From Father George's Desk 11/1/2026
Our very busy October came to a crescendo with last Sunday’s celebration of St. John the Evangelist Parish’s 125th Anniversary. God blessed us with a beautiful day to come together with Bishop Kulick and several of the living priests and deacons who have served the parish over the years to celebrate our Mass of Thanksgiving and Festive Dinner at Cooperstown Event Center. A huge thank you is due to Bob Mason, our coordinator of liturgical music, and the members of the combined parish choir and the handbell choir for all of their preparation and hard work that so greatly enhanced our liturgy. Special thanks to our liturgical ministers and ushers as well as our sacristan, Lynn Zabkar. On behalf of the whole parish, I extend thanks to the members of our Parish Pastoral Council who put in a lot of extra time and energy preparing the history segments that have been running in the bulletin and the fantastic display of parish history memorabilia at dinner last Sunday. Thanks to Ministry of Care for preparing the centerpieces at dinner. Finally, a very big thanks to our parish secretary, Lesley Benyo, for all of her dedicated work behind the scenes. Parish anniversary celebrations are a time to remember where we’ve come from and honor the dedicated generations of parishioners who have gone before us. But it is also a time to look forward, to build on the firm legacy of faith we celebrate, to use our gifts, just as we did in preparing for this celebration, to build up the life of our parish that all who desire to know Christ may find welcome here. St. John the Evangelist, pray for us!
On October 13, Holy Family Parish was honored to welcome Bishop Kulick and the faithful from around the diocese for the Diocesan Mass of Remembrance for the Loss of a Child. I have received numerous comments from those who attended the Mass expressing their gratitude for a beautiful and moving liturgy. On behalf of Bishop Kulick and the Diocesan Office for Pro-Life Activities, I extend thanks to Bob Mason and the members of our funeral choir for using their gifts to enrich our liturgy. Thanks to the liturgical ministers who served at the Mass and to our secretary, Sarah Parrish, for coordinating with the diocesan pastoral center in preparing for the liturgy. A special thanks to the members of the Holy Family Bereavement Ministry team and the Parish Social Committee for the reception following Mass.
This weekend we begin the month of November with a diversion from our march through the Sundays of Ordinary Time by celebrating the twin observances of All Saints and All Souls. The celebration of All Saints Day can be traced back to the fourth century and its celebration by the entire Roman Church was established by Pope Gregory IV in 835. Rooted in ancient tradition, St. Odilo of Cluny established a memorial of all the faithful departed (All Souls) in 988; it was accepted in Rome in the 13th century. These days are a kind of “Catholic Memorial Days”. We distinguish between our loved ones in heaven, “all saints,” who pray for us, and our loved ones who have died, for whom we are moved to pray, the poor souls who still may be undergoing the purging process of death-to-self that follows repentance. In this month of harvest and dying, the Church memorializes the dead and recognizes Jesus as Lord of the living and the dead. [Catholic Sourcebook, 1990] Our parishes’ Books of Remembrance will remain prominently displayed near the baptismal font at each church throughout the month of November as we pray for those who have gone before us in faith.
Our All Souls’ Masses of Remembrance will be celebrated this week: at St. John on Wednesday at 6:30PM and at Holy Family on Thursday at 6:30PM; at these Masses we will remember in a special way each person buried from the parish since last All Souls’ Day. Everyone invited and encouraged to attend this annual commemoration.
Our Fall Anointing Mass will celebrated next Saturday at 10:00AM at St. John. These Masses not only provide more chances to celebrate the Sacrament of Anointing of Sick but also present a wonderful opportunity raise the awareness and understanding of the sacrament. All too often we think this sacrament is only for those at the point of death, however, “This sacrament gives the grace of the Holy Spirit to those who are sick: by this grace the whole person is helped and saved, sustained by trust in God, and strengthened against the temptations of the Evil One and against anxiety over death. Thus the sick person is able not only to bear suffering bravely, but also to fight against it. [Pastoral Care of the Sick #6]
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