My dear parishioners, the human soul’s greatest longing is to dwell with God in the fullness of his eternal glory. With this in mind, we annually remember our beloved deceased in a special way throughout November. We pray for the souls of the faithful departed to be granted a favorable judgment by God and a heavenly rest at the last. Praying for the dead is a venerable Christian obligation. At the time of his crucifixion, Christ himself descended to the dead to minister to Abraham and his holy descendants who had “all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” [Heb 11:13]

My dear parishioners, do the underprivileged merit a greater share of God's care and favor due to their distressed conditions? Is impoverishment an inherently favorable environment in which to seek the Lord? Do we draw closer to God more easily if we are less distracted by the care of possessions and ownership? We must answer, in many circumstances, yes, perhaps most, but not by necessity. Some embrace poverty as an aid to their salvation and for the “sake of the kingdom of heaven.” [cf. Mt 19:12] Many, poor from birth or impoverished by circumstances, neither escape nor transcend the cruel environment in which they live...

My dear parishioners, to the Church at Rome, Saint Paul explains how the Sacrament of Baptism, confers “newness of life” to all who receive it: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” [Rom 6:4] The surpassing way of being “alive together with Christ” [Eph 2:5] is a surrender to God in humble prayer and worship, “for through (Christ, all) have access in one Spirit to the Father.” [Eph 2:18]...

My dear parishioners, woven into the fabric of our American history is the remarkable legacy of migration. Without this legacy and its compelling stories, we and our nation would vanish without memory. All our family stories about ancestors share something in common: good, courageous people setting out on long journeys, facing daunting obstacles -- even great danger -- in the hope of eventually reaping hard-earned rewards. Whether we realize it or not, each of our families adds an important chapter to the immigrant history of America. All too often we forget the hardships suffered by our own Catholic forefathers and the religious bigotry they endured. Stories of contemporary immigrants are no less compelling than the stories of our own forebearers or the founding families of our great nation.

My dear parishioners, the scriptures proclaim, “In the beginning . . . the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.” And again, “God separated the light from the darkness.” [Gen 1:1-2,4] If you contemplate each day the sovereignty of God and the power of God’s grace, you will advance far on the road of your spiritual life. You will discover how your loving God helps you to conquer adversity and suffering, trials and disappointments, unfairness and wrongdoing in such a way that his divine perfection and purpose are ever before you magnified, not diminished...