Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints, and tomorrow the Commemoration of All Souls. Together with the vigil held the evening prior to All Saints, these three days encompass the triduum known as Allhollowtide. It comes from the Old English words "eall" meaning "every", "hollow" meaning "holy", and "tide" meaning "time". The word Halloween is really just the Old English way of saying All Hallows' Eve, meaning the Night before All Holy's (Saint's) [Day].

Dear friends,

Sometimes, the most profound encounters with God begin with the simplest invitations.

One of the most uplifting moments of my day at Our Lady of Mount Carmel is our staff gathering at noon to pray the Angelus together. Amid the many responsibilities, meetings, phone calls, and demands of parish life, this brief pause invites us to turn our hearts toward God, remember the mystery of the Incarnation, and entrust our lives and concerns to the loving care of our Blessed Mother.

As announced last weekend, our parish is launching the Vocational Formation Program for our children: an ambitious program designed to help foster a culture of vocations in the parish and cultivate a desire to discern priesthood and religious life in the program's participants. It was completely unintentional, but the day we are launching the Program, November 1, just so happens to be the start of National Vocation Awareness Week in the Catholic Church in the United States. When things like this seemingly too perfectly coincide, it's sometimes referred to as "God-instances".

Dear friends,

A week ago I wrote an article on the merits of frequent Confessions as a means for us to reconcile with God, with ourselves, and with others. A well-prepared and intentional Confession makes one grow in humility and reminds us that we all need God's mercy. We all need spiritual healing and peace.

Dear friends, A young man once asked his Pastor: "Father, I haven't committed any serious sins. Do I really need to go to Confession often?"

The priest smiled and replied: "My son, Confession isn't only for those who have fallen badly. It's also for those who want to grow in holiness."

Many Catholics think the Sacrament of Reconciliation is something to receive only after committing a grave sin. But the Church encourages frequent Confession, even for those who are sincerely striving to live a holy life.

On Friday, we traveled 200 miles to the northeast to a small town overlooking the Adriatic Sea to visit the Basilica of the Holy House in Loreto, where Fr. Robert celebrated Mass. This Basilica is built around and protects a very special building located right in its center, that being the Santa Casa.

Dear friends,

Africans love feasts!

We love wedding feasts, ordination celebrations, anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, and memorials. Whenever there is something important to celebrate, we know how to celebrate it-and we do not like to celebrate alone!

Today in Rome on our young adult pilgrimage, Fr. Robert is celebrating Mass at the Mamertine Prison, the oldest prison in Rome. It sits directly adjacent to the Roman Forum on the northeastern slope of the Capitoline Hill, and Tradition holds that at separate times, St. Peter and St. Paul were once imprisoned here in the prison's subterranean dungeon during their trial before their martyrdom.

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for organizing a memorable celebration of the 35th anniversary of my priestly ordination two weeks ago.

As I look back over these 35 years of service, many memories come to my mind: moments of joy and moments of challenge, moments of success and moments of uncertainty and even moments of failure ... Yet through it all one reality has remained constant and at the core of my priesthood: God's abiding presence in my life and the Holy Eucharist, the Bread of Life. I'm deeply grateful for all these.

Hanging above the altar at OLMC is a large crucifix, with a 6-foot-tall corpus of Christ painted in the Ionic style. As I'm sure you know, OLMC is not alone in having a crucifix, as every Catholic Church is required to have a crucifix on or near the altar for the Mass. But why is that?

Dear Friends,

In the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; Whoever eats this bread will live forever; And the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." And again He said ... "Amen, Amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him."(John 6:51,53-56)

At the Mass, there are many things said or read throughout the Mass, but around 70% of everything that is said is not being said to us in the pews. So to whom are these words being addressed?

Dear Friends,

This is a continuation of the story, which I began in last week's article.

The Cross is not merely a religious symbol that we wear around our necks, place in our homes, or display in our churches. The Cross is the throne from which Christ conquered sin and death. It is the place where divine love was poured out completely for our salvation.

The sixth chapter of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC) is dedicated to sacred music. The document states that: "The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy“(SC,, 112).

Dear Friends,

I have just returned from a very fulfilling three-month sabbatical, for which I am deeply grateful to God and to you, my dear parishioners, for your prayers, love, and support that sustained me throughout those months. I am very happy to be back home and once again among you, ready to serve.

I have so much to share with you about my sabbatical experience, and hope to do so in the weeks and months ahead. But let me begin with one incident that has profoundly stayed with me and deepened my appreciation of the power of the Cross of Christ.

Throughout lands of the former Roman Empire, one will encounter triumphal arches: a very large stone archway supported by two massive stone piers, sometimes with two accompanying smaller archways on each side of the center large one, with a passageway running through it below the arch, but not made for the purpose of supporting any structure above it crossing the passageway.

Dear friends,

In our daily lives, misunderstandings and conflicts can easily arise within families, friendships, workplaces, and even our faith communities. We may be tempted to talk about someone's faults with others before having the courage to speak to the person directly. We can all take a wrong turning in our lives.