Our Parish will be hold a Mass for All Souls Days at 5:30 p.m. This Mass will present the opportunity to pray for the faithful departed remembering in a special way our loved ones who have died in the past year and beyond. After the homily, all who are present can light a candle and place it in front of our altar in memory of a loved one. This 5:30 Mass is in addition to our daily 9:00 Monday morning Mass, which will still take place.

In our celebration today of All Saints, there are many singular words that stand out for that particular group of holy ones over the centuries. The first word always for the Saints is love. The Saints were great, great lovers. In their lives, they teach us to love God above all. And in the midst of intense political heat, heat that can burn and scorch in hurtful or helpful ways, we constantly are in need of the pleasant reminder that our love and energy is given over first to God. Namely to Jesus. The Saints in the Communion of the Church loved the Lord with all their heart and soul, as God commanded the Israelites in the Old Testament and Jesus teaches in the New. When we read the same teaching/commandment in both the Old and New Testaments, the priority and importance of said teaching cannot be over-heightened. The Scriptures will always speak to our daily living, and loving God above all is the teaching that is the starting point of every generation of God-fearing people. The Saints loved God, and couldn’t wait to say hello in person. Which is why so many thousands of them accepted martyrdom. As St. Paul wrote in Chapter 13 of First Corinthians, there is faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love. Love sets the Christian table for all we say and do. Love tells the truth about something, whether comfortable or not, whether politically correct or not. In the Saints, their love for God rose above the world’s troubles. Heaven was their goal, and love was the way to reach that goal. Flowing from their love for God, all the Saints loved their neighbor. This is one of the many benefits of loving God above all; that our love for God; that our love for the Lord must be shared with others. The story of St. Maximilian Kolbe is one of the best examples; a Saint who accepted the death sentence of another man in the camp because that man was a father with children, saving that man’s life while forfeiting his own. He stole that man’s death, and made it his own. There is no greater love. The second word for all the Saints that naturally follows the word love is the word faith. In Christianity, faith is believing what we cannot see. We have faith in the resurrection. Have you even seen one? Were any of us standing at the tomb of Lazarus? Is anyone here that old? Have you ever seen a hearse stop at the front gate of St. John’s Cemetery on the last leg of its trip to the grave site because some guy in his casket was yelling out from inside the box, “Open up! I’m not dead! I’ve been raised by God!” That hasn’t to me yet as a priest. And for a few of them, without mentioning names, I’m glad they stayed in the box. They’re better off in Purgatory. Faith; believing what we cannot yet see. But St. John in today’s 2nd reading provides a spiritual insight on how faith is presently working for our benefit. Our faith makes us children of God now, he writes. We’ve been adopted through the victory of Jesus on the Cross. We’re familiar with that popular Good Friday song, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” (And after Bridget, Jane, and Travis, no one sings it better than Johnny Cash.) To answer the title’s question, we were there in spirit because we are all sinners. But no, we weren’t there to see it. But we have faith it happened. All the Saints, including the ones here today, fully embraced and covered themselves in being God’s children now. That’s who we are. That’s your dignity by virtue of your faith. We are not orphans, we are not roving immigrants in the sight of God. But like immigrants, we have in common with them that we are God’s children now. The faith of all the Saints was all in for their Creator while bringing their faith to others. What they sought above all was to see God as he is, as St. John also writes. Seeing God as he is, which many of us are closer to doing than we think, is the reward of faith. If anyone wishes to see the Devil as he is, they can toss their faith into the dumpster where Satan resides. We prefer, like all the Saints, seeing God as he is. The third singular word for all the Saints is works. As St. James so clearly writes in his Epistle, “Faith without works is dead.” Faith without works of love is faith watered down and made easy, which is dead material. Faith with works that express our love for God and neighbor is today’s Gospel of the Beatitudes. When the Lord sat down with them on the mountain that day, he brought with him his A-Game. In truth, Jesus always had his A-Game in his Divine and human perfection. But here it really shines forth for his Apostolic Saints as they drink in his words. The Beatitudes are the works of love and faith rolled into one large, delicious loaf of bread called the Eucharist. In living the Beatitudes, we consume Christ. In living the Beatitudes, we work for Jesus our Master. Poor in spirit; simplicity; being grateful for who and what we have; not looting the property of others; having no regard for keeping up with the Joneses. Mourning; compassion and empathy for the other suffering soul. Meek; reject all violence. Thirst for righteousness; seeing the world as God sees it. Merciful; let go and let God clean us. Clean of heart; recapturing some youthful innocence as adults. Peacemakers: extend a hand in love and don’t join the rioters. Persecuted for Christ; no revenge; no lashing out; die for him who died for you. Being insulted; offer a blessing in return and pray for the insulter. Rejoice and be glad. Your reward will be great. The Beatitudes are works that flow from our faith working through love. They’re not easy, are they? But they’re not impossible either, because all the Saints as human as you and I passed the test. I pray that we do too, through the grace of God.

