This week we step out of Ordinary Time to celebrate All Souls Day, the Commemoration of all the faithful departed.

On November 1, the Church celebrates All Saints Day, a Solemnity—a great feast of the Church—honoring all those who now share in the glory of heaven. The following day, November 2, we remember All Souls Day, when the Church prays for those who have fallen asleep before us, trusting in the mercy of God and the promise of the Resurrection.

Throughout the month of November, the Church invites us to pray for the dead. This is a spiritual work of mercy and a beautiful act of love that reaches beyond the grave. Our prayers unite us with those who have gone before us and proclaim our belief that life is changed, not ended.

“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me...
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
(John 6: 37-40)

Take a moment this week to reflect on Christ’s promise of eternal life, to pray for loved ones who have died, and to pray for the grace that each day we may die to ourselves and rise in Christ—just as He promised.

The Paschal Mystery: The Suffering, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Over the past two weeks, we’ve been diving into the life of Jesus — from His birth in a place that literally means “house of bread,” to the Kingdom He came to establish, a Kingdom that still heals and ministers to souls today.

Now we turn to the heart of the story — the one the world mocks, yet the one we cling to.
The story we adorn on our necks and hang on our walls.
The Paschal Mystery — the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Why did Jesus have to die?
What does it mean to unite ourselves to the Cross?
Why do we call ourselves an Easter people?

Most religions are born out of triumph — ours was born out of what appeared to be defeat: the God-Man crucified.
Yet some stood watch, while others, upon hearing the news, ran to find the tomb empty.

How do we know that His followers didn’t just take the body?
How do we know it was truly Jesus who hung upon the Cross?

It is only by entering into the Mystery itself that we begin to see clearly the love poured out for us from His side.
And with the blood and water flowing, we are reborn — a people of heaven, no longer without a home.

We are pilgrims on a journey.
To suffer with Christ is also to rise with Him.

Below is a video from Fr. Bob Vaillancourt, who is now retired and living here in Lewiston. In this talk, Father offers a deep explanation of the Passover and how Jesus is the Paschal Lamb—the fulfillment of all sacrifice and the source of our redemption.

This presentation is part of Saint Carlo Acutis’ Vatican Exhibition on Eucharistic Miracles and serves as the introduction to this beautiful witness of faith in action.

To follow along with this week’s reflection on The Paschal Mystery, begin watching at minute 8:55 through the end, where Father traces the story from the Old Covenant to the Cross and the Eucharist we celebrate today.

First Fridays: Sacred Heart of Jesus & Catholic Fasting

Why this matters
The First Friday devotion and the discipline of fasting both draw us into the merciful love of Christ and form our hearts to resemble His—moving us from “good intentions” to real conversion.

The Sacred Heart: love that repairs

• Biblical roots: “Come to me, all you who labor… for I am meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:28–29). The Heart pierced for us (Jn 19:34) reveals love poured out.

• Catechism: “Jesus knew and loved us each and all… He has loved us all with a human heart” (CCC 478).

• Witness of the Church: The First Friday devotion, promoted by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, invites Communion on nine consecutive First Fridays in reparation to the Heart of Jesus. Popes have commended this path of renewal (see Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas).

How to practice First Fridays

1. Attend Mass and receive Holy Communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months.

2. Make a good Confession (within about 8 days is customary).

3. Offer acts of reparation (short prayers, works of mercy) to console the Heart of Jesus.

4. Entrust yourself (or your family) to the Sacred Heart with a simple act of consecration.

Fasting: the posture of a converted heart

• Biblical roots: Jesus assumes His disciples will fast (Mk 2:20) and teaches its spirit (Mt 6:16–18). God calls, “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting” (Jl 2:12).

• Catechism: Interior penance is expressed above all in fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (CCC 1434). The Church encourages times and days of penance to school the heart (CCC 1438).

• Why it helps: Fasting strengthens self-mastery, detaches us from lesser loves, sharpens prayer, and fuels charity—especially toward the poor.

A simple way to begin

• Pick one weekly penance (traditionally Friday): abstain from meat or choose another concrete sacrifice (cf. Canon 1250–1253).

• Unite it to prayer: offer the hunger or inconvenience for a person, a wound in the Church, or in reparation to the Sacred Heart.

• Pair it with almsgiving: what you don’t spend, give.

A Eucharistic horizon

At the center stands the Eucharist—“the source and summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324). The Sacred Heart devotion and fasting are not ends in themselves; they lead to the altar, where the Heart that was pierced for us gives Himself as our food (Jn 6).

Reflection & Next Steps

• Scripture to pray with: Mt 11:28–30; Jn 19:31–37; Mk 2:18–22; Mt 6:16–18; Jl 2:12–13.

• One-line examen: Where is Jesus inviting my heart to be more like His—through reparation, fasting, or mercy this week?

• Practice this month: Start (or renew) the Nine First Fridays; choose one Friday penance; make Confession and offer a short act of reparation: “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You.”

“Set me as a seal upon your heart…” (Song 8:6) — a fitting prayer for every First Friday.