Good morning and happy Saturday.
Today is the Solemnity of All Saints, but the obligation to attend Mass in the United States has been removed due to it falling on a Saturday.
I was unable to publish a new newsletter last week as I was traveling with my good friend Dino. He and I were in Seattle, Washington taping interviews and content for my new program coming this month to Northern Apostle Radio in Marquette, Michigan: UP North Catholic.
UP North Catholic will feature the commentaries that you enjoy here on the Purple Catholic Saturday Post plus conversations with individuals living the joy of the Gospel. In particular, I will be speaking with young people about the challenges they face living as devout Catholics in the modern era as well as the tools and spiritual practices that they have found useful. I’ll also be taking your questions from time to time and there will soon be a form available to submit them.
You can listen on Saturdays at 7pm on Northern Apostle Radio 103.9FM (WNOA-LP) in Marquette, Michigan or stream it online at ClavesRegniMinistries.com. Soon there will also be a podcast to listen on demand as well. The show premiers November 22nd. I hope you’ll tune in.
I want to return to a point I made two weeks ago on “Church debates.” This week, there was more speculation about who the next Archbishop of Chicago will be. I maintain what I said then: for the vast majority of us, it doesn’t matter.
It is not healthy to dwell on actions that you or I cannot change. We must continue to trust the words of Jesus that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church (Matthew 16:18). Jesus, in one of the Gospel readings for this Sunday, details what happens to those who don’t take seriously the tasks they’ve been given:
He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches? (Luke 16:10-11)
We ought to be focusing on what has been entrusted to us: namely ourselves, our families, and our communities. That is what we are responsible for.
Listen to Death Comes for the Archbishop on Ave Maria Radio and Annunciation Radio!
I am excited to announce that Death Comes for the Archbishop will be airing on Ave Maria Radio in Michigan and Annunciation Radio in northwest Ohio beginning this Saturday, November 1st, at noon.
All episodes are now streaming for all subscribers! Click the banner below to listen.
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The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
This Sunday at Mass, instead of the thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary time, we will be celebrating All Souls Day. There are a variety of readings that could be chosen from depending on the pastoral needs of your community. The selections published on the USCCB website are Wisdom 3:1-9, Psalm 23, Romans 5:5-11, and John 6:37-40.
Here is a calendar for the rest of the week:
Monday, 3 November - Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, religious (optional)
Tuesday, 4 November - Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo, bishop
The King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Matthew 25:34
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In the news:
The United States
Sex abuse victims in New Orleans Archdiocese approve $230 million settlement - Catholic News Agency
Catholics around the nation take a stand against Trump mass deportation policy - America Magazine
A Catholic defense of trick-or-treating - Rachel Hoover Canto in Catholic World Report
“Antisemitism is a malignancy in society” - George Weigel in Denver Catholic
The Vatican
Vatican to publish new document on Mary’s role in salvation on November 4 - Catholic News Agency
St. John Henry Newman to be declared Doctor of the Church on Sunday - EWTN Great Britain
The Vatican needs to embrace English, especially with an American pope - Charles Collins in Crux
The World
The church in Germany has had a busy week - The Pillar
Have a good weekend,
Matthew