Repayment in the Christian life is a repayment not of gold or silver, but faith and devotion to the Lord and the present cause of heaven. The cause of heaven on earth never changes as people and generations do. I think of my grandparents, great-grandparents, and even great-great grandparents, two of whom are resting silently one minute up the road in Rural Cemetery, and I think how they have all come and gone. But, during their lives of faith and devotion to God, their cause of heaven was no different than ours. Not even from the 1st century Thessalonians whom Paul writes to so graciously, nor anyone in the whacky world of the Middle Ages and after. The cause of heaven on earth is, of course, living the Gospel, living it to its fullness, and bringing it to the world. Some sectors of Christianity do this well, while others tend to be a bit more timid and silent when speaking is required. Giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. The word Caesar refers to the worldly powers we address. It does not mean giving our soul away, and selling it to the devil, even in the smallest way. Giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar would be more consistent with being a good, productive citizen to the best of our ability. One who brings peace to our communities, not causing little or large wars all over the place. I feel sad for any Christian who is so wrapped up in today’s political scene to the point where their entire life, or much of it, is given over to Caesar. Where God is given little or nothing. It’s a sad sight indeed, watching someone, anyone, live totally for this world when life with God, Mary and the Saints awaits us. A Catholic giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar is realized in virtues lived out. Faith working through love; works of mercy. Again, I think of the infamous St. John’s Soup Kitchen, an obvious choice. A Parish and dedicated group of volunteers from about 30 different zip codes feeding those who really are hungry. There’s no fake hunger in the hundreds who line up. Christ is in their faces. Whether they know it or not, we’re supposed to know that holy truth about them. We give Caesar what actually builds up Caesar in the sense of bringing God’s kingdom to our communities through the living out of our Catholic faith. Jesus no where says, “Give Caesar nothing.” Instead, by giving our all to Christ Jesus, we give some of that all to Caesar through loving works of mercy and good citizenship. We share Christ within the little world we inhabit. With that said, giving God what belongs to God gets a little muddy nowadays, and it has for quite some time, especially with us Catholic folk. Speaking from years of observation, many Catholics have a bad habit of either not seeing things as they are, or making excuses for unfaithful choices. For example, any Catholic Christian who lacks the fortitude to defend human life, God’s greatest gift before eternal life, and defend it properly from conception through the natural death God has written for us, that’s a Catholic who gives to Caesar what belongs to God. Any Catholic who supports and defends the total destruction of a child in the womb of its mother, and fails to see that’s what really happens, waters down their faith to the point of jeopardizing their own salvation. That person can receive Communion a million times over, but such reception never catches up to their giving to Caesar what belongs to God. And that’s the seriousness of this present day issue that many refuse to address. We want every day to be happy, and joyful, and the Patriots winning the Super Bowl every year. Funny how don’t get tired of that. But some of us get tired of addressing the most important moral issue of today. Catholics who get tired of defending human life, or fail to altogether, would have gotten tired of defending the horrors of slavery in 19th century America. Have the fortitude to defend God’s number one gift, human life. Always. Always. Light a firecracker in our souls if we have to. It must be defended against the forces of evil. I’ve said it in the past, and it’s worth repeating; From conception, God owns us. From the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 10; The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the Lord, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. We belong to the Lord. He’s the Master; we’re his humble servants, imitating the servanthood of Jesus himself. Our lives are certainly not owned by any political party, especially one that speaks and acts like they’re in charge of life, replacing God’s ownership, deciding who lives and who dies. Or even a lead candidate who labels himself a “good Catholic” from one side of his mouth, and then says from the other side, “You can snuff out that child. At any point. Even after birth” That’s a Catholic who does not speak for the Catholic Church. That’s a Catholic who misrepresents the Catholic faith in the most serious way. I fear his salvation as he closes in on his own death. It is a fearful thing to stand before the living God, especially if we did not defend his most innocent creation. Catholics respect and defend all human life. That is our fundamental teaching, and not the personal choice of some guy running for office. Another muddy area for Catholics that follows the preeminent issue of life, an issue where we give to Caesar what belongs to God, is immigration and immigrants. It seems from my observation that many Catholics have a difficult time seeing the face of Christ in them. Seeing immigrants, real human beings, in the context only of legal citizenship, boundaries, territories, and walls, prevents us from having a vision that sees the face of Christ in that person. Seeing immigration in that manner places a non-Christian blindfold over our eyes. That, my friends, is a grave sin in which many Catholics knowingly or unknowingly are complicit. At the heart of our faith is the divinely revealed teaching to love and support – by word and deed – the lowly, the despised, the poor, the hungry, the refugee, the immigrant. God himself defended the widow and orphan. Check the Old Testament. It’s all over the text. Give to God what belongs to God, and love and support the immigrant, understanding that boundaries and territories are very important, but they are not the last say when living out our Catholic faith on this very human issue. God is all powerful and eternal. Caesar is passing. Standing before God, Caesar is a wimp. But God uses Caesar to bring love, empathy, and a boatload of relief to our brothers and sisters. From the unborn (the highest moral issue of our day), the sick & dying elderly, the hungry on Temple Street, to the immigrant who is today’s widow and orphan. We may despise them, but God will defend them. Do we wish to fight against God? We know who eventually wins. We give to God what belongs to God when we live, not just some parts of our Catholic faith, but the fullness of it. That’s the repayment God expects and nothing short of it.

That’s one tough king. Hard to satisfy. But in truth, Jesus our King, the King of the Universe, is not hard to satisfy. All we need to do is extend empathy; compassion; mercy; forgiveness; love your neighbor; feed the poor; defend life in all its stages, from the unborn to the elderly sick who are dying. All we need to do to satisfy Jesus the King is listen and heed his words; “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” What’s so hard about that? I bet at least half of you are perfect. Or at least you think so. I read a novel on St. Francis this past week as I did my annual retreat in the quiet and solitude of New Hampshire in the White Mountains. I didn’t want to leave. But Jesus said, “Excuse me sir, get in your car and drive 150 miles south to beautiful, noisy Grove St.” “You’re the boss,” I said. In the novel written on St. Francis, which touches on many of the real situations of his life, one part that stood out was the name that St. Francis called himself quite often. Actually, he had two surnames for himself. The first one, which I will slightly alter since we are in Church, was the name synonymous with Bother Donkey. There’s another word for donkey I will not say here. And that’s the word he called himself, meaning Brother Donkey. The second name St. Francis called himself when he realized he was too puffed up, or too filled with pride, when not giving God all the credit when his newly found Order was running on all cylinders, was the name worm. And when St. Francis called himself a worm; “I am a worm and no man,” he meant it. There was no false humility. Whenever he arrived too close to that border, at the edge of thinking he was somehow good and perfect, he would bring himself down faster than you can say “Lickety Split.” His purpose was to bring himself back, through the grace of God, to emptying out any overhanging pride in the success of his Order, returning to ground zero where Christ is all. Where Jesus is running the show, and the Franciscan Order. Where our Savior is the director of this opera. Where the Crucified One is the impetus behind the Kingdom of God spreading like wildfire in our lives. Wouldn’t it be just heavenly if we all did so? That each of us spread the Kingdom of God like a scorched earth policy. Spreading the Kingdom throughout families, communities, and nations the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus our Lord. That can make a person feel really tiny, realizing what little we accomplish at the end of the day. So, who wants to be a Saint now? I am a worm. But a worm that God loves unconditionally. There was one worm who wormed his way into the wedding banquet of the king’s son. “Go out into the streets,” the king said, “and invite everyone you see. The blind, the lame, the crippled, the beggars, the prostitutes and tax collectors, even Matthew sitting at his post. Invite also a couple UPS drivers.” God help us! And there in the midst of this large group of invitees is one guy still wearing his brown uniform. Just about the same color as a worm. And we know why he showed up wearing his uniform… He had to work overtime the night of the wedding banquet because of all those goods you people order online. After being invited by one of the king’s servants he said, “I need to finish my deliveries so I can get to the wedding banquet, the biggest party in town. I don’t want to miss out on it.” He enters the hall. The groom’s father, who is the king, sees what looks to be a guy wearing a brown uniform, with brown hat and brown socks to match. He walks over to this guy dressed like a worm and says, “That’s not a wedding garment. You insult my son wearing those company manufactured clothes. Time to throw you out. You can go eat at McDonald’s for the rest of your life.” (Talk about Purgatory!). And St. Francis got tossed out. Who is this king who would throw out St. Francis because he’s not dressed properly for the wedding banquet? You know what I think? (I’m glad you asked.) I think this king is not the king we think he is. He’s not the King of Heaven. He’s the king of materialism. The king of profit. The king of the external. The king who judges the outside. He’s the king who subscribes to the dictates of this world. And there was only one type of person he could toss out of his son’s wedding banquet. And that person was a Saint. Getting tossed out of this type of wedding banquet was the best thing that could have happened to St. Francis, lest he become more than a worm. St. Francis, and many other Saints in the Communion, perfected humility to an extreme we will never know, likely. There may be one or two of us. Maybe. Either way, getting tossed out of certain types of banquets in this life, banquets that do not hold to a Christian life, is a very good thing. Sometimes getting tossed out serves our eternal well-being. Even if we have to eat at McDonald’s once in a while in a brown suit. “I am a worm and no man.” Thank you, St. Francis, for a really good retreat.

