November 1, 2026

Dear Parishioners,

I believe that I am introverted. When I’ve taken the various personality tests over the years (Meyers-Briggs, etc.), my results have indicated that I’m extroverted. And it would seem to make sense. I’m pastor of a large parish, I’m the dean of the area, I’m a canon lawyer and teach at the seminary, I serve on a number of committees for the Archdiocese, I am frequently out with parishioners for dinner and other social events, I do TV Masses, I have a good group of priest friends that I see weekly, I hate watching movies and Bears games by myself (I need people to talk me off the ledge), etc. But there is a difference between being active or even being a leader, and being extroverted. What determines an introvert and an extrovert is how they receive their energy: alone or with others. An introvert can function socially just fine, but they are revitalized, at the end of the day, by being alone. True extroverts are fed even more by being with people, processing out loud and so forth. They can actually feel drained or sluggish after too much solo time.

So, I wonder, for us introverts, will heaven be hell? I ask this (somewhat facetiously) because St. John, in our first reading, sees an image of heaven that strikes me as an extrovert’s heaven: a multitude of people interacting with each other. Granted, the multitude are worshipping God with the angels (so, I suppose if you’re introverted and don’t like going to church, then this is a double-whammy), but it’s still certainly not the introvert’s paradise: sitting alone on a beach or on a couch with a good book.

Now, obviously the answer is no. Heaven cannot be hell. The multitude gathered around the throne of the lamb will not be torturous for the introvert. But it’s still worth reflecting on and praying about. Will heaven be truly what we desire it to be, introvert or not? Is there anything to be afraid of regarding heaven? We Catholics are so often focused on Hell that we forget to focus on the other fear regarding the afterlife–the fear of going to Heaven.

I bet there are a fair number of people on all ends of the spiritual spectrum who are afraid of heaven. Because, when push comes to shove, they have their attachments on earth. The thought of not having their spouse or their family, not having their sports or their music or whatever else brought them great joy, can be sad. Heaven is just loving God? Won’t that get boring?

It’s not sinful to acknowledge you have some doubts about heaven. And if you didn’t have doubts about heaven and I’m putting them in your head for the first time, then good. For you should have doubts about heaven. You should be nervous and afraid. It is the biggest thing of your life–I don’t know how else to phrase it. If you are nervous or afraid before a big game or before a performance or before your wedding, then all the more should you be nervous or afraid before death. The stakes are far greater.

The saints were all ready for heaven, ready to meet God. It didn’t mean they were all free from fear. Do you think Saint John the Silent–the 6th Century hermit who said only a few words throughout his life–was excited to be going to the heavenly multitude of worship? No. But he also realized that his earthly preferences were not indicative of his true calling. He might have been an introvert on this earth, but he was meant to be an extrovert in heaven. He realized the truth–that we will all be extroverts in heaven. We will all be energized by loving God and seeing him face-to-face, and seeing and loving one another. 

Our desires and preferences on this earth are just shadows. We are caterpillars now (to use a different image). May the saints intercede for us to help us let go of those earthly attachments and make us ready to surrender into the eternal embrace of God as butterflies in his kingdom.

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We will have our All Souls Remembrance at the 4:30pm Mass this Saturday, October 31st. Throughout the month of November we will have All Souls Remembrance books in the back of the church and at the Mary altar to write the names of the deceased.

This Sunday we are celebrating the Solemnity of All Saints. As we did last year, we will put out a table in the sanctuary containing the parish’s relics. Here are the saints we have (in no particular order): St. Paul of the Cross, St. Gemma Galgani, St. Maria Goretti, St. Vincent Strambi, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Margaret Mary, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Patrick, St. Lawrence, St. Carlo Acutis, St. Pius X, St. Cecilia, Sts. Concordia and Jucundus, St. Andrew Avellino, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. John, St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. John the Baptist, St. Philip Neri, Pius XII (venerable).

Some of these relics have been part of the parish for decades. Other relics have been recently donated. If you are interested in donating a relic to the parish, please let me know. We’d be happy to receive it and put it out on display. We also try to place out the relics of our saints on their particular feast days. 

As I’ve mentioned the past few weeks, we are putting out a call for any parishioner interested in volunteering to be a wedding coordinator. The wedding coordinators work with the bride and groom to plan the ceremony, run the rehearsal and assist on the day of the wedding. If you are interested in this ministry, please contact me. A special thank you to our current wedding coordinators who work so hard for the parish.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James