Inbox Inspiration: November 16, 2022: November - All Souls

 

INBOX INSPIRATIONS

November 16, 2022

 

November – All Souls          

 

Dear Friends,

In our Catholic tradition during the month of November, we pray for all those who have passed on from this earth. In many parishes, all are invited to submit the names of loved ones who are deceased, and the entire community prays for them throughout this month.

The earliest evidence of this practice dates to the year 636 in Spain. Saint Isidore of Seville specified one day each year for a liturgy for all the dead. A monastery in France in the year 998 set November 2 of each year as a day of prayer for All Souls. This custom spread throughout Europe and eventually became the universal practice of the Church – All Souls Day on November 2. This practice led to devoting the entire month of November to prayer for all of our deceased loved ones. 

 

The above prompts me to make one recommendation. Develop a list of all persons who have been in your life and have passed on from this earth. List especially those who have given much to you or have had a significant impact on your life. But also list anyone who has been there for you or with you in any way, even if only for a brief time. Look back over your life and slowly but surely develop this list. Besides family and friends, include classmates, teachers, co-workers, and others. Add names to this list as persons pass on to the Lord. And then, once a week, slowly read all of these names. Bring each person back into your awareness. Pray for them. Pray to them. Give thanks to God for them. This is a rich spiritual practice. It keeps us connected with our beloved dead and allows them to remain alive within us. This is part of what our belief in the Communion of Saints is all about.

 

We pray: 

Gracious God, 

I pray for my loved ones and for all who have been in my life who have died.

May they feel the warmth of your love and see the light of your face. 

May they be at peace in the resurrected life of your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen        

 

Father Michael Schleupner

Sunday Inbox Inspiration: November 13, 2022: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 13, Cycle C

 Sunday Inbox Inspirations

33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – C  

November 13, 2022

 

Someday Is Now

 

Some years ago, I read a story from a magazine called Spirituality and Health. 

 

It is about a man whose wife, Jan, had just died. He and his sister-in-law, his wife’s sister, were selecting clothes for his wife’s funeral.  

 

He opened the bottom drawer of his wife’s bureau and pulled out a tissue-wrapped package. He unfolded it and showed his sister-in-law a beautiful silk and lace slip.

 

He said, “Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, about eight years ago. She never wore it.

 

“She was saving it for a special occasion. I guess this is the occasion.”

 

He then placed the slip on the bed with the other clothes that they would bring to the funeral home. Then he said to his sister-in-law, “Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion; every day is a special occasion.” 

 

Jan’s sister remembered these words. She kept thinking about all the things she herself had done without realizing they were special.  

 

The words of her brother-in-law began to have a real impact on her. She writes this: “I’m reading more and dusting less.  

 

“I’m sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I’m spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings.  

 

“We use our good dishes for every event, like after getting the sink unstopped. I’m trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter or luster to our lives.

 

“And every moment I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath…is a gift of God.”      

 

The Gospel and Now

 

This widowed man and his sister-in-law express the same point Jesus is making in today’s gospel.  

 

Jesus talks about a time when all kinds of threatening things will happen. But he is not trying to get us to focus on that future end-time and to live with anxiety and fear and gloom.  

 

Instead, he is trying to get us to focus on the present. And he wants us to be aware of the present moment, to make the present special, to appreciate the here and now. 

 

In other words, yes, someday there will be an end-time. Someday we will pass on from this earth.

 

But Jesus wants us to be ready for that by being aware that today is special. He wants us to make the present moment special, to live today well, and that is the way to be ready for the future.

 

Making Now Special 

 

I want to propose two ways to help us make the present moment, the now special. 

 

First, each day do something good for one person important in our life. Maybe it will be asking your husband or wife or close friend what their day was like and really meaning it. 

 

Maybe it will be a text message or phone call to our parents or children, just to let them know you are thinking about them. Maybe it will be sending a note to a family member or friend with whom we have lost contact. 

 

And second, each day spend some time with God. Reserve a few minutes just to be quiet and aware of God’s presence.

 

Pray some prayer that we know by heart or speak to God in our own words. Allow this quiet time to put us in touch with our need to slow down and be aware and alert and awake to the present moment.   

 

Conclusion

 

So, the takeaway this morning: two ways to help us make today, the now special:

1.    Each day do something good for one person important in our life.

2.    And each day spend some time with God.

 

That’s the way God wants us to live in the present. And that will also be the best way to prepare for the future.

 

 

Fr. Michael Schleupner