All Saints Parish Homilies and News

Five meditation symbolisms to observe during the Celebration of the Mass. A report published in Aleteia, by Philip Kosloski. In the Catholic Church, many physical objects are used at Mass that to the casual observer may appear random. The truth is the exact opposite. In fact, each item used at Mass is there for a specific purpose and has beautiful symbolism behind it. Here is a list of the most common objects you may see at Mass and why the Church finds them spiritually useful. Candles Candles have always been used in the Church in a symbolic way. From ancient times the lighted candle has been seen as a symbol of the light of Christ. This is clearly expressed at the Easter Vigil, when the deacon or priest enters the darkened church with the single Easter candle. Jesus came into our world of sin and death to bring the light of God to us. He expressed this idea clearly in the Gospel of John: “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the ...

Easter sermon by Alban McCoy The Resurrection, the victory of life over death, is the victory of love over death by Alban McCoy, OFM.  Opinion published in The Tablet, a Catholic journal.  The first to find the empty tomb and, in Matthew’s gospel , the first to see the risen Christ, were two women, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary. The men, meanwhile, were cowering in fear. This in itself is remarkable. The testimony of women in that rigidly patriarchal culture was considered, in law at least, insignificant, if not untrustworthy. So, if the resurrection of Jesus had been a fabrication, as the authorities alleged and some who had formerly followed him had believed, it would have been an especially ineffectual and hopeless deceit. But it’s remarkable and profoundly instructive for an entirely different reason. St. Thomas Aquinas (B-1224/25- D-1274) St Thomas Aquinas was convinced that it was women who first saw and heard and touched the risen Jesus, because they have a greate...

Maine Writer: My husband and I have attended a Jewish family's Passover Sader.  We experienced the common religious roots expressed by our Roman Catholicism in the Gospel described the Last Supper.  In my opinion, Jewish Passover is the Christian Holy Thursday. Two faiths celebrate freedom, renewal, hope to overcome oppression- Jews and Christians By Brad Bloom echo opinion published in the  South Carolina  Island Packet  (IP) newspaper.   https://www.islandpacket.com/living/religion/faith-in-action/article250360306.html Passover and Easter: Two faiths celebrate freedom, renewal, hope to overcome oppression Some people are confused about the timing of Passover and Easter. This year Passover began March 27, and will end eight days later on April 4, which is also Easter. How are these holidays determined, and how do they intersect from a historical and theological perspective? Is there an ecumenical dimension to these two holidays, despite their differences, ...