November 2, 2025

Dear Parish Family:

November is the month we remember our Faithful Departed in a very special way.

November 2 is All Souls Day. We pray in a special way for the souls of those who have died and are in Purgatory awaiting the complete joy of Heaven. It is a day of more subdued or somber prayer for those who have died and are being purified and prepared to enter Heaven, being cleansed from any stain of sin so they are completely ready to see God face to face. 

Through the rest of November, we continue to pray for our deceased. On the altar during November, there will be the All Souls Day offerings, which contain names of deceased loved ones whom you would like prayed for and remembered during this “Month of the Dead.” These holy souls will be prayed for at every Mass during the month of November.  November is a very special month during which we remember, celebrate, and believe. It’s a chance for us to prayerfully feel that real sense of loss and pain that comes when a loved one dies and to stand together in the great hope in the promise and reality of eternal life.

Everyone is invited to our Vespers for the Faithful Departed today, November 2, at 4:00 p.m. Candles will be lit in memory of our parishioners who have died this past year. Their names will also be solemnly read. Candles will be available for you to light in memory of your own loved ones who have died this year or before. It’s a beautiful service of hope, healing, and faith. It will move your heart.

Please be sure to visit our Parish Necrology in Memorial Corridor. That is the hallway between the Main Church Narthex and the Parish Hall Lobby. The Necrology lists those who have been buried from Good Shepherd since 1951. As you pass by their names, pray for them.  And ask them to pray for you.

While the entire month of November is dedicated to the faithful departed, the first week of the month is a special time. One concrete way that the Church recommends to observe this week is to visit a cemetery and pray for all those who have died and are buried there. While you can visit a cemetery any time during the year, the Church provides a special indulgence from November 1 –8.   An indulgence, applicable only to the souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray for the departed. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines an indulgence as “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.”   This special November indulgence is a gift that we can give to those who have gone before us and are being purified and prepared in purgatory to enter Heaven.  So consider visiting a cemetery this week.  I am heading north for a few days this week to visit the graves of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and recently deceased cousin in Massachusetts.   

Love and prayers,
Father Neil Sullivan