Predictions are predictable. What’s predictable about predictions is that some predictions are wrong, others may be correct, and others still are unpredictable. We have a Presidential election in one month. Many folks are making predictions that this one is going to win, or that one is going to win. You can choose who this and that are. One side’s prediction will prove wrong, while the other prediction, which is no more than a guess, will prove correct. One group will smile, laugh, say “I told you so,” and pat themselves on the back like a politician. While the incorrect side will keep every ambulance in Central Massachusetts busy the day a victor is known. Off to the hospital they’ll go to treat a broken, angry heart. That’s my prediction. Jesus makes a couple predictions in today’s Gospel. His first prediction concerns himself, and how the stone will be rejected, and, after three days in the darkness and silence of Joseph’s tomb, become the Cornerstone. The Cornerstone of life eternal that will never be reversed. While we live in a time in history when religion is a four-letter word for a good percentage of the universe, I predict that many of the lost souls will return to the Cornerstone of their lives, the only One who offers salvation. Jesus’ prediction of being rejected to the point of death, on the face of it, spells trouble for him and his followers. It’s a stark prediction that admits to our world having a certain degree of momentary power over him, the Son of God. He predicts, “Okay, you’re going to kill me for telling you the truth of heaven, and how I teach the things of heaven so that you may know some peace, reject all violence, from looting to abortion, the worse violence of all.” Then he further tells his hearers, “I know you’re going to reject my message, toss it aside like a bad apple, and move ahead with crucifixion. The Stone will be killed.” And so it came to pass. His prediction was spot on. But the greatness of Jesus’ prediction doesn’t end on Golgotha. The stone becomes the Cornerstone. He becomes our Cornerstone through his resurrection. And the truth of this prediction by the Lord; we own it. So, what comes from this prediction is the question, “Are you ready to see them again? Where death is no more; where cancer is eternally absent; where peace is fully known; where forgiveness is never needed, that hardest of virtues gone forever; where joy is complete. Are you prepared to see them?” That’s the prediction of the Cornerstone, and the Cornerstone is Christ Jesus. His second prediction is the prediction of the kingdom being taken away from those who, not only reject the stone, but the Cornerstone. This is a prediction with hard results. The prevailing thought nowadays is that everyone is going off to heaven when we die. I’m pretty confident in saying that’s not going to happen. The Scriptures tell us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. There’s way too much in Scripture that says this “direct ticket to heaven for everyone” is a bad prediction on our part. Everyone flying off to heaven after our last breath on earth dismisses the harsh reality of sin. These are fearful words our Lord speaks today; “The kingdom of heaven will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” Not the fruit of an angry world. That’s the rotten fruit from the Garden of Eden. We live and share the fruits of heaven in the midst of a twisted and perverted generation. Paul provides the list of fruits, and a beautiful list it is. Whatever is true; truth grounded in our Christian faith. Whatever is honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, any excellence, anything worthy of praise. With each of these virtues that Paul writes to the Philippians, we instinctively know and understand how each of these virtues connect to Christ, and not twisting them into a false representation of God. Every holy list should remain holy, untainted by human predictions. Our Lord’s predictions today give us two understandings of our faith; that he is the stone rejected, moving three days ahead to become the Cornerstone of eternal life. He promises that the everlasting part of our human condition will be one of complete joy. And second, that a straight ticket to heaven is no guarantee for every person in the history of the world. God is the Judge who will make the final call. But he makes it clear that Paul’s list of good fruit is a requirement to be included in his eternal kingdom.