On November 1, the Church celebrates all the saints: canonized or beatified, and the multitude of those who are in heaven enjoying the beatific vision and are only known to God. The feast of All Saints should inspire us with tremendous hope. Among the saints in heaven are some whom we have known. All lived on earth lives like our own. They were baptized, marked with the sign of faith, they were faithful to Christ’s teaching and they have gone before us to the heavenly home from where they call on us to follow them. The Gospel of Beatitudes, read at Mass, while it shows their happiness, shows, too, the road they followed; there is no other that will lead us where they have gone.
All Soul’s Day, celebrated on November 2, is a solemn feast day in the Roman Catholic Church commemorating all those who have died and, while assured of their eternal salvation, are now in Purgatory undergoing purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. Those of us still on this earth can help the deceased members of our families and friends who are in this process of purification by praying for them. The Catechism of the Church says in section 1032: “From the beginning the Church has honoured the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead.” Our prayer is capable of not only helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.
Dear friends, that time of the year has come up once more when we remember our beloved dead on the 2nd of November, the feast of All Souls. We also have envelopes for anyone who wishes to specially remember relatives and friends who have passed on, at the Mass. Please feel free to pick up the envelopes and write the name(s) on the back of the envelope. Freewill offerings are encouraged.