The Month of November 2026
My Friends,
Our civic responsibility for the common good
Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley is the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and speaks in the name of the body of our nation’s bishops. In anticipation of the November 3rd elections, the Archbishop has offered this encouragement for us all to exercise our civic responsibility for the common good:
“In a time of deep political division, the temptation is to be discouraged and to not participate in the election process. But discouragement is not a Christian virtue. For citizens in a representative democracy such as our own, participation in public life—including voting—is both a right and a responsibility.
“I would ask all Catholics to put their faith before politics. The Church’s contribution to the public life of a nation is not a political or partisan program; rather, it reflects our commitment to the dignity of every person, who is created in the image and likeness of God.
“One of the great dangers of our moment is the belief that any criticism of ‘our party’ somehow strengthens our opponents. A well-formed conscience does not operate on those terms. Therefore, I encourage all to judge candidates and elected officials by their actions, not merely their promises, and how those actions promote the common good. We must reject rhetoric that appeals to fear, resentment, or division, and listen instead, to the Gospel call to love God and all our neighbors.
All Saints Day
On Sunday, November 1st, the Church round the world celebrates the Feast of All Saints. Because of its importance, it supersedes the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. All Saints Day is a festival of the holy men and women of every time and place who unmistakably conformed their lives to Jesus Christ and were transformed by His saving grace. Their witness inspires us to aspire to do the same. An ancient prayer to our Blessed Mother has the invocation, “Virgin Mary Immaculate, Mother of Divine Love, make us saints.” So may it be!
“We remember…”
Throughout the month of November our Pro-Cathedral Book of Remembrance will be in place on the south side of the sanctuary before the image of the Risen Christ and near the Baptismal Font and Easter Candle alongside it. This setting is a reminder that from Baptism onwards we are Alive in Christ and heirs to the promise of Life that always only begins. Moreover we participate even now in a holy communion, in Christ, and with one another, and with those who already see Christ face to face, as well as those yet awaiting that blessed vision.
You are welcome to enter the names of deceased family members and friends in the Book of Remembrance. We will remember them in the Intercessions at Mass on the Sundays of November.
166 years and counting…
On Wednesday, 4 November 2026, we celebrate the 166th anniversary of the dedication of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist Church by then-Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick. This Pro-Cathedral Church has been in continuous and uninterrupted use since that day. And it continues to be so!
The present church replaced a smaller brick structure, built shortly after the territorial parish was established in 1847. It was immediately to the north of the new church, and stood until the Mill Creek Redevelopment of the Downtown West neighborhood in 1960. With the completion of the new church, in 1860, the original building was used as a parish hall and library until it was demolished.
A detailed description of the present church is included on the cover of our church bulletin. The anniversary of the dedication is an occasion for thanksgiving for the graces that have been abounding here these 166 years and for all – living and deceased – who have been part of this family of faith.
“If these towers could talk…”
It was an anthropomorphism in 1947 when St. John, Apostle & Evangelist Parish celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding. The title of the souvenir brochure prepared for the celebration was an anthropomorphism. The title is “If these towers could talk.” It imagines the twin bell towers of the church doing just that. The preface of the brochure, then, takes up that theme.
These are the opening words of that preface piece: “If these towers of St. John’s Catholic Church could speak, what a word picture they could paint of St. Louis, the great Catholic city on the Mississippi River, and its life through a hundred years. Situated in exactly the same spot, this church has seen the city grow and move on west. Its baptismal and marriage records contain well-known names in the city’s early life. This historic Church of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist is a glorious milestone in the history of St. Louis Catholicity, and like all ancient edifices of spiritual character, goes on and on in its work of teaching and preaching the Word of God and the salvation of souls.”
The Year of Grace 2027
The Church reckons time beginning with the First Sunday of Advent and ending with the Feast of Christ the King and the 34th Week in Ordinary Time. There is a small booklet in the sacristy of all churches, called the Ordo which lists the order of prayer and for the celebration of Masses for each day of the Liturgical Year. The title page before the entry for 28 November 2026 is captioned “The Beginning of the Year of Grace 2027”.
During this new year, at Sunday Masses, we will proclaim the Gospel of St. Mark. It is the earliest of the four New Testament Gospels, and was composed in Greek, sometime after the year 70 AD.
The Gospel of Mark offers a spirited and powerful account of the ministry of Jesus that emphasizes His role as the Suffering Servant of God. It captures the energy and urgency of His mission as He heals the sick and casts out demons while moving steadily toward the cross. It presents the disciples as often struggling to understand the nature of His kingdom and the necessity of His sacrificial death on the cross. This Gospel challenges us to consider what it truly means to follow a Master who came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.
A reflective personal reading of the Gospel of St. Mark in coming days could be grace filled! It could be an effective way to prepare for Sunday Mass, and so better to be drawn into the meaning of the mystery of Jesus Christ proclaimed in the Gospel and celebrated in the Eucharist.
Giving Thanks
This Litany of Thanksgiving is a good springboard for some of all for which we ought to give thanks on Thanksgiving Day and always:
For the expanding grandeur of creation, worlds known and unknown, galaxies beyond galaxies, filling us with awe and challenging our imaginations:
We give thanks this day.
For this fragile planet earth, its times and tides, its sunsets and seasons:
We give thanks this day.
For the joy of human life, its wonders and surprises, its hopes and achievements:
We give thanks this day.
For our human community, our common past and future hope, our oneness transcending all separation, our capacity to work for peace and justice in the midst of hostility and oppression:
We give thanks this day.
For high hopes and noble causes, for faith without fanaticism, for understanding of views not shared:
We give thanks this day.
For all who have labored and suffered for a fairer world, who have lived so that others might live in dignity and freedom:
We give thanks this day.
For human liberty and sacred rites; for opportunities to change and grow, to affirm and challenge:
We give thanks this day.
We pray that we may live not by our fears but by our hopes, not by our words but by our deeds.
We give thanks this day.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In Brief
Some weeks ago, Adam & Chloe Goepfrich, their little ones, Thedore and Avery, joined us for Holy Mass. They were visiting St. Louis from Jasper, Indiana. That Sunday evening I received this message from them: “We were very touched by the members of St. John’s and the welcome we got at Mass today. We almost drove home first, to go to 5 PM Mass in Indiana. But we were so glad we decided to stick around and go to Mass with you.”
We welcome to our Pro-Cathedral Family Spencer Laiben and Brad Szotko. As you are able, please extend to them that same warm welcome the Goepfrich family experienced here!
We keep in prayer Father John Johnson, 17th pastor of the Pro-Cathedral family and now in hospice care, Margaret Czapla, Dan Prater, and all our sick and homebound. May God keep a careful eye on each of them and all their loved ones!
On All Souls Day, 2 November 2026, Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral Basilica by Archbishop Rozanski at 12:05 PM, and at 7:00 and 8:00 AM by the Cathedral priests.
On Thanksgiving Day, 26 November 2026, Mass will be celebrated, by Archbishop Rozanski, in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis at 9:00 in the morning.
Faithfully,
Monsignor Delaney