St James Catholic Church

The days are growing shorter. The leaves are falling from the trees, and the last of the crops are harvested. It’s at this time the Church calls to mind those who have died, and Jesus’ promise of eternal life.  Earlier this week we honored the saints, men, and women outstanding in holiness, and remembered our beloved dead on All Souls’ Day.  Today we heard Jesus affirm the resurrection of the dead when faced with a group of religious authorities who refused to accept it.

The seven brothers in our first reading; and the seven brothers in the Gospel have something in common; they all appeared to have died in vain.  The Maccabean brothers were killed one after another, never able to get married, to have children, or to grow old.  The brothers in question of the Sadducees in the Gospel, died in short succession, each unable to produce descendants for his elder brothers.  Even today we think of our name and our family line living on through our offspring.  But we do not truly live on through anything or anyone we produce.  We live on because Jesus tells us, “God is not of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”  We do not live on because we are forever held in the world’s memory.  We live on because we are forever held in God’s infinite memory.  May our faith in Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life, give us hope during these dark days of the calendar year.

Love, Peace, Joy,

Fr. Bob

November 6-12 is National Vocation Awareness Week. The harvest is great, let us beg the Harvest Master to send laborers in the fields: priests, deacons, religious men and women as well as wonderful lay ministers.

Also remember to vote and pray that God will raise up leaders who govern with Kingdom values.