Pastor’s Letter & November 14 Bulletin

Pastor’s Letter & November 14 Bulletin

12 Nov 2021 | Posted by: chadmin

The November 14 bulletin is now available online.

Dear friends,

As we approach the end of a calendar year, we are also coming to the end of the Liturgical Year. This Sunday is the 33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Next week we conclude the Church Year with the Feast of Christ the King. Sunday November 28 is the First Sunday of Advent and the beginning of the new Liturgical Year. The Church Year, as with a Calendar Year, allows us to not only organize time, but to remember the events of the past. The calendar allows us to remember birthdays and anniversaries while helping to prepare for the changing seasons. The Church Calendar ensures we will remember all the key moments in the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus while honoring many of the great saints. The Season of Advent prepares us for Christmas. The Season of Lent prepares us for Easter. The Christmas and Easter Seasons allow extended time to pray with these Christian mysteries. As we are now at the end of the Liturgical Year, the Church invites us to prepare for eternal life.  When we begin a new Church Year, we begin by welcoming the Savior into the world.  As we end the Church Year, we read about the 2^nd Coming of Christ, the end of the world and our final judgment.

We are all interested in the end of things, as we are all interested in the end of our lives. Death is a certainty. There are many ways to think about death and Jesus gives us a lot to process. Most people struggle for control of life events. The biggest event in all of our lives will be passing from this life to meet Jesus for judgment. The Seasons of Advent and Lent both call us to have preparation for judgment. St. Benedict challenges his fellow Benedictine monks to live each day as if they would die that day and have to provide an explanation to Jesus. As we age, we all think about death with a little more interest. While Jesus doesn’t articulate exactly the process of judgment, he does clarify a few key things. This weekend we read from Mark 13:32 which states, “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” With Jesus talking about the end of the world with the final judgment and not our particular judgment, he does make it clear that this not something to try to discover. There is no secret code in the Bible about the end of time. No scientist knows exactly when the world will cease to be. What we do know, and what Jesus wants us to use to maintain our focus, is that we will die, the world will die, the one who loves us best is waiting for us, so we ought to prepare ourselves to meet Him. As we close this liturgical year and begin again, the Church does invite us to reflect on death, but to reflect in a way that challenges how we really want to live. Each day we are called to renew our commitment to live a life worthy of heaven.

God bless,

Father David