Dear Parish Family,

Did you know that it is our littleness that the Lord finds most attractive about us? We don't impress him by our strengths and accomplishments as much as we do by becoming small like a child to let His grace flow through us. St. Therese of Lisieux is a modern saint popularized for her "Little Way" of holiness. In her autobiography, Story of a Soul, she recounts that she has desires in her heart to be a great saint, yet felt incapable of reaching the heights of sanctity by her own efforts. Since God wouldn't give her desires He could not fulfill, God Himself would supply what she would need to lift her up precisely in her littleness. All she needed to do was give her desire and good will to the Lord, and He would do the heavy lifting!

For most of us, this path of littleness can be a hard life lesson. Zacchaeus, for instance, was a man 'small in stature' who wanted to make up for his littleness by trying to be great by his own merits. This is a biblical example of compensating for what we feel we lack that today would be called a Napoleon complex. To compensate for what he felt he lacked in his height, he became a self-made man of wealth and power as a tax collector, extorting many of his fellow Jews in order to get to the top. We even get a glimpse of this when he climbs to the top of the sycamore tree to see over and above his fellow Jews to see Jesus. 

When Jesus encounters Zacchaeus in this position, He sees a man whose discontent with his body image has led him into a false identity and into sin. Jesus says He "must" stay at his house, for the Lord saw and knew that deep down Zacchaeus was ready to let go of his sinful self-preoccupation. Salvation came to Zacchaeus and his household when he was finally able to embrace his littleness by surrendering his control. Our redeemed Zacchaeus embraces his littleness before the Lord, trusting that God would supply for his needs. He gives back what he stole and opens a place of generosity in his heart rather than selfishness. Think this week of where you try to compensate for your littleness. That place is usually marked by shame, fear, defense mechanisms, pride, or greed since we try to hide the deficiency we feel within us. Open that place up to the Lord and let salvation open places of generous self-giving love in your heart.

Priesthood Sunday Seminarian
We will be hosting a seminarian, Nathan Frankart, from our diocese to speak with us at some of our Masses this weekend on the call to a priestly vocation. Please encourage young men in our parish to pray how the Lord might be calling them to priesthood. Our world needs priests, men who are capable of offering the Lord's sacrifice so that we may be nourished with God's Sacraments for our redemption.

All Saints and All Souls
Remember that All Saints Day is a Holy Day of Obligation this year. Vigil Mass is on Monday, October 31 at 4:30 pm. Trick-or-Treaters are invited to dress in a church-appropriate costume and receive a blessing and a snack before Trick-or-Treating. Masses will also be celebrated on Tuesday, November 1 at 8:30 am (with the School) and at 7:00 pm. All Souls Day Masses on Wednesday, November 2 will be at our usual 12:00 pm Mass with Adoration following, and at 7:00 pm for a special Mass of Remembrance for families who have lost loved ones. Special invitations are sent out each year to families of those for whom we celebrated a Funeral Liturgy in the past year, but all are encouraged to come pray. Note that Adoration ends an hour early on Wednesday with a 5:45 pm Benediction in order to prepare for the Mass of Remembrance.

Funeral Pre-Planning
This month of November where we commemorate our faithful departed, I would like to focus on funeral pre-planning. I am working with our office to create funeral pre-planning folders with information you need to begin planning your Funeral Mass and final arrangements. I hope to have these folders available next weekend. Pre-planning a funeral can help family members know your wishes and the wishes of the Church when it comes to important questions like cremation, burial, and having a Funeral Mass. Your family will appreciate you taking the time do the planning, and it will give you the peace of mind that your final arrangements are in order and in keeping with the teachings of Christ and His Church. Visit https://stmarychardon.org/funerals for more information.

Scam Texts and Emails
It happens periodically that bad actors will find a parishioner's phone number or email from the bulletin or website and text or email you with a message from someone pretending to be me. Usually these messages ask you to handle a discreet affair for me, or tell you I'm in a meeting and can't talk in person, or ask for immediate emergency assistance. The variations are numerous. Please be vigilant when receiving a message from a number or email you do not know. ALWAYS double check the email domain (@stmarychardon.org) and ask the parish office or a fellow parishioner if you're unsure about a message you received. The best course of action is to ignore and delete the message. Please notify our parish office if you receive a scam message. Neither I nor anyone on our parish staff will ever solicit you by text, phone, social media, or email.

I am yours in Christ,

Fr. Scott Goodfellow