From the Pastor – November 10, 2019
There have been a lot of advertisements and usage of DNA kits. A lot of people are surprised when theydiscover the results. They weren’t what they expected. Folks who are one nationality thought they would seeresults from the nation from which their ancestors emigrated. What many are discovering is that there weremany inter-marriages between people of different nationalities. That’s because people moved around betweencountries, met people of other nationalities and eventually married and settled down to raise afamily. Independently, many people can trace their families as far back as the Mayflower and later. This allmakes for interesting discussions around family dinner tables. I find all of this interesting, especially whenfolks are surprised by the results they get. The important issue, though, is that we all came from somewhereelse. No matter the origins of our ancestors, they left us a legacy to continue what they began. Obviously,there are new tools for all of this, including our own talents and abilities. This is how societies are built,including the church. Our ancestors would probably be very proud of our accomplishments, because this iswhat they expected.In today’s Gospel the Saddducees’ concern over the seven brothers marrying the same woman is ratherinteresting, at least from our perspective. Since they did not believe in resurrection, they were trying to trapJesus. But they couldn’t escape the fact that when we die, there is no physical presence. That’s because we areno longer limited by space and time. They would all live in harmony with each other and with God.Maybe this confused them, but it shouldn’t confuse us. After his resurrection, when Jesus appeared to hisapostles, they did not recognize him. It wasn’t that they didn’t know him, but his body was in a glorified state,which means it wasn’t limited by time and space. Once he did something familiar, then they recognized him.The saints and all our loved ones live spiritually with God for all eternity. There are no longer limits onthem as there are on us, and they don’t need a DNA test to prove it. As our ancestors and relatives now livewith God, they are watching over us, hoping that we will continue to grow in God’s love and help make hispresence real for others. Did you ever wonder what heaven will be like, since no one has come back to tell us?Eternal peace and tranquility, where everyone will know everyone else? A giant party? Or maybe somethingdifferent?Only God knows and we’ll have to wait to find out until we get there! Today, at the 12:00 Mass, we are honoring our veterans in gratitude for their service to our country. Following the Mass, there is a luncheon for the veterans and their families, as a way of saying “THANK YOU.” As aparish we are grateful for them, their families and their service to keep us free!HAPPY VETERANS DAY! ~ FR. JOE