All Soul’s Day, November 2nd, is a day of hope. From the moment we are born, every day brings us closer to the day of our earthly death. This knowledge sometimes worries us, or concerns us, and at times it might even frighten us. We use more “friendly” words to describe death such as “departing, passing, crossing over, leaving,” because the word “death” is too intimidating: it sounds so final, so “scary.”
Yet the Church sets aside one day, every year, to remind all of us that death is our future and, for those of us who die in Christ, our great hope – yes, our hope! This is the day to remember all those souls who are no longer among us on earth, but who are still part of us, part of our lives, and part of our Church that we love so much.
Every Christian believes that our souls are immortal, that is, they do not die; and at the end of the world, our bodies will rise up from the tomb and join them. How do we know? Simple, Jesus tells us “… I should lose nothing of what [the Father] has given me; rather, … I should raise it up on the last day.” (John 6:39). What will Jesus raise up? “… those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake” (Daniel 12:2), that is, our bodies. This is our hope, this is what allows us to live without fear, this is what gives us the courage to abandon our loved ones who die into the hands of the good God. We miss seeing them, that’s so true, but we know that they are still with us in the Church, the living body of Christ.
How do we commemorate All Souls’ Day? Most importantly, we offer the Holy Mass for all who have died in Christ. Then we should pray for them every day: for all the Souls in Purgatory, not just for our relatives. In the Church, we are one big family, the Communion of Saints, and we help each other go to Heaven: we pray for them and they pray for us. Finally, we remember the legacy of holiness that they left behind. How many times we look at something that belonged to our parents, grandparents or other relatives, and we treasure it, we hand it down through generations, because it’s a precious memory? How many of us have pictures of deceased members of our families in our homes? We look at them, and remember them, and we feel close to them. But the most important thing that they left behind, when they died, can’t be seen or touched: it’s the Holy Faith that they taught us. I often hear of “Grandma, who took me to church with her, and taught me to pray.” or “My grandpa would tell me that a real man is the one who takes care of his family.” They showed us the meaning of forgiveness, of sacrifice, of selflessness and of loving.
On this Monday, All Soul’s Day, I invite you to come to one of the Holy Masses and pray for the souls of all those who have died in Christ. May God have mercy on their souls, forgive them their sins, and lead them unto the everlasting life of Heaven! Four Masses have been scheduled for this day, they are: 6:30 am, 8:00 am and 5:30 pm in English, and 7:00 pm in Spanish.
