The Pastor's Column


Fr. Lara's Lines


Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Times

The First of All the Commandments
In this weekend’s gospel, Jesus shares what is central to the law of God. At the time of Jesus, the religious culture had become legalistic in many ways. At the core of the Hebrew law were the Ten Commandments which God gave to Moses. There were also the laws in the covenant codes of Exodus and Leviticus and more laws in the Deuteronomic code. All in all, there were 613 laws in the Hebrew code of law. They covered all social and religious issues from marriage and family life, to taxes and court procedures, to prayers and dietary restrictions. It was almost too much to bear. Religious leaders had become legalistic—making sure the law was kept for the sake of the law itself. When Jesus started his public ministry, many times he disregarded laws that hindered his message of love. It was in this context that one of the scribes asked Jesus an important question:

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The law of God is based on love. Love is more than emotions; love is an act of will. When a person loves another, they desire the good of the other. That desire could be expressed by words, gifts, acts of kindness, time, or physical touch. Think about how you express your love to your spouse, children, or friends. You love them all, but you show that love differently.

How can we express our love of God? We are to love God with all our heart. This means directing our passions and desires toward God rather than the things of this world. All the actions of our heart are to be shaped by our love for him. We are supposed to love God with all our soul. This means loving with our actions, our behavior, how we interact with one another. We are supposed to love God with all our mind. This means submitting our intellect to God’s power; letting God direct our thoughts according to his will. We are supposed to love God with all our strength. This means using our possessions to glorify him.

All Souls
Praying for the dead is a spiritual work of mercy. While the Church prays for the deceased at every Mass, we also dedicate a special day to this spiritual work of mercy—All Souls Day, November 2. On this day, we pray for the souls of our loved ones who have gone before us. During the whole month of November, we are called to pray in a special way for our brothers and sisters in Christ who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection. Our faith tells us that after this life, something much more beautiful waits for us. We surely miss our loved ones who have died but we need to embrace our faith, knowing that the Lord is merciful, and we will share his resurrection on the last day. At Saint Catherine Labouré, we offer a special Mass in which we remember our loved ones, especially those whose funerals we have celebrated this year. Many people still grieve the loss of their loved ones. We pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed and for peace and strength for their families and friends.

Election
Election Day is this Tuesday November 5. The right to vote is a privilege and a responsibility we need to exercise. Our vote is crucial for our democratic republic. I know there seems to be a lot of division between the two major parties, but we need to do our part and let God do the rest. We need to pray for one another and pray for the next president of the United States. Let us listen to one another and respect each other’s ideas— even those on which we might not agree. This could be a new beginning for healing our beautiful nation. This could be a catalyst for a more perfect union.

SPRED
SPRED (Special Religious Development) is a beautiful ministry for our friends with special needs. Through this ministry, they discover a place where they encounter God through meaningful relationships. We are blessed to have a SPRED program at St. Catherine’s for young adults. This Sunday we have a SPRED Mass at 11:00am. This Mass looks a bit different since the SPRED friends participate in the liturgy in different ways from a typical Mass. I appreciate all the work Madelynn Macur Brousil and her team do for our SPRED friends. They are making a big difference in their lives.

Peace
Fr. Lara

Recognize God in Your Oridinary Moments - By Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman
All Our Strength
I didn’t realize how much my arms would hurt when I became a mom.

It occurred to me first during Mass when my daughter was just a few weeks old. She was the kind of kid who could only sleep in someone’s arms. I desperately wanted her to stay quiet during the service, so I held the swaddled bundle in front of me like it was a bomb, not daring to move. By the homily, my arms were on fire.

I quickly realized this was a common scenario of my new life as a parent. Holding, rocking, bouncing, restraining, dragging—honestly, my weak little chicken-arms had never been worked out like this before. It took all my strength.

But isn’t that the way it is with everything that’s worthwhile? It takes all your strength. Not some of it. Not most of it. All of it.

I am a fairly active Catholic. My faith impacts a lot of areas of my life. But there are still boundaries that I’ve drawn around God. There are places I haven’t let Him in. Things I keep “for myself.” Experiences that are just so full of me, so full of my own plans and my own desires.

