November 1 is All Saints Day. It is a Holy Day of Obligation and we will have Mass at 6 PM. November 2 is All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead. We will once again have slips of paper for the names of our dearly departed. Please fill out the forms and leave them in the basket by the altar where they will remain for the month of November. I want to thank Cheryl Ashe and Alma and Savino Rivera for their great presentation on the Day of the Dead last Sunday.
The Annual Bishop’s Appeal has started. Our goal this year has gone up a little to $13,406.64. We may have trouble making it this year because some of our bigger donors have moved out of town to be closer to their families. Illness and death have also taken a toll on the parish this year. So, please pray over your sacrificial gift to the Bishop’s Appeal this week and especially during Mass today. As usual you can give on line, make sure you mention St. Augustine’s to give the parish credit. You can also drop your pledge card in the collection or give it to Father Len.
October is respect life month. We should respect all life from the womb until natural death. October is also the Month of the Rosary. It would be good to pray the rosary everyday as a sign of our respect for all life.
Today’s Gospel event comes right after last week’s Gospel and fits very well. Last week Jesus told his disciples, who were all trying to be the most important, “Rather, whoever wishes to be first among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” Today we have the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, asking Jesus only to be able to see. Jesus calls him and Bartimaeus leaves behind all he has, his cloak. Jesus asks him the same question he asked James and John last week, “What do you want me to do for you?” He asks to see. He is cured. “Immediately he received his sight and followed him (Jesus) on the way.” Jesus calls us all to be his followers on the way home to the Father.
Our second reading from Hebrews tells us that Jesus is our High Priest and more. God says of Jesus: “You are my son; this day I have begotten you; just as he says in another place: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” What a gift!
In our first reading the Prophet Jeremiah tells us of Israel’s homecoming. “Thus says the Lord: Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The Lord has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel.” We can all shout for joy because God has saved us all Jew and Gentile alike.
On Saturday, November 3, the Church celebrates Saint Martin de Porres. Martin was born in Lima, Peru of a Spanish father and a black slave mother. He became a Dominican Brother, who humbly ministered to the poor and the sick, especially to African slaves. He devoted himself to the Holy Eucharist. He was a close friend of Rose of Lima. He is the patron of social justice and of peoples of mixed races. He died in 1639.
Let us continue to pray for peace in the world. Let us also pray for vocations to the church. Let us pray for the sick of the parish. Let us pray that all will come to respect life. Let us pray for one another and for the canonization of Father Tolton. Let us also pray for those who are victims of sexual abuse.
A Father Tolton Prayer:Father in Heaven, Father Tolton’s suffering service sheds light upon our sorrows; we see them through the prism of your Son’s passion and death. If it be your Will, O God, glorify your servant Father Tolton, by granting the favor I now request through his intercession (mention your request) so that all may know the goodness of this priest whose memory looms large in the Church he loved. Complete what you have begun in us that we might work for the fulfillment of your kingdom. Not to us the glory, but glory to you O God, through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are our God, living and reigning forever and ever. Amen.