Dear St. Alphonsus family:

When I was a child, I was not a big fan of Halloween. I know why. What was and is oftentimes emphasized at Halloween is fear of the dead. It was believed by the Celtic people that evil spirits roamed the earth on the last night of the Celtic year (October 31) and that they worked mischief among the living. Part of Celtic belief was that one could live safely through the night by dressing up as a ghost, witch, etc. in order to “blend in” or bribing the evil spirits with treats. Nevertheless Halloween can be a fun time of fellowship for people.

November is a month when we traditionally remember our beloved deceased and our fellowship with them. This is how I spiritually make sense of it all. November 1st is the Feast of All Saints and November 2nd is the Feast of All Souls. The Catholic feasts of All Saints and All Souls Day offer recognition of our Communion of the Saints (fellowship) with those who have gone before us.

Feast of All Saints – The Feast of All Saints is the celebration of our relationship with those who have preceded us to Heaven. There are many officially canonized saints and oh so many not officially canonized, many of whom are our relatives and friends. As of the time of their passing to eternal life, they take on a new full-time call: they pray for us, day-in and day-out. We aks for their intercession and we pray for them. We have a relationship with them!

Feast of All Souls – The Feast of All Souls reminds us of our obligations to live holy lives and that there will be purification of the souls of those destined for Heaven – in this life or in purgatory.

Enjoy the Feasts! Celebrate eternal life!

Fr. Ed Vella, C.Ss.R

Last Saturday, two friends from New Orleans and I were standing in the Old Federal Building looking at the first place prizewinner from the Artprize competition held here in Grand Rapids.  The first place winner was entitled “Open Waters no. 24” by Ran Ortner.  Everyone who had seen it said almost the same thing to me, “You need to see this.”

I stood in front of a three-canvas painting of the sea.  It was beautiful and something I have seen over and over again having grown up on the Atlantic Ocean .  I reached the conclusion for a person to have such a comprehension of the sea; he had to have grown up by it or lived on it.  The nuances of his work were incredible.  The dips in the swells, the white caps, and the coloration of the sea were all ‘spot on’ of a tumultuous ocean.  Unfortunately, as I looked at Ortner’s work I could not help but think about the tumult and turmoil that is sweeping our country at this present time.

Our city, Grand Rapids , as well as our whole state and country, has fallen on economic hard times.  We are looking at unemployment rates that are staggering.  It is an unsettling time and we wait with watchful eyes for the light at the end of the tunnel.

As we began to plan our Mass of Hope, one recurring theme kept surfacing that is affecting our parishioners.  It is the unemployment situation.  It is not only those who are unemployed, but the owners and managers of the employees struggling to make difficult decisions knowing it has a serious impact on the lives of many and our community at large.  As we all know, the current economy doesn’t discriminate.  It is impacting everyone regardless of race, age, gender, or family situation.  Nobody is unaffected.

It is at times like this, that as a parish family we can come together and find comfort and hope in our faith and in reaching out to one another to lend a helping hand or at least a show of support.  So this year, our Mass of Hope is being celebrated for the unemployed AND for those going through difficult times.   

The Mass of Hope will be on Thursday, October 29^th at 7 p.m.  The following week there will be a three night series of seminars beginning Monday, November 2^nd with a presentation by Dr. Denise Gribbin on “How to Stay Up, In Down Times”, Tuesday night’s presentation is “Navigating the System/Resource Night”, and Wednesday night there will be presentations on “Impressing the Employer/Landing the Job.”

As I look around this parish, I am filled with such gratitude and love for the people of St. Al’s.  Because of this, it becomes very difficult to see those among us struggling.  It is very unsettling to me and I hope that the efforts being made by the Parish will somehow make a difference, to ignite the hope and faith that we rely on in difficult times that will get us through to the light at the end of this tunnel. 

The sea can be a lonely and treacherous place.  Help us to reach out and touch those in great need.

Blessings, Fr. Denis

Dear Parishioners,

The last time that I shared with you my thoughts on this Bulletin page, I talked about celebration. Our desire to celebrate and remember the good times in our lives is a normal and good thing that we do. I would like to continue sharing with you another thing that we do which is also normal and good. 

Service! Service to God; service to each other; and service to the Church. By service, I am referring to all those small ways we attend to our parish community. But I am also talking about bigger things we do for the Church and each other as well. For me, service isn’t measured by the size of the action but by the act itself of helping someone else at some task that only gets done because so many pitch in and do it. Our parish is known for its helping hands, from the PALS ministry to the social services to the local poor. We help feed and clothe the needy while occasionally even help build their homes. We visit the sick and elderly and in our spare time meet to meditate and pray over the scriptures. We do many wonderful things of service here at St. Al’s.

On Thursday evening, October 29th, we will be gathering in the Church to celebrate and to pray with each other, expressing our HOPE for the present and the near future. We will be putting into the context of sacred liturgy, living out Jesus command to us, to nourish ourselves at His altar in the desire to be of service to our brothers and sisters in financial hard times. We do this not to smooth over or downplay the necessity but to highlight God’s loving presence in our midst and rediscover the strength and power of a community committed to help and serve one another. Come and participate with us at 7:00pm Thursday night, the 29th of October. I think it will be a beginning of great things, may I say miraculous things to come. 

Please do come and be a part of and share in God’s wondrous love. I will see you there!
 
Gratefully, Fr. Andy