Dear Parishioners,

Once again, we find ourselves immersed in, what many (including myself) describe as, "the most wonderful time of the year." I believe this description is justified given the level of joyful energy and hopeful activity in which so much of our culture is engaged. Though we may find ourselves emotionally drained and physically exhausted when this holiday season is over, I suspect most people are happily excited when it rolls around each year.

Dear Parishioners,

This week Americans will observe, as we traditionally do on the 4th Thursday of November, Thanksgiving Day. The history of this observance is complex and not unanimously agreed upon. Most historians associate its origins with a three day harvest feast that was shared by the Plymouth Colonists and the native Wampanoag people in 1621. It was intended to be a celebratory meal after the Pilgrim's first successful harvest. The menu included fowl, fish, and corn along with venison that was provided by the Wampanoag leader, Massasoit. For over 200 years Thanksgiving Day was celebrated irregularly throughout the colonies until President Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday in 1863.

Dear Parishioners,

Today (November 9) we commemorate the dedication of one of the most privileged church buildings of Christendom -- the church of St. John Lateran. This church is one of the four major basilicas in the city of Rome and has the distinction of being the pope’s cathedral. The other three basilicas are: St. Mary Major, St. Paul Outside the Walls (in which the mortal remains of St. Paul the Apostle are entombed) and St. Peter in Vatican City (in which the mortal remains of St. Peter the Apostle are entombed). Although St. John Lateran is the official cathedral of the pope who is called “the bishop of Rome,” the most prominent liturgical celebrations of the Roman Catholic Church are celebrated at St. Peter’s in Vatican City.

Dear Parishioners,

At this time of year, in the Church’s liturgical cycle as well as the cycle of nature, we are invited to contemplate the mystery of death. While trees shed their leaves and the hours of night lengthen, the Church’s commemorations of All Saints, All Souls and the triumph of Christ the King, put before us the inevitable reality that life, as we know it now, will end. Throughout this journey of life, death is our unseen companion, and if we can learn to befriend, rather than fear it, when death finally comes in its fullness, we will be able to welcome it as a rebirth – a homecoming into heaven.