Dear Friends of St. Joseph,
The month of November always calls us to remember two important events in the
whole year. The first day of the month we honor All Saints Day. When we are baptized
we become saints; that is, we become holy. In baptism, we begin the process
of becoming holy; that is, of being like God. The path towards holiness will be a
period of trials. By turning to the Lord in these trials, one will grow in holiness and
holiness leads to sainthood. The saint’s favorite food is the Holy Eucharist. The
saint’s favorite dress is the armor of faith. The saint’s favorite past time is doing anything
with the immense love of God. The saint’s favorite symbol is the Holy Cross.
The second day of the month we commemorate All Souls Day. It is a dogma of our
faith that the suffering souls are relieved by the intercession of the saints in heaven
and by the prayers of the faithful upon this earth. To pray for the dead is, therefore,
an act of charity and of piety, certainly obligatory for a Christian who professes
to have charity in his heart. We read in Holy Scripture: “It is a holy and
wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their
sins.” (2 Macc 12:46). Hence, it is our primary duty to pray for all the departed
brothers and sisters.
We also celebrate in this month the Feast of Our Lady of Divine Providence. It is
one of the most important feasts to the Servants of Charity. St. Louis Guanella beautifully
says, “If you receive with two hands from providence, you must give with
four hands to the poor of providence.” Throughout his life St. Guanella always depended
on Divine Providence and extended charity worldwide.
Finally, we conclude this month and also the Church liturgical calendar by celebrating
the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ ‘King of the Universe’. Thus, the month
of November is always a holy month to be observed. Throughout this month of
November, let us strive to become more holy and lets us also pray for the departed
brothers and sisters every day in the holy mass.
Happy Feast of All the Saints!
With Love and Prayers,
Fr. Leo Joseph SdC
