“Let Us Give Thanks to the Lord our God”
Join Father Sullivan for Mass on Thursday, November 24th in the Parish Activity Center at 9 am, as we celebrate Thanksgiving Day. You are invited to bring non-perishable foods items to Mass that morning, which will be used to restock our parish pantry, as we continue our outreach to those in need in our community. A very Happy Thanksgiving!
On May 3, of this year, a very large hailstorm struck Zanesville. A tremendous amount of damage was incurred by the storm to the rectory and the rectory garage as well as the maintenance facility at Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Damage was incurred to the roofs, windows, window screens, gutters, downspouts, and HVAC systems. We have reached an agreement with Catholic Mutual Insurance Company on the financial extent of the damage. In the coming days and weeks, you will begin to see construction crews working on these facilities to repair the damage. I want to make this announcement so as to be completely transparent on facilities activities at the church and hopefully answer any questions that you may have when you observe these activities.
Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish is pleased to announce that two grants have been awarded to the parish for calendar year 2023.
The first grant, in the amount of $6,000, has been given for use by the Saint Thomas Aquinas Food Pantry. The Food Pantry is a vital ministry provided by Saint Thomas Aquinas that helps to meet the nutritional needs of those less fortunate in our community. The Food Pantry is stocked annually through a number of food drives from parishioners. This grant will enable the Food Pantry to meet the needs of many more people in our community. For example, in October of 2022, a total of 43 boxes and bags of food products were provided to those in need. The second grant, in the amount of $5,000, has been given for use by Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish to support the “Evenings of Faith & Fellowship” and other spiritual outreach programs in our parish. Evenings of Faith and Fellowship is held every Monday evening at 7 pm in the Saint Thomas School Cafeteria. Please plan to attend these opportunities to deepen your relationship with Christ and the Catholic Faith.
Commemorating All the Faithful Departed
Please join us for All Souls Day Masses at 9 am and 7 pm on Wednesday, November 2 in the Saint Thomas Activity Center.
All Souls Day gives us the privilege of praying for the repose of the souls of all the faithful departed, especially our relatives and friends. Coming after the celebration of All Saints, and at the beginning of the month of November, when in the Northern Hemisphere, all the world around us seems to be dying, preparing for the great hibernation that winters cold and freezing temperatures will bring.
This is a point of great personal meditation for us. We make sure we offer extra prayers for the dead, along with good works and most especially the Mass. Every one of our actions has consequences. Our good actions have the result of gaining us merit, which will determine how glorified we will be in heaven. Our bad actions have the consequence of sin. However, even after we have sought forgiveness and God has forgiven our sins, the consequences of the effect of our sin remain. If we spoke ill of another and hurt their reputation, if we wrecked a vehicle, if we killed someone—these sins have effects that linger, and justice demands that we atone for those consequences.
We do this either in this life or the next. If we wait, then we do so in Purgatory, where all those consequences of our choices are burned from us until we are refined as gold again.
On November 2 we also have the opportunity to receive a Plenary Indulgence for any specific soul we choose, by visiting a church, assisting at Mass, praying the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory be to the Father, and including the Holy Father’s prayer intention. Within 20 days before or after, we must also confess all mortal sins, receive absolution, attend Mass and receive Holy Communion in a state of grace.
May we not pass up these opportunities to help those who have gone before us. We may be certain to pray for those who have no one else to pray for them. These will be the souls who are there to welcome us to heaven when it is our time. Also, by your generosity now with the dead, hopefully those left after us will do the same for the repose of our souls.
Happy All Saints Day!
Today’s celebration reminds us of several truths. First, we are untied to one another through the gift of baptism even more powerfully that we are to one another by kin or affection. Two, the bond of baptism is everlasting, but the bonds of this world’s affection unravel at death. Thirdly, baptism unites us together as one and with one another to Christ Jesus. And fourth, the bond of baptism grows stronger and stronger within us when we pray, when we worship, when we study the holy scriptures and the inspired works of the saints and the teaching of the Church. We are strengthened in our baptismal resolve when we turn away from self and towards others in need. Every act and thought of ours has eternal consequences. Whenever we do the good and avoid evil, we are united more firmly to Jesus and the power of his cross and resurrection. The more we turn to him, the more we become like him, and the more we become like him the more we become saints—our true and highest calling!
Today, we not only celebrate the saints, and invoke their intercession, we resolve to become saints ourselves.
“Not to be a saint—that is the greatest tragedy that can befall you. You fall, but it is never too late to start again. You were made to be a saint.”
Please join us for the celebration of All Saints Day Masses in the Saint Thomas Activity Center at 9:00 am and 7 pm.
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