From the Archbishop

As we begin the Season of Advent and look forward to the birth of the Prince of Peace, we do so in a world lacking peace.

The final Sunday of the Church year is the Solemnity of Christ the King. The next Sunday we begin a new Church year with the Season of Advent. In 1925 Pope Pius XI established the Feast of Christ the King. In the years following World War I, as Europe slid into the horrors of another World War, Europe saw countries, one by one, taken over by dictatorships, some fascist and some communist. Most of these dictators put themselves above the teachings of God, or denied God even existed.

October is Respect Life Month. Usually when we speak of respect for life we tend to think of preborn babies in the womb. However, respect for life refers to life at all stages – from the preborn to natural death. As much as our society disrespects the life of the preborn, we can also fail to respect the life of the elderly.

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, the Synod on Synodality began their meetings at the Vatican. I have the impression that this Synod is not uppermost in the attention of most Catholics, although in some circles it has garnered considerable attention. The Synod will meet until Oct. 29.

The other day I was speaking with an elementary school classmate. We were speaking about our Catholic grade school days. Except for the spelling bee when he missed the first word of the bee and had to make the “long walk” back to his desk, having misspelled the first word of the bee, our memories were mostly good memories.