Dear Parishioners,

It seems to come earlier and earlier every year! many of us exclaim. “It” being Christmas. For example, the Hallmark channel has been running its “Countdown till Christmas” movies for at least a month. Radio stations are now playing time honored Christmas songs as well as the cultural favorites like “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman.” Stores have been selling indoor and outdoor Christmas decorations since August and are now actually decorating their stores with these same trappings.

During our year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois, we have emphasized that we are “Founded in Faith, Called to Witness, Sent Forth to Serve.” During the month of October, we decided to focus on the last four words, “Sent Forth to Serve.”

Specifically, I asked every parish to undertake a communal service project during the month of October. I did not care what date they selected or what type of service project they chose. The goal was simply for every parish to do something - anything - of service in the name of the Lord.

Dear Parishioners,

For many centuries Catholicism has set apart the month of November as a particular time to ponder the mystery of death and to pray for those who have already been embraced by this inevitable mystery that awaits us all. Frequently I am asked, Why should we pray for the dead? for as Fr. Ronald Rolheiser once quoted one of his students as saying, If the person we are praying for is in hell, then we can’t help them, and if they are in heaven then they don’t need our help. Rolheiser’s answer to the question, Why pray for the dead? is, For the same reason we pray at all: we simply need to.