“The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.” This is the opening line from our reading from the book of Wisdom today as we remember the faithful departed during our annual mass of remembrance this evening. We had this same reading on All Souls Day, on November 2nd, as we prayed for all of those souls who have departed this world and who are going through a purification process to ready them for unification with God in their state of eternal life. It is also customary for Christians to use All Souls Day to offer prayers for all of their departed relatives and loved ones. Today, in our mass of remembrance here at St Jude, we remember those faithful departed who have died in our parish families throughout this past year.
It is so difficult saying goodbye to a loved one when they depart this world, but, in many ways, our prayers for our deceased loved ones connect us to them. Through these prayers, we show our love and reverence for them, keeping them alive to us in their role in the Community of Saints that exists in the Church. Indeed, if we truly believe the words of the 23rd psalm that is so beloved to so many Christian believers, we see Jesus as the Good Shepherd leading our dearly departed loved ones to the refreshing waters of eternal life after their journey here on earth has ended.
Praying for the dead has always been a part of our Christian traditions since the days of the early Church. Indeed, we can find prayers for the dead inscribed in the catacombs outside of Rome. Early Christians believed that their prayers would provide assistance and encouragement to the souls of their departed loved ones who were undergoing a process of purification in the afterlife.
Our second reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans addresses our baptismal promise – how we die with Christ in the waters of our baptism and then rise to new life in him in those same waters. Paul explains that if we are united with Christ in his resurrection in the waters of baptism, then when our days here on earth come to an end, we will be united with him in the resurrection in eternal life. This confirms our belief that Christ who was raised from the dead indeed lives and dies no more.
So while we miss the presence of our loved ones here on earth, we take heart that they are with Christ in eternal life, that their prayers and intercessions accompany us, just as our prayers and intercessions go out for them today in a special way during today’s mass of remembrance. We lift them up to Christ, who is the life and the resurrection.
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