This Saturday, November 1, is All Saints Day. Usually this is a holy day of obligation. However, this is one of the feasts which the US bishops determined will have no obligation when the date falls on a Saturday or Monday. In any event, it is an important day in the life of the Church. We pause to reflect on all of the saints in heaven and to ask for their prayers. Our Masses for All Saints will be at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and 8:15 a.m. on Saturday.
All Soul’s Day, November 2, falls this year on Sunday. It is the day when we remember all of our beloved dead and all of the souls in purgatory. Our parish Book of Remembrance will be in the sanctuary throughout the month of November. Please add the names of any loved ones who have died as the parish lifts them up in prayer. (We have used the same book for over ten years; there is no need to repeat names added in years past.)
Our annual parish Mass of Remembrance will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, November 3. We will offer Mass in a darkened church and offer prayers for those who have died in the past year. We will read the names of each person who has had a St. Charles funeral since last November and light a candle for each. If you have a loved one who died in the past year and the funeral was not at St. Charles, please call the parish office and we will add those names also to our list.
You may have noticed a change in our church sound system in the past week or two. Our sound technician discovered that the amplifier for the main speaker was inadvertently turned down. He is setting a block on that control to prevent the same problem and he is making adjustments to the system. I hope that the sound level is better than it has been.
Just Neighbors is our local shelter for homeless families. St. Charles provides meals at the shelter three weeks each year. For the past 13 years, Margaret Digan and Maggie Kleber have led the effort to have parishioners sign up, prepare and deliver food. Margaret and Maggie would like to pull back and find new volunteers who could spearhead that effort for us. Call the parish office if you might be interested. This may be a good job for another duo.
