Te Deum laudamus!: Fr. Perrone on All-Night Prayer Vigil for Election; and on 40 Hours Devotion

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Fr. Perrone on All-Night Prayer Vigil for Election; and on 40 Hours Devotion

Here is Fr. Perrone's weekly column for November 4th. In it, he discusses the upcoming prayer vigil Monday night into Tuesday morning (click here for details); as well as the 40 Hour Devotion which will be next weekend. Note that the EF Mass (aka, "Tridentine") moves to Noon for the closing of 40 hours. Also, the Grotto K of C are holding their monthly pancake breakfast tomorrow after the 9:30 and Noon Masses.

A Pastor's Descant

A decisive week is before us. By Wednesday morning we will know the outcome of the presidential election that will determine so much of what is to happen in our country. I have already expressed my great concern about this to you in asking for your prayers and for fasting. You have only two more days to do some penitential works of this kind. I urge you most earnestly to take up these spiritual means to secure a brighter future for these United States.

You were already alerted about another thing we are doing to help in our storming of the heavens. Monday evening’s 7:00 p.m. Mass will be followed by exposition of the most Blessed Sacrament and we will have a night-long vigil of prayer in the church that will conclude just before the 7:30 morning Mass on Tuesday. I know that for many of you this may be an impossible thing. But there are others who might say, ‘Let somebody else do this. I’ve got other things to do with my time.’ Fair enough. Everyone’s got something else to do besides staying up and praying–even if only for an hour or two. But consider this. If, on account of the outcome of the election, you were to suffer great financial loss, or the persecution of the Church, or coercion to act against your moral convictions, or the loss of our country’s security, or anything else as serious, then would you do the holy hour, say the rosary, and do some penance to get back what you had lost? But then it would be too late, of course. Think how you would regret your inaction. I’m proposing some things you can do besides voting. You will have to bear some small part in the outcome of things no matter how they turn out, inevitably so, either by your help or your failure to help. Your part is not insignificant, though it may seem so. Come to church to ‘vote’ first on Monday night before going to vote Tuesday at the polls.

You have also through Thursday of this week to obtain a plenary indulgence on behalf of the dead, one such each day, by visiting our cemetery on any of those days (or once on each of them) and praying for the faithful departed. These “poor souls” are not only helped by our prayers, good works and indulgences, but are capable of helping us as well, being yet vital members of the Church’s mystical body. They can be, if only we would ask them, allies in our prayers for our country. Let’s not neglect to tap that source of spiritual intercession.

Our Knights of Columbus are hosting their monthly PANCAKE BREAKFAST today (Sunday) in the gym after the 9:30 and noon Masses. They are also collecting your used clothing today for the ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY CLOTHES DRIVE. Your bagged clothes may be brought to the truck in our parking lot. Do not bring clothes here after today; we do not have an ongoing program of clothes’ collection.

As if this were not already a week packed with significance, we will open our parish FORTY HOURS DEVOTION this Friday at the 7:30 a.m. Mass with the prescribed ceremonies following. The Holy Eucharist will be exposed in the church for adoration Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Forty Hours closing Mass with Eucharistic procession will be at the noon Mass, November 11. This will be a Latin Tridentine Mass. The 9:30 that day will be a low Mass in English.

Fr. Perrone