Regular Mass times and confession schedules have resumed in St. Joseph Church and Holy Trinity Church

November: We pray for the Souls in Purgatory

ST. JOSEPH and HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC PARISHES are a welcoming Catholic community, alive in Christ, living out His message in love and service to everyone. St. Joseph Church is at 500 N. Mesa Verde Avenue in Aztec, New Mexico. Holy Trinity Church is at 42 Road 3520, Flora Vista, New Mexico. Click here for MAP. Our parish office is at Father Owen Center, across the street from St. Joseph Church, at 424 N. Mesa Verde in Aztec, NM.

PASTOR'S LETTER

Praying for those who have died

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The month of November is the month of the Holy Souls. Prayer for our relatives and friends who have died is a Catholic custom and it goes back to the earliest days of the Church. Soon the Jewish people will celebrate Hanukkah, the festival lights which is celebrated close to Christmas and which lasts for eight nights. This important Jewish feast day commemorates the Maccabean revolt in which the Jews fought against their occupiers and successfully liberated their homeland. Judas Maccabeus had sacrifices offered in the Temple on behalf of his fallen comrades so that their sins might be forgive (2 Maccabees 12:43-46). In Matthew 12: 31-32, Our Lord speaks of the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as a sin which will not be forgiven in this world or in the world to come. The Catholic Church teaches and believes that this refers to those who refuse to repent of their sins and who refuse to accept God's mercy. If one dies in the state of mortal sin, those sins cannot be forgiven. However, if we die with venial sins on our conscience or if we still have temporal punishment to deal with on account of our sins, we will be purified in purgatory. Scripture tells us that no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of God. We can help the holy souls in purgatory by our prayers and they can pray for us as well. The Italian laywoman and mystic St. Gemma Galgani experienced visions which point to the efficacy of prayers for the dead. Even though the Orthodox churches do not use the term purgatory as we do, they still pray for their dead. The Orthodox churches were in communion with the whole Catholic Church until the schism which separated East and West. Like us, their history also goes back to the Apostles. Prayer for the dead was rejected by the Protestant Reformers. It is a good and holy thing to pray for those who have died. May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed, though the mercy of God, rest in peace. Faithfully in Christ, Rev. Robert Badger Parochial Administrator

Comments? You may email pastor@stjosephaztec.org

For the Aztec and Flora Vista community:

Please mail your Mass intentions and Mass offerings to the office or drop them in the gray mailbox outside Father Owen Center. We will also check phone messages on a regular basis.

St. Joseph Church and Holy Trinity Church will be open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9 AM to 2 PM for private prayer.

For sacraments especially in cases of emergency such as Anointing of the Sick, please contact Rev. Badger at (505) 333-7366. Please continue to practice stewardship and care for our parishes by submitting your gifts/Mass offerings online through ParishSoft Giving (click your Church below), or by mail, or drop your offering envelopes in the gray mailbox outside Father Owen Center. Thank you for your generosity.