Worth and Value
October 31, 2021
What is something worth? Has something gone up in value over time? What possessions possess us? It was always interesting to be on a youth retreat and be invited to answer the question if you had only ten minutes to get five things out of your house before it burnt down, what would you take? The exercise was always there to remind us to look at the value and worth we placed on things. Over the years our answers change. The answer I gave as a young person, my baseball glove, my bicycle and my money has now been replaced by a few personal items like the chalice of my ordination, my favorite rosary, and maybe a cross from the missions. We place worth and value on things and the Gospel challenges us to think about this today.
Worth more than burnt offerings and sacrifices, worth more than the things of this world is the love we have for God and our neighbor. Things are just things, but when we love the Lord with all our heart, all our understanding and all our strength, we are seeing the worth of things eternal. As we love our neighbor as ourselves, we are sharing something not measured or tangible, but something lived. This is worth more than the things of this world. The invitation today is to get our priorities in order. We are invited to place values on faith, hope and love. St. Paul says the love that is born of charity for another is the greatest. Jesus supports the scribe in today’s Gospel in acknowledging the difference between the things of the world and the things that lead to eternity. May we use the day to draw closer to the kingdom of God.
Father John Ouper
All Saints and All Souls
This week we are invited to celebrate the holiness of the faith journey. On Monday we celebrate All Saints Day. We are invited to reconnect with the incredible people of faith that have become inspiration and encouragement to us. They are individuals who overcame obstacles, stayed true to the faith, suffered and even were martyred for the experience they knew was true to God. The prayers of that day call us to the festival of the saints. This is followed on Tuesday with The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. On this day we remember the family we know, the individuals who personally helped shape our lives. We celebrate the promise and gift of resurrection.
On both days we are invited to our heavenly homeland. Our eyes and hearts are invited to contemplate life everlasting. The combination of these days sets the foundation for our movement toward the Solemnity of Christ the King and the beginning of Advent. Our spirituality is to be uplifted by the great vision of what is to come, our journey to eternity. May we rejoice in the focus of these days and join together in the assembly of the Church.
Everyone is welcome to gather:
Feast of All Saints ~~ Monday, November 1 (A holy day without the obligation)
8:00 AM Noon 4:30 PM (with our Religious Education families)
The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed—All Souls ~~ Tuesday, November 2
7:00 AM and 7:00 PM
Father John