As I'm sure you have heard the Indiana Bishops have extended the dispensation for Sunday Mass until further notice. Since the virus is worse now than ever before and is especially strong in our area, this is a decision for our safety. Never the less we will continue to have our usual Sunday Masses at 8:15 and 10:30 AM with masks and spacing. We average about 15 people at each Mass. Please remember that if you feel sick stay home and see a doctor. If you feel fine, we can handle about 35 people at each Mass. Cheryl Ashe is still videoing our 10:30 Mass. Did you know one of her first jobs was as a camera person at a local TV station?
The Annual Bishop's Appeal is in full swing. Our assigned goal is $10,898.00. So far we have 18 pledges for a total of $6,390.00. That leaves us $4,508.00 to go. If you have made a pledge at church, through the mail or on line, thank you so much. If you are still praying about your pledge, please consider making it soon. You might want to look at Today's Catholic in paper or on line this week. The Bishop has the diocesan financial statement there.
Next Sunday is All Saints Day. We usually put the names of our beloved dead by the altar for the month of November. We will continue to do so. There will be papers in church for those listings. If you are not coming to church, you can email the names at
leonardcollins@att.net and I will print them and put them by the altar. We do this because November 2 is All Souls Day. In the Hispanic Community it is also the Day of the Dead. There is a great movie named "Coco" that in a very entertaining way explains the Day of the Dead.
In today's Gospel, the Pharisee asks Jesus for the greatest commandment in the law. Jesus really sums up his whole teaching by saying: "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." Jesus is gently reminding us that we show our love for God by how we treat each other. The first reading from Exodus gets more specific. In Exodus God is forming the people of God and in today's reading God lists some of the things we have to do as members of the church. "You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong the widow or orphan." He goes on to tell us to help the poor as well. In our second reading St. Paul talks about conversion: "And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit, so that you became a model for all believers." Today, we must model Christ by loving God and neighbor.
If you haven't voted yet, please do. I sent in my absentee ballot a couple of weeks ago, in case the mail is slow. Just think, on November 3rd the political ads may stop at least for a few days and then people will be running for the next election cycle. Take care and stay well.