All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day come right next to each other, November 1 and 2. We honor the saints and the holy souls, but also the everyday loving people now in heaven.

Last March, as the city of San Salvador began its week-long commemoration of Archbishop Oscar Romero’s death, the souvenir T-shirts were abundant, worn by locals and visiting pilgrims alike.

The Eucharist is a complex mystery. None of us—no matter how learned, no matter how holy—can fully grasp it.

The new English translation of the Mass, introduced last Advent, invites Catholics to take a second look at the Nicene Creed. Phrases such as “consubstantial with the Father” and “incarnate of the Virgin Mary” replace more familiar words we’ve been using for decades.

Early in Christianity our creed was born in fierce debates about what we believe. The ancient words invite our “Amen” to this faith forged by the early Church. It’s like a handshake across the centuries — “a sign of recognition and communion between believers” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 188).

One of the most common questions people have about the end of the world is, simply, “What will happen in the future?” Given all the signs from which we cannot escape, the questions to ask might be, “Are we approaching the end of the world? Is this what Jesus was talking about in the Gospel?”