All Saints and All Souls: Our bonds with those we love are not broken by the sting of death. Jesus Christ has destroyed death and he has passed through the veil! Through the power of Christ’s salvific act, we share an exchange of spiritual gifts with the souls in purgatory and with the souls enjoying the unending peace of heaven. The Church points us toward these realities with the celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day (please see the box in this bulletin with the available Mass times). Remember that All Saints Day is a holy day of obligation...
Remembering our Beloved Dead: November will begin with our commemoration of All Saints Day (a holy day of obligation) and our solemn remembrance of All Souls Day. As is our custom, a book of remembrance will be available at each church in which you can write the names of your deceased loved ones. We will pray for each of them in an intentional way throughout the month...
Tithing our Blessings: Thanks to your continued generosity, we were able to put a check in the mail for $2,205.30 and send it on its way to Catholic Charities in Hawaii. This parish tithe, you may recall, is in response to the horrible wildfires that swept over Maui. The suffering people of that island have now disappeared from the news headlines, but their pain and their need remain great. I’m so pleased that we were able to contribute in a small way to their rebuilding efforts. With the holidays soon to be upon us, we now turn our attention to local families in need of food assistance. This month’s parish tithe will go to support the Sheffield Food Bank and the November tithe will be offered for the Salvation Army in Warren...
Authentic Witness: One of the core values that we long to see formed in every member of our Holy Redeemer family is that of being an “authentic witness” for Christ. What is an authentic Christian witness? It is a person that puts Christ at the center of every facet of their life! This is fairly easy to imagine in ourselves, but it often difficult to live out in practice. Being an authentic witness requires discipline and virtue. It requires a firm commitment to daily prayer. The authentic witness readily seeks out the sacraments and enters deeply into the liturgical life of the Church...