But God desires everything. Not because He is selfish, but because He is good, and wise. Because He knows that the places we keep from Him will become filled with something else. He wants to get there first. He wants to lay His claim.

He wants all our strength. All our heart. All our soul. All our mind. Not most of it. All of it.

Can we give it to Him?

Do we have the courage to answer him?
©LPi

The Holy Father's Intentions for the Month of November

For Those Who Have Lost a Child
Let us pray that all parents who mourn the loss of a son or daughter find support in their community, and may receive peace of heart from the Spirit of Consolation.

Honor Our Military

Please take time to give thanks for those who have served and are serving in our military and to pray for the safety of those who may currently be in harm’s way. In a special way, we thank and pray for these parishioners and relatives of parishioners.
Dear God,
We pray in gratitude for all of those who have defended peace, virtue, and justice with honor. We pray especially for those who have suffered in mind and body from the ravages of war. May Your peace reign in our hearts and in our world. Amen.

He Who Sacrificed His Life
†JOHN A. STONIS, Grandson of John & Dorthy Stonis
†CHRISTOPHER ZIMNY

Those Still Serving
JAY MARTIN, Nephew of Becky and Tom Brennan
JESSICA CAMERON, Niece of the Cameron Family
JOHN PODCZASKI, Grandson of Genevieve Podczaski
STEVEN TUMBARELLO, Son of Sylvia & Vince Tumbarello
CRAIG BEHRENDT, Grand-nephew of Sister Mary Helen
DANIEL BELZER, Nephew of Dave & Bev Belzer
MICHAEL KELLY, Nephew of Kevin and Kathy Kelly
MATTHEW NEUBAUER, Nephew of Dan & Judy Neubauer
EUGENE WALL, Nephew of Suzanne Lessner
NAILL SWIDER, Grand-nephew of Alice Swider
BRYAN DUFF, Son of Julie Duff
RYAN BLOCHBERGER, Nephew of Mae Grady
TIMOTHY DWORKIN, Grandson of Barbara Bouska
ALEXIS GONZALES, Great-niece of Eden & Lyle Gonzales-Nemzin
JACK MAHON, JR., Son of Jack, Sr. & Eileen Mahon
MICHAEL FOLEY
JOHN FOLEY
PETER MULLER
DANIEL FRAYNA
JOSEPH GULLO
SANG HOON LEE
ANTHONY PALMERO
MORRIS COREY MCMAHON, Son of Chris & Julie McMahon
RYAN FONTILLAS
MICHAEL T. HEHN, Grandson of John & Dorthy Stonis

To add or remove someone, please send the person’s name and relationship (optional) to bulletin@stcatherinelaboure.com

Please Pray for Ukraine

For our sisters and brothers involved in or affected by the war and devastation in Ukraine-- the deceased, the injured, the frightened, the displaced, the fighters, the protesters, the leaders. May God give them solace, healing, comfort, and hearts and minds directed toward peace.
Donations can be made here:

Knights of Columbus: https://www.kofc.org/secure/en/donate/ukraine.html

Caritas: https://www.caritas.org/

Ukrainian Catholic Archdiocese of Philidelphia: https://ukrarcheparchy.us

"May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war" - Pope Francis


Neighbors of other Faiths
The Golden Rule

Excerpted from charterforcompassion.org/the-golden-rule-in-seven-major-religions
We may speak of great differences in religious beliefs and forms of worship around the world. Called by an endless number of names, all, however, recognize and worship a Supreme Being. And all religions, somewhere in their sacred literature, expound the fundamental philosophy of the Golden Rule.

Buddhism: Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.
~ Buddha, Undanavarga 5:18

Christianity: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that all men should do to you, do ye even so to them.
~ Matthew 7:12

Confucianism: What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
~ Confucius, Analects 15:23

Hinduism: Good people proceed while considering what is best for others is best for themselves.
~ Hitopadesa

Islamism: No one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.
~ Mohammed, Traditions

Judaism: And thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
~ Leviticus 19:18

Zoroastrianism: Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others.
~ Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29