November—a Month to Remember
November 1st is All Saints’ Day, November 2nd is All Souls Day, November 11th is Veteran’s Day and November 27th is Thanksgiving Day.
Deacon Patrick Constantino | Photos courtesy Patrick Constantino
November is a month to remember our heritage God created. People who made a difference in our lives who were made Saints; our family and friends who lived like them to inherit God’s Kingdom and then on Thanksgiving Day we thank God for inheriting us to His Kingdom.
November is a time to remember our heritage in our churches.
All Saints’ Day
Our people lived like Jesus to become saints of God. They lived by His examples, trials and tribulations of His time. They are living examples and experiences for us to follow to the end of time.
My friends, the saints were not perfect. but they were committed. They did aspire to something more than themselves. And that wasn’t a “something” at all. It was actually a “someone.” And for the saints, that someone was not someone to simply be admired from afar. They were someone to imitate, someone to be “put on” as Paul says, someone to embody. The Lord Jesus. And as you know, in the past two thousand years, the Church has canonized hundreds and hundreds of Saints—and not as some sort of favor to them in heaven or to their families or friends—but to us, the Catholic faithful across the whole world. And this favor is two-fold.
First, we have our friends in heaven to call on for their prayers, an unbroken bond between us and those who have gone before us. And so we turn to them, starting with Mary and continuing through the centuries. They are our friends, our fellow believers, our family. And they pray for us—unceasingly. But secondly, by actually identifying these people for us, the Church has given us countless examples of what holiness truly looks like; people to get strength from and identify with and people to imitate. You see, no two saints are alike. And that means holiness comes in many forms, in every type of person living in every type of life situation. And that means we too can be saints. Seriously. We too can pattern our lives on the person of Jesus—the Lord Jesus who was made visible in these holy men and women through the ages. And it won’t take perfection from us.
That’s not possible. And it doesn’t have to be achieved through grandiose sorts of things. It just requires we do our best to love—as Jesus loved—and as the Saints loved—exactly as they love us each and every second of each and every day. But it won’t happen by accident. It can only happen if we aspire to be saints. All holy men and women, pray for us!
The Commemoration of All The Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)
On the surface, All Souls Day may appear to be a really sad day, a depressing day, a day to shed many tears. After all, the loss of people we loved in this life is a difficult thing, a painful thing. It hurts. And not just a little. A lot. It often makes us feel really empty or broken or incomplete. And we don’t just grieve for the person. It’s more than that. We also grieve because we know things can’t go back to the way they used to be.
We can’t simply undo what has happened. We can’t just wake up from the bad dream we are having, no matter how much we wish that was so. And that’s a really hard thing to face. But actually, All Souls Day is not just about being sad. It’s also about being grateful. Truly grateful. Deeply grateful. Grateful for the men and women we remember who made a real difference in our lives, made our lives better, made our lives more complete.
Grateful for the people who loved us and who we tried our best to love in return. For the care and comfort they showed us. The compassion. The mercy. The fun times. The ordinary times. The companionship. The challenges and tough times faced together. The friendship. Put simply—we are grateful for the gifts they were to us. And All Souls Day is also about being connected.
Our faith teaches us the bonds we forged in this life, the relationships, have not ended. They continue. They remain meaningful. They endure. And so we continue to love those who have gone before us by praying for them—praying God will take care of them, embrace them, forgive them and welcome them home for all eternity. And, just as importantly, we ask them to pray for us, to help us on our journey. It’s really a beautiful thing when you stop and think about it. We loved one another in this life. And we continue to love one another even though things have changed—a kind of two-way street that remains that way even if they seem to have gone away, seem to be absent. And of course, today is also about being hopeful—a day to trust what we say we believe is actually how it is. We’re hopeful because our loved ones are in the safest, most incredible place they could be—with the God who sustained them and guided them, with the God who forgave them—that is, with the God who loves them more than we do. Imagine that.
It doesn’t seem like that could be true but it is. God’s love for our loved ones is actually stronger than ours even though that seems impossible. And we are hopeful because we believe where they have gone, we will someday go too. And while most of us don’t want that day to come sooner than it needs to, we do get some comfort in knowing our separation from our loved ones will be no more. The Lord Jesus died to make it so. And nothing can undo that, nothing can reverse that, nothing can undermine that. The victory has been won—for our loved ones and for us too. Of course, believing in all the good things this day represents does not take the pain away, does not magically make everything better.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. It’s a process that actually takes a lifetime, a continual replacing of sorrow we feel with the joy and peace only God can give. And so we pray for that day—pray for a little bit of ability to accept, a little bit of comfort, a little bit of happiness in knowing our loved ones are happier than they have ever been. And if you are one of those people who aren’t currently mourning someone dear to you, today is a reminder to reach out to those who are, to be that companion, that shoulder to cry on, that attentive ear, that compassionate presence.
It is during these times we need each other more than ever. And while no one can ever replace anyone in the life of anyone else, we certainly can make one another realize we don’t have to go through the painful times in life alone. We’re all in this together. A perfect description of what we are celebrating today. We are all in this together—the living and those who are living out of view but not out of reach. So let’s continue to reach out in love, to those who have gone before us, those in our families and workplaces, and neighborhoods, and even those sitting next to us. It might just make a painful time a little less so. Thank you God for loving all the people I have loved. And loving me too!
November 11th, Veterans Day
Special blessings to all our Veterans who risked their lives, for their love and commitment to our country. May God bless them and their families. Lord bless also the veterans who lost their lives in order so that we can enjoy our freedom!
Thanksgiving Day
We thank God with love, for all the many miracles and gifts He has given us in this life. We are to share God’s love, as a gift to Him!
Jesus I trust in You! Amen!
Deacon Patrick Constantino retired from active Ministry on July 1, 2022. He is still a Deacon in good standing with full faculties to perform all sacraments in the Diocesan of Honolulu Hawai‘i. Constantino has been ordained for thirty-seven years. He is the first Filipino Deacon in the Diocesan of Honolulu. Prior to his ordination, Constantino was in government—first appointed in 1966 as Assistant Sergeant of Arms by the Speaker of the House Elmer F. Cravalho. When Cravalho became Maui’s first Mayor, Constantino became his Executive Assistant—the first of Filipino ancestry. Later, Constantino became the first County Treasurer of Filipino ancestry and the first County Grants Administrator and Risk Manager of Filipino ancestry. Constantino is married to his lovely wife Corazon for sixty-four years. They are blessed with four children, eleven grandchildren, and fifteen great grandchildren.