See "Vatican extends time to obtain full indulgences for souls in purgatory" for information about November indulgences.

     In light of the above article and the responses to my question about All Souls' Day, we will have two Masses on Monday, November 2nd, at 8 AM and 12 Noon.

     I will be available for confessions from 2-4 PM and 5:30 to 7:30 PM at my rectory window.  In the not too distant future, I'll probably move into the parish hall to hear confessions because of the cold.

     Bishop O'Connell appointed me as the Respect Life Chaplain for Ocean County a few years ago.  Quarterly, the four chaplains meet with Rachel Hendricks who works at the chancery.  Today, we also met with her boss, Josue.  We met virtually because of the coronavirus and had a rather productive meeting.

     Details still need to be worked out, but a big topic was what can we do on January 22nd and January 29th.  The pandemic is likely to limit our ability to travel.

     On the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, January 22nd, every parish is strongly encouraged to celebrate the Mass "For Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life."

     Normally, we'd invite everyone to travel to Washington, D.C., for the March for Life on January 29th.  Because of the pandemic, most of us won't be able to travel.  So, we're going to encourage every parish and school to do some kind of public witness.  Here at St. John's, we could assemble outside our church or maybe on the Lakehurst sidewalk by Route 70.  We can meet at 3 PM to pray a rosary and Divine Mercy chaplet.  With signs, we could make it clear to people in cars that we're praying for the protection of the unborn and their mothers.

     We're near the end of Respect Life Month and just days away from the November 3rd election.  I've already voted by mail, but the topics of Respect Life and the election are still very important.

     The preeminent issue in our country is abortion.  This year, 800,000 surgical abortions are likely to occur.  The number of chemical abortions could be a few million.  The killing of so many innocent people is just astounding.

     It would be very hard to justify voting for a pro-abortion candidate.  I suppose you could justify it if both candidates were pro-abortion.  Then you'd have to pick one of them.  The other possibility is if the other candidate stood for something worse like the killing of vast numbers of people like the Nazis and Communists did in the 20th century.

     Some will argue that they're not one issue voters.  That's great.  Many issues are important.  Yet, all the other issues in our country today do not add up to the great harm that abortion is causing to our society.  The bad fruit of abortion is tremendous.  Also, those who are pro-abortion tend to be in favor of other intrinsically evil actions.  Those who are pro-life tend to be helpful not just to the unborn but others as well.

     In a previous message, I included links to resources with more information.  Both the USCCB and EWTN have helpful resources.

     No matter what happens in the election, we know that God will still love us and be eager to forgive us our sins.  He is wonderfully merciful.

     Depending on what happens in the next three months, we ought to redouble our efforts to advocate and pray for the most vulnerable among us including the very young, the sick, and the very old.  There's much we can learn about God's plan for human love, the true freedom He offers us, and the inherent dignity of every human being from conception until natural death.

     I've been watching several EWTN shows about Pope St. John Paul II.  They're rekindling fond memories of him and what he taught.  The Christ-centered anthropology of JP2 can help ground us in the truth.  If you're looking for deep philosophy, consider reading "The Theological Anthropology of Karol Wojtyla (Pope St. John Paul II)" by Dr. William R. Luckey.  JP2 was great at communicating deep truths to the crowds.  Pray for me that I might better understand the teaching of the Church and communicate it well to you.

God love you,

Fr. Jim