Dear Brothers and Sisters of St. Andrew the Apostle,

Please read the bulletin or our parish website for all the St. Andrew's news and events. Here is a glimpse of what is coming up in the coming weeks:

• Bishop Burbidge will celebrate an All Souls Day Mass today at 11:00 AM at Fairfax Memorial Park. All are welcome. There is a reception afterward.
• The Knights of Columbus will collect donations after Masses this weekend for the American Wheelchair Mission.
• The Knights are hosting their monthly pancake breakfast after the 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, and 10:30 AM Masses this Sunday.
• The Middle School Youth Group is having an All Soul's Bonfire at the parish on Friday, November 6, at 6:15 PM. The evening begins in Hannan Hall.
• Our next Sunday Speaker Series Event is on Sunday, November 17, at 2:00 PM in Hannan Hall. Our speaker will be Lynda Rozell, who will discuss her new book, Return to Me: Visits to the Tabernacle, about her experiences praying before the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in tabernacles throughout the country. She will speak of the symbolism and theology behind tabernacle designs and how her experiences with the Eucharistic Lord have strengthened her spiritually ... and can do the same for us. Please see our Sunday Speaker Series webpage for more information about the talk and to order lunch.
• The next event in our Concert Series is Sunday, November 24, at 4:00 PM. Our musicians will be an organ and violin duo who are also a father and son, Charles and Gregory Tompkins. The concert is free and there is a reception in Hannan Hall afterward. Free-will donations are gladly accepted.

...Daylight Savings Time ends after midnight tonight, so we gain an extra hour of sleep as we turn our clocks back (or they do it themselves). Every fall, that extra hour is a treasured gift!

...Today is All Souls Day when the Church throughout the world offers Masses and prayers for those souls who died in the state of grace and are being purified in Purgatory. Purgatory is one of the more challenging teachings of the Church. We want to believe that God rewards our loved ones, especially those who have lived exemplary and faithful lives, by welcoming them into heaven at the moment of their death. We see it as an injustice if we must spend any time preparing for life in the presence of God.

Of course, we know that our entry into heaven is never a matter of justice. We are all sinners, and any sin against an infinitely good God is not something we can repay on our own. This is why Christ died on the Cross: to offer the perfect sacrifice that we cannot. Because of our sin and Christ's sacrifice, we find not justice, but mercy, in the sacraments of Baptism and Reconciliation.

Yet in justice, we know that there are consequences of our sins. We do damage to others. We do damage to ourselves. Setting right the consequences of our sins is what Purgatory is for.

However, Purgatory has been eliminated from most Christian denominations. Not only that, but to non-Catholics (and unfortunately some Catholics themselves), the thought of it seems not just odd, but offensive. Before I entered the seminary, I had a friend and co-worker whose mother had died after a long battle with cancer. It was heartbreaking. On the anniversary of her death, I told my friend that I was praying for her mother. What was offered as an act of spiritual charity was taken as an offensive gesture. "Why would you assume that my mother was not in heaven, especially after she suffered so much on earth?", was her response.

My friend was not Catholic. Neither was her mother. And neither was her response. But it was honest. To her, the idea of Purgatory put a limit on God's mercy. To Catholics, Purgatory puts a limit on our justice. In The Ratzinger Report, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would become Pope Benedict XVI, said that if there were no teaching about Purgatory, we would invent one. Each of us realizes that the person we are when we pass from this life - with our bad habits, our grudges, our attachments to the things of the world - is not fit to stand in the presence of God and the saints. How disappointing heaven would be if there were people there we didn't like. It won't be like that because we and every other saint will love like God loves. And until we love that way, we won't be in heaven. So there is a time of purification for those who pass through this life free from mortal sin and in God's sanctifying grace, but with hearts and minds still clinging to self-love and things of the world.

In his encyclical Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI, speaks more on Purgatory. He was a great theologian with a great intellect and we see it in his writing. Reading this who encyclical would be a fruitful endeavor, but I already gave you the homework of reading Pope Francis' new encyclical last week, so I don't want to overdo it. Instead, read this article that includes four paragraphs from Spe Salvi in which Pope Benedict helps explain Purgatory and our need to pray for the souls that are being purified there.

As Catholics, we have a particular duty to pray for the souls in Purgatory. We do so at every Mass, but it should also be a part of our daily prayer. It's a duty we take on with a greater urgency knowing that so many other Christians do not believe in Purgatory and therefore do not pray for those souls, so we take on the responsibility of aiding those souls as they endure the purification that will lead to their perfection and entrance into heaven. And when they get there, they will remember us, and the souls in Purgatory, and help us on our way with their prayers.

... For those who have not already voted, election day is Tuesday, November 5. The Virginia Catholic Conference has all the information needed to form our consciences on the state and national candidates. I've posted this link before, but I encourage you to review it, especially the letter from the Catholic Bishops of Virginia. Bishop Burbidge also recorded an excellent video for Election Day that includes a prayer for our nation and our leaders. Be sure to vote. It is our duty to form our nation, state, and community by selecting leaders who reflect and protect the values we hold sacred, especially the dignity of human life and religious freedom.

...The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series and the Yankees lost. I won't tell you which I'm happier about. In case you missed it, two Yankees fans basically mugged Dodgers' right fielder Mookie Betts during the game as he caught a foul ball, proving once again that the Yankees and their fans are the worst.

...Let's pray for the souls of the faithful departed today and every day. Be assured of my prayers for you and your intentions. Please pray for me as well.

In Christ,

Fr. Wagner