Dear Good People of St. Philip,

Happy All Saints Day! I have always had a special love for this day, and I can’t say exactly why that is. Maybe, in part, because one of my favorite churches in Rome is the Pantheon rededicated in Christian times as the “Church of All Martyrs” and then later as the “Church of All Saints”. Or maybe because my first Parish assignment as a priest was in the Parish of All Saints in Manassas, VA. Whatever the reason it is a wonderful day to celebrate the beauty and marvel of being Catholic and one day hopefully welcomed into this realm of amazing people who sacrificed their lives and fought evil like Christ for their eternal salvation.

In this month of November, dedicated to prayer for the souls in purgatory and reflecting on the end times, I think it is quite significant that we start the month with this beautiful day, All Saints Day. It is a great reminder of our goal, and that we were created for heaven… and not just to be saved from the fires of hell. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not discounting the very real possibility of condemnation, but I just don’t think God wants us to fearfully focus on that. Rather, the celebration of All Saints Day is a great encouragement to be filled with the great hope of heaven. In fact, one of the most beautiful deaths I have ever witnessed was due to a great hope in heaven!

His name was Pascual Puigbo, and he died just this past December 2025. Pascual was from Venezuela and married with 4 children including one son who is a priest (Fr. Juan Puigbo, a priest of Arlington). In his early life, he was an average and lukewarm Catholic. After attending a Cursillo weekend, Pascual’s life and faith changed. Everything he did was for God and his family. Of notoriety was a retreat center he built and ran in Venezuela. His humble acceptance of coming to the United States in 2012 when it was too dangerous for him and his family in Venezuela and his continual attitude of service even when he immigrated to this country and had to “start his life over”. Pascual, in a few short years, became known in the Latino community in Manassas as a very humble and generous man. Unfortunately, in the summer of 2025 he received some devastating news. He had an advanced and life-threatening cancer. His great hope in heaven carried him through this time too, as he rather quickly accepted his life would probably be coming to an end soon. I had the privilege to visit him a few times before he died, and I rarely recall a person so at peace with their approaching death. Pascual was always so grateful that a priest would visit him. His family surrounded him as he was in his final stages and, as sometimes happens, he consoled them more than they could console him. However, this most beautiful thing was Pascual’s conviction he was going to heaven. This was not out of an arrogant pride or a sense of presumption, but rather he had sacrificed so much for Christ he could not imagine spending eternity in any other way than with Jesus.

It is men and women like Pascual who can help us appreciate this beautiful day of All Saints Day. The lives of the Saints inspire us to strive to be part of this beautiful cloud of witnesses who remind us that all we go through in this life is truly worth it to spend all eternity with God.

In Christ,

Fr. Jeb