Proficiat to all the Saints I know!
As the Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints, I want to wish everyone the blessings of the Feast. The commemoration of All Saints is very meaningful in the life of the Church as well as in our life as a Congregation. What prompted me to write to you is a letter I received from a St. Xavier graduate. In his letter, he talks with great admiration for our Founder.
He shares the following: “Through my reading, I have met many different people who exemplify Christ and the mission of the Catholic Church, one of those being your Founder, Brother Theodore James Ryken… Brother Ryken shows that we can be a good follower of Christ even if we fail sometimes…I have spoken to Archbishop Kurtz recently about trying to get Brother Ryken elevated to Servant of God status.”
What is a saint? Jesus gives us a clear description in last Sunday’s gospel: “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself”(Mt.22:37-39). Theodore James Ryken certainly took these two commandments to heart wanting us to “enter into an intimate relationship with God” so we can follow Christ more closely. Perhaps this is what caught the young man’s attention.
How many of our Brothers, family members, friends, and teachers who have gone on before us have shown us not only God’s love but also how to love God and one another? They are examples of what a real saint is about. Today who are your living saints? Those individuals who do not hesitate to go out of their way for others, and do so with humility and joy?
In one of his All Saints homilies, Pope Francis described saints as “… genuinely happy.” The pope went on to say, “The saints found the secret to authentic happiness deep within their love of God.” Our Founder exhorts us in a similar manner. “It is the communion with the living God which is at the heart of your life” (FP). I encourage you to take time to reflect on and share in gratitude with one another the ‘saints’ in your lives.
The Feast of All Souls
November 2, 2017
We also commemorate the Feast of All Souls. Again I encourage you to recall our Brothers who have gone before us especially those who died since last November. Their menologies are available from Brother Robert Green. Just write him an email.
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Brother James Boyle
Brother Johan Bauwens
Brother Richard Murphy
Brother Labré Dillon
Brother Cosmas Rubencamp
Brother Lloyd Markowski
Brother Norbert Jacxsens
Brother Raymond Hoyt
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January 23, 2017
March 17, 2017
April 4, 2017
May 3, 2017
May 5, 2017
July 25, 2017
September 11, 2017
October 9, 2017
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In gratitude for all our Saints, Happy Feast Day!
Brother Edward Driscoll, C.F.X. | General Superior