October 30th, 2022
thirty-first Sunday in ordinary time
by Fr. Boniface Endorf, O.P.
Dear St. Joseph Parish Family,
This Tuesday is All Saints Day, a Holy Day of Obligation. The evening before All Saints Day was once called All Hallowed Eve (hallowed meaning holy one, as in “Hallowed be thy Name” in the Our Father). Now in our secular age it’s called Halloween and has no real connection to All Saints Day as such.
As a holy day of obligation, we would normally host a vigil mass for All Saints on Monday night; however, because the Halloween parade makes the church inaccessible that evening, we’ll instead only have public All Saints Masses on the day itself. Thus, on 10/31 we’ll have the 12:10 daily mass (not an All Saints Mass) but no vigil mass, and on 11/1 we’ll have a 12:10pm All Saints Mass and a 7pm All Saints Mass.
Wednesday is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, also known as All Souls Day. It’s a good time to pray for family and friends who have departed. It’s an old tradition to pray at the graves of one’s family members on All Souls.
I recommend on this All Saints Day to read about your favorite saint. They are great examples for how to live life well. Remember also that they are not gone—they are inhabitants of our true homeland in heaven and are praying for us even now.
Mass Tidbit
The readings at Mass come from the Lectionary. For Sunday Masses there is a three-year cycle of readings, years A, B, and C. The different years focus on different Gospels, between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, with John placed throughout every cycle. For daily Masses there is a two-year cycle, years 1 and 2. The liturgical year starts with Advent, so we are about to complete the readings for year C, 2, and start the readings for year A, 1. Feast days also have their own proper readings that sometimes change for each cycle but mostly remain the same every year.
The Bible translation for the U.S. lectionary is the New American Bible; however, it’s an adapted version of the NAB that’s not sold as a separate printed bible but only as the lectionary. Honestly, it’s not the best translation—its English is often clunky and idiosyncratic. For a personal bible I recommend the English Standard Version, Catholic Edition. That’s the bible used in the lectionary of other English-speaking countries, such as England.
An easy way to find the Mass readings is to subscribe to the Magnificat, which is a monthly magazine that also contains prayers and reflections. You could also buy hand missals that contains all the readings, but they can be complex to use. The Magnificat is a great way to get more out of the Mass readings and to pray every day.
God Bless,
Fr. Boniface
