Luke 18:1-8

 

 Beloved, two particularly meaningful days are All Saints Day and All Souls Day, falling on November 1st and 2nd, respectively, each year.

These days are a beautiful reflection of the communion of saints: the faithful in heaven, the souls in purgatory, and those of us still living on earth. All Saints Day and All Souls Day offer us a chance to honor those who have gone before us and reflect on our own journey toward holiness. The celebrations are linked through a shared purpose of remembering the departed and a historical connection to ancient traditions.  

This weekend, we turn our gazes to the faces of so many who have gone before us. Our family, and friends, and those who have no one to pray for them, that they would pass through the purification of purgatory and enter into heaven. We visit cemeteries, visualize gravestones of loved ones, and pray for the souls of all those on our family genealogy trees, known and unknown to us.

All Souls’ Day offers a message of consolation that, while grieving loss, we can find joy in God’s promises of eternal life and our solidarity with all who have died. 

This is also a day for us to remember our own mortality, that we are on a very short pilgrimage through this life on our way to the next. And how we live now determines what comes next for us.

In today’s Gospel reading, we see that God the Father has entrusted us into the custody of His Son. And the Son’s task is to work to save us, that He would not lose anyone that the Father has given Him.

God the Father has charged His Son with coming into our world and finding each one of us, saving us, drawing us to Himself and through Him to the Father.

Having Mass offered for the soul of a departed loved one is the greatest help we can give them because Mass, being the sacrifice of Jesus offered to the Father, is the greatest prayer. We are all united in the Community of the Church.  We are united to the saints in their triumph.  We are united with the souls in purgatory in their preparation for triumph.  And the saints in heaven and the souls in purgatory are united with us in our efforts to make Christ a reality in our world.

  Let us remember and pray for our beloved dead and for those who have no one to remember or pray for them. God bless us all. Amen