“What is Truth?”  (John 18:38)  This is the question Pilate put to Jesus   before handing him over to be crucified.  In this day and age of fake news, slanderous untruths meant to hurt another, the disordered belief that if it feels good, it is OK , we would do well to take the time as Catholics to commit ourselves to knowing the TRUTH.

Last week, we celebrated All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days to honor our ancestors who have died. In this pastoral letter, I would like to call upon sons and daughters, who still have their parents alive, to oblige them to fulfill the fourth commandment God has commanded, “Honor your father and mother” (Exodus 20:12).

First, honoring our parents pleases God. The root meaning of “honor” is “to be weighty.” Thus, we are to treat each parent as a “weighty” person in family, as someone who is important and worthy of respect. The Bible says that disobedience to parents will be prevalent in the days before the return of Christ: “People will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred” (2 Timothy 3:2). Doesn’t this describe what is happening today? On the other hand, the Bible celebrates children who honor their parents. Proverbs says, “A wise child brings joy to a father.” “Only a fool despises a parent’s discipline; whoever learns from correction is wise.” We have no excuse not to honor our parents until their deaths. That is the responsibility God has given us as sons and daughters. We please Him when we obey the fourth commandment.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). Jesus uses opening words of Shema, the major creed of Judaism, that was recited twice daily, morning and evening, by devout Jews to teach them and us to love God as the one true God in our life and with every aspect of our being.

Many of you celebrate Halloween with your children every year with costumes and candy. Do you also celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day? If not, this is a good time to start (or add to) a special family tradition. St. Rose will have special Masses on each of these days and the month of November is a great opportunity to teach your children more about their Catholic faith.

For the better part of my life, I could use one word to define myself…. committed. You might be thinking well that is a great quality trait to have. But for me, I was so greatly committed to this thing, that I allowed it to totally consume every aspect of my life, my relationships, my work ethic, my finances. Ultimately, by God’s grace I realized that I was committed to something that was no longer good for me and that something was FISHING.

On October 11 we celebrate the feast of Pope St. John XXIII, who convened the Second Vatican Council. After the long pontificate of Pope Pius XII, the cardinals chose a man who – it was presumed because of his advanced age – would be a short-term pope. Pope John XXIII was pope from 1958-1963 and was known as “The Good Pope.”

This week I would like to share with you 10 tips for living a better life, one day at a time -- from Pope John XXIII.

The coronavirus pandemic is fundamentally changing how we do and are church. Many Catholics got out of the social and ritual practice of going to Mass on Sunday. In our Archdiocese, the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days still remains suspended. Our parish is still livestreaming Masses at 10:00A.M. in English and 12:00P.M. in Spanish for those whose health is “at-risk” so they can obtain spiritual strength on Sunday. In reality, many Catholics who are in a typically healthy condition and fully vaccinated still do not go to church. Someone said that if the dispensation from the Sunday Mass obligation is lifted, then Catholics who currently practice their faith at home might consider going back to church. But will the mere act of lifting the dispensation as the coronavirus pandemic eases be enough to get those Catholics to come back to church? I would suggest they look at the spiritual strength that exists in the Eucharist as a greater reason for participating in Mass.