapel, P.O. Box 3003, New Bedford, MA , 3003-02741, Tel # (508) 996-8274, Fax # (508) 996-8296.
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Basilian
Fathers Missions