The month of November is a month that holds great importance for me. One reason being that it is the month of my birth and my baptism. I am most grateful to Almighty God and my parents for the gift of my life, my faith and my family. Another reason being that it is the month in which I was consecrated and installed as the Bishop of Bismarck.
However, November is not about me, but it is about the Church celebrating that article of our faith in the communion of saints. November 1, a holy day of obligation, is the Solemnity of All Saints. The day on which we offer to Almighty God, at Holy Mass, our praise and thanksgiving for all who have gone before us in the faith and now enjoy eternal happiness with Him in heaven.
The very next day, November 2, we celebrate the Feast of All Souls. While it is not a holy day of obligation, it is a day we should all be at Holy Mass and offer our prayers of supplication to Almighty God for all who have gone before us in the faith and are being purified of every stain of sin in anticipation of entering into the eternal happiness of heaven. The holy souls in purgatory cannot, any longer, help themselves by prayer, penance and works of charity but we certainly can assist them and hasten their entrance into heaven by our prayers, good works and penances offered for them.
What these two days, which begin the month of November, should remind us of is that our permanent home is not here but is supposed to be heaven. Our lives here are a real time preparation for eternity and, if we want our eternity to be heaven, we must work for it by lives which are worthy of heaven and not hell. If you cannot recall what our faith in the communion of saints is, let us review.
The communion of saints is made up of all the saints already in heaven, the Church triumphant; all the holy souls in purgatory who will go to heaven, the Church penitent; all of us who are living in this world and continuing our preparation for eternal life with God, the Church militant. What unites all of us in this great communion is our faith and all the holy things, especially the Holy Eucharist and the other sacraments, which unite us to God in His Church and thus, to one another.
Let us make this November that month which we all enjoy because it is our month as Catholics and as members of the communion of saints in the Mystical Body of Christ, our wonderful Catholic Church.