As Catholics, we start the month of November with the two-day commemoration of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. On the Solemnity of All Saints, which we celebrate in the weekend liturgies this year, the Church celebrates those Christians who have lived out lives of faith. On that day, we honor the holy men and women who have been canonized by the Church and those everyday saints who have not gone through the process of canonization. Today, on All Souls’ Day, we remember and pray for the faithful departed, particularly the souls who are in the process of purification in purgatory.
Our first reading from the book of Wisdom in the Old Testament starts with the assurances that the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them". The world views an earthly death as a tragic end, but we see it not as an end, but as entering peace and safety in eternal life with God. In their journey here on earth, the righteous have been purified and disciplined to an extent, tested as gold in purified in the furnace. This foreshadows the purification the soul received sin purification, and loving and merciful purification where the should is free from the remnants of sin before it is ready for full unification with God in eternal life. Our reading from the book of Wisdom today reminds us that the sufferings, trials, and challenges we face here on earth are transitory. We place our hope in the eternal nature of God’s love and God’s kingdom. As wisdom reassures us, God’s grace and mercy are with his holy ones. His care is with his elect.
Our love for those who have died and our ties to them do not end. Thus, we are called to offer prayers for our deceased loved one, to have masses offered for them, and to offer sacrifices. Our prayers will assist them in this process of purification. Our lives on earth are connected to those who are in heaven and to those who are in purgatory.
Throughout the month of November, the month of remembrance, we will lift up the names in the book of remembrance at our weekend Masses and at our daily Mass. We pray for the faithful departed, for their entry into eternal life.
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