Honoring His continuous gifts of the saints

As we enter the month of November, the month dedicated by Holy Mother Church to the remembrance of the myriads of holy men and women who are saints in heaven, and to the remembrance of all of those holy souls awaiting their final purification in Purgatory in anticipation of heaven, we have an opportunity to join ourselves more closely to them through our prayers, good works and sacrifices. November 1, All Saints’ Day, is a Holy Day of Obligation for all Catholics and thus, we are to attend and participate at Mass during which we give glory and honor and praise to Almighty God for His continuous gifts to us of the saints. 
 
The next day, Nov. 2 is All Souls’ Day and while it is not a Holy Day, in one sense it is a continuation of All Saints’ Day. This is the day that all of us, by our sincere prayers and earnest sacrifices, can gain the release from purgatory of souls who are there awaiting heaven of which they are assured. Remember, once these holy men and women have died they can no longer help themselves, but they rely on us to help them. In this Jubilee of Mercy, this is a true act of loving mercy for us to spend time in prayer and penance asking the Lord to apply whatever merits we gain to these holy souls in their thirst and longing to see Him face to face. Please make this day a special and intentional day on behalf of the souls in purgatory.
 
Exactly one week later on Nov. 9, the Diocese of Bismarck will celebrate a truly historic moment. That day, at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, we will celebrate only the Second Synod of the Diocese of Bismarck. The First Synod was celebrated on Nov. 12, 1924, at St. Mary Pro-Cathedral, by our beloved and first bishop, Bishop Vincent Wehrle, OSB, and the priests of the Diocese of Bismarck. It is a testimony to God’s abundant blessings bestowed on our diocese that we have been able to live our Catholic life of faith for 92 years before the need for another synod was recognized.
 
I ask you to pray for all of our deceased bishops, priests, deacons, religious women and men, and all of the faithful lay women and men who have preceded us in the faith. As the saying goes, we are standing on the shoulders of true giants of the Catholic Church and we owe them our grateful prayers. If your pastor asks you to come to the synod, please do so as this is a very important event for our diocese. The synod will assist all of us in the better living of our daily lives of faith. It will be a time of great grace for all of us as we strengthen our unity as Catholics and the communion which we as Catholics enjoy with Our Holy Father and the Universal Church.
 
A final note about this month of November. On Sunday, Nov. 13, all bishops around the world have been asked to close those holy doors which we designated for our dioceses. I have asked the priests of the four parishes designated as pilgrimage sites with holy doors do this. This is done by us on this day so that when the Jubilee Year of Mercy closes on the following Sunday, Our Holy Father Francis will close the holy door at the Basilica of St. Peter and bring this wonderful time of grace and favor from the Lord to a close. In the remaining days of this Jubilee of Mercy, go to confession and to Mass and commit to doing this regularly. God is never outdone in His generosity to those who love Him!