On Sunday, October 31, 2021, Father Tony join us for our second session of Catholicism 101. Our topic for October was the saints! Last year, we had a focus on the official process for a person to become a saint. This year, our discussion was a little more personal.
Father Tony has three siblings that were born, baptized and died shortly after birth. In his family home, growing up, Theresa, Joseph and David were his family's personal saints they prayed to for intercession in heaven. While the formal process of canonization may not be something anyone in our personal experience going through, the reality is all who are in heaven, recognized or not, are saints.
At this particular time in the Church year, it is good to remember those who have gone before us. Our prayers for the souls still in purgatory may open the gates of Heaven for them. If they have already passed through those gates, it is an invitation for them to pray for us, our needs, our concerns and our joys.
A book Father Tony highly recommends is "Friends of God and Prophets", by Elizabeth Johnson. It is a challenge for us to participate in the divine, to be in communion with those who are with us today and those who have gone before. It is also a reminder that when we pass away, it is good to be remembered as a Friend of God, and a Prophet who shared His Good News with the world around us.
No comments:
Post a Comment