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Dear OLP Family,

This Wednesday is Veterans Day. For over 100 years, we have remembered those who served our country in uniform on 11 November – first as Armistice Day, and then, since 1954 as Veterans Day. Few years ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs broadened that tradition of observance and appreciation to include both Veterans and Military Families for the entire month of November.

Besides the annual rituals of remembering them with wreaths and visits to their tombs, many organizations celebrate this day, honoring the veterans in various ways. Many popular restaurants and other retailers across the nation are giving them free meals, discounts, and other freebies on Veterans Day. Some parishes pray the Patriotic Rosary this day.

I used to be a missionary in Nagaland (northeast India). There is a War Cemetery in Kohima, its capital city, where the allied soldiers who died during the World War II are buried. On the door of the Cemetery it is written, “When you go home, tell them of us and say that we gave our today for your tomorrow.” Like the soldiers of World War II, the memory of our near and dear ones is a reminder that we need to be grateful to them because what we are today is mainly due to their efforts and sacrifices.

The whole of November, for us Catholics, is a month of remembrance of our departed dear ones. During our special annual Memorial Mass last Sunday evening, we had a good number of families in attendance. I was told that the number exceeded unlike any other year in recent memory. Glory and praise to God for that. The lit candles in the name of those departed family members of our parishioners and friends in the past 12 months reminded us that they are alive after their earthly life. The honor of their names being announced was a reminder of their continued presence in our hearts. At the end of that Mass, I thanked the Social Concerns Ministry and others who made that celebration a very meaningful one.

Such celebrations are very significant as they bring out the truth that we are the family of God. When we call ourselves as the OLP Family, we need to acknowledge everyone in our parish as part of this family. Our newly installed Bishop Michael Saporito exhorted us, when he visited our parish on October 25, to get to know other parishioners, to hear their stories and understand them. Ask the nearly 100 parishioners who are part of our Fall Into Faith Bible sharing groups and they will tell you that they came to know the small group participants. They will also add that this would not have happened if not for the small groups.

This is the reason Pastor Rick Warren (whose non-denominational megachurch based in Lake Forest, CA, with over 21,000 people in attendance for Sunday worship) insists that the numerous small groups meeting on Wednesdays are the back bone of his huge church community. If OLP family has to be a real family, we have to make an intentional effort to get to know others through a greater participation in the parish programs.

We can renew and re-energize our parish if we are intentional about it. We are already seeing some good signs of that. Praise God!

Your brother in Christ.

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