On November 10, 2010, I celebrated Mass at St. Joseph's parish in Arlington, Texas for the students of Holy Rosary School. This feast of St. Leo the Great. Concelebrating the Mass with me was Father Dan Kelley, the pastor of St. Joseph. This day is one of the many Saints days in the month of November where the lives of the Saints teach us of our relationship with the Lord and His people. For example, the life and ministry of St. Leo the Great as the Bishop of Rome during the time of the disintegration of the Roman Empire in the West, gives witness to the necessity and blessing of the Vicar of Christ for the entire Church, especially in difficult times. We can also reflect on this month St. Martin of Tours, St. Josaphat, St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Elizabeth of Hungary, to name a few. The blessing of all of the Saints of this month, in a month dedicated to All Saints and All Souls reminds us of the words of Pope Benedict XVI, when he said on the solemnity of the Assumption in 2006 that "We do not praise God sufficiently by keeping silent about his saints."
After this Mass Fr. Kelley, Fr. Thu Nguyen of St. George parish in Fort Worth, and Father Hoa Nguyen of Sacred Heart Parish in Wichita Falls, Texas made a trip to Houston to spend the day with the Vietnamese Dominican Sisters in Houston, Texas. The picture here is from our visit to the novitiate. We had a wonderful day in which we visited with the Sisters, the Prioress General, Sister Maria Goretti OP, and her council, and then prayed evening prayer with them and were together for the evening meal. At least nine of the sisters in this community are from our Diocese, either from Fort Worth or Arlington! The life of these Dominican Sisters, and their obvious joy in their vocation, reminds me of what Pope Benedict XVI said in June of 2006 to a convention of the Diocese of Rome: "The beauty and joy of faith is a path that every new generation must take on its own, for all that we have this is most our own and most intimate is staked on faith: our heart, our mind, our freedom, in a deeply personal relationship with the Lord at work within us." Their witness calls to mind the necessity and obligation of all of God's people to pray for, and foster an environment where the call to serve the Lord as consecrated religious can be heard. Consecrated life is an essential part of building up the entire Church and promoting the blessing of ecclesial communion.