Saints and souls in purgatory highlight November issue

The church dedicates the month of November to the souls in purgatory and we do the same with this issue. The month starts with the Solemnity of All Saints on Nov. 1, followed immediately by the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed or All Souls Day on Nov. 2.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the solemnity for all saints honors “all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful’s celebration of saints’ feasts during the year.”

As Luisa Scolari points out in our Spanish-language story (Page 17) on our favorite saints, too many of us forget or never knew our saint’s day. I’m afraid I plead guilty to that; it’s Alfred the Great, by the way—not a description of your lowly editor. Most of us, I fear, do not know much about the patron saints of our parishes. I grew up at St. Francis de Paula in San Diego and must confess until I Googled it recently I had no idea who he was. Learning about the saints in our lives strikes me as a good catechetical practice. For St. Anthony of Padua parishioners, we provide a brief biography of their patron saint on Page 29.

The Catholic Encyclopedia also provides insight into All Souls Day. “The theological basis for the feast is the doctrine that the souls which, on departing from the body, are not perfectly cleansed from venial sins, or have not fully atoned for past transgressions, are debarred from the Beatific Vision, and that the faithful on earth can help them by prayers, alms, deeds and especially by the sacrifice of the Mass.”

Father Rodolfo Vasquez explains that purgatory is not a place but a journey. “As we celebrate the day in which we commemorate those who have gone before us and await the eternal bliss of heaven, let us on this All Souls Day pray, fast and do penance for our beloved family and friends.”

The issue of death is also discussed in Father J. Patrick Serna’s column on the death and burial of Jesus as well as in a story on the increasing use of cremation and the church’s views on this subject as well as Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey’s perspective on the Catholic Church’s views on cremation.

Our cover story is on the Montessori method at one of our Catholic schools. Incarnate Word Academy—from its earliest days—has been a pioneer and has set the pace for educators in the diocese.

St. Anthony of Padua in Robstown is readying for a year dominated by their centennial celebration. Father Tony Blount, SOLT and his parish developed an ambitious program to thank God for all He has done for them and to grow closer to Him. We also continue to celebrate the diocese’s centennial with a continuing article on the homes of the bishops that have served the diocese.

Finally, as we enter the final months of the Year of Faith, we share with our readers some of the final events of this memorable year. The Year of Faith is coming to an end, but as Bishop Mulvey points out, our journey of faith continues.