33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 15, 2015 – Year B
Readings: Dn 12:1-3 / Psalm 16 / Heb 10:11-14, 18 / Mk 13:24-32
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

We are all aware of the horrific events of last Friday, the 13^th, when the whole world was shaken by the attacks on innocent civilians in Paris. Pope Francis, after offering condolences and prayers, forcefully condemned the violence.   He described the attacks as ‘not human’, and he added that it is difficult to understand how such things could be done by human beings. The Holy Father knows, as we do, that there can be no rational explanation for such irrational and evil acts.

The entire Holy Name of Mary family, along with Pope Francis and more than 1 billion Catholics, join the world in supporting and praying for the victims of these attacks in Paris. I would like to thank God in a personal way because one of our parish, Jamie Messier, was in Paris when this happened, and he is safe and sound. We pray that the relatives of Gabriel Brocheny are all fine. And we will continue to pray for all of the victims and their families during this terribly difficult and tragic time.

Our brothers and sisters in that part of the world have quite a few intercessors, whom we call ‘saints’. In fact, they are God’s gift to us and the whole Christian community.   To name just a few:

• Those of us wearing Miraculous Medals can appreciate that we have this devotion because the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Catherine Labouré in France.
• Those who have participated in the 33 Days to Morning Glory will recognize that the saint who introduced this true devotion to Mary was St. Louis de Montfort, a priest from France.
• The patron saint of all parish priests, St. John Vianney, is from France. As a parish priest myself, I ask for his intercession every single day.
• Dog-lovers like me are familiar with the St. Bernard. He may not be the most popular dog in the world, but he’s surely one of the biggest, if not the biggest dog! The breed is named for St. Bernard, a monk in France.
• And one of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary that has been officially approved by the Catholic Church is Our Lady of Lourdes, the site of hundreds of healings down through the years. We have these because the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous in France.

So the people in France surely have more than enough saints to intercede for them. But, as Pope Francis puts it, they need our support and prayers during this most difficult time. And so let us ask our Patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to show her care for all her children in Paris, that they may have the strength and the grace to carry on.

Hail Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

St. Bernadette, pray for us.
St. John Vianney, pray for us.
St. Bernard, pray for us.
St. Louis de Montfort, pray for us.
St. Catherine, pray for us.
All the angels and saints, pray for us.