There are times and situations that we all face where we feel we are behind on something and need to catch up.  That was the case for me this morning when I got an e-mail from Malea at the Arkansas Catholic, asking all pastors to submit a listing of all parish activities that have been planned for the extraordinary Jubilee "Year of Mercy" that has been proclaimed and promulgated by Pope Francis and runs from December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016.

Traditionally, Popes declare "Holy Years" every 25 years, and call for special celebrations and pilgrimages as well as opportunities for spiritual growth, firstly through the sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Extraordinary Holy Years are less frequent, but offer similar opportunities for spiritual growth.  If you are interested in reading the Papal Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy by Pope Francis, you can find it through our website or by "googling" Year of Mercy USCCB, and clicking on the line that will take you to this Bull.

During this month of "All Souls" it is normal and natural (especially given the Mass readings which more and more, speak of the "End Times") for people to ponder their own mortality and what is to come after they finish their earthly journey.  It is a time when some think about and/or plan their funeral liturgies.  If you don't know, many (at leat in our parish) are now choosing cremation rather than the traditional way of burying their body or interring it in a mausoleum.

As I have indicated before, the Church still prefers and strongly promotes the long standing practice of having a mass of Resurrection with the body present, with cremation immediately afterward, with the interment of the cremains then taking place with prayers and a blessing of the place of interment.  (Scattering cremains is still forbidden by the Church).

Many of us have experiences with people who have given themselves to God in the consecrated life.  Hopefully, most of those memories were positive and good for us.  Those of us who had religious brothers or sisters as teachers in our schooling days may recall a firm voice and/or hand that we found distasteful or even hurtful.  Unfortunately, such experiences may have led to short-term or long-term negative thoughts and feelings about the Religious.  In some instances, people have even left the practive of the Catholic faith due to it.  The three nuns I had as teachers in my grade school were "no nonsense" and were not afraid to use the paddle (as my lay teachers also did), but I remember the overall good atmosphere that was created and led myself and my siblings to get a great start in our formal education life and in the knowledge and practice of our faith.