"They are in peace" - All Souls Day
This coming weekend we are blessed with a very special feast taking place on Sunday: All Souls' Day. This feast always takes place on November 2 and is one that the Church holds as so important that it overtakes the normal Sunday celebration if it falls on that day of the week.
All Souls' Day stands alongside All Saints' Day and is inextricably tied to it. Both of these feasts have to do with the Church as it exists beyond the physical realm. All Saints' Day is when we celebrate all of those men and women who, though they may never be canonized saints by the Church on earth, are there in the heavenly homeland, standing before God and seeing him face to face and are, therefore, saints in the truest sense. So, it is the feast day for all those who don't have one of their own. There are hopefully many people that we ourselves have known who have this as their feast day!
All Souls' Day is the day after, when we pray for those who are still in the process of getting there. Specifically, it is when we pray for the souls who are in purgatory and who await the day when they meet God face to face. An important thing to remember about purgatory: salvation is assured! If a soul is in purgatory then they are assured that heaven is their's! There is no backsliding, no maybes. But purgatory is where the souls of humanity are purged, being prepared for the glory of heaven but are not quite ready due to the realities of sin in our lives. And the Church has always taught that the prayers and good works of the living can indeed assist those who are in purgatory, helping to move them along in some way.
How does one know whether to celebrate a life in heaven on All Saints' Day or to pray for a soul still in purgatory on All Souls' Day? Well, we can't. But one thing is sure: if we pray for a soul on All Souls' Day that is already through the gates of heaven, it certainly doesn't hurt! And those saintly souls in heaven will pray for us all the more!
So, as we approach these two feasts this weekend, let us do so with great hope! Our God sent his Son Jesus to save us and to open the gates of heaven for us to enter! Let us pray that, as we offer prayers and sacrifices in hope for those we have loved, they in turn may pray for us so that we may one day join them in eternal joy before our loving God!
Want to prepare your heart and mind for Mass this weekend? Click here to find the readings this Sunday's Mass. (please note: there are lots of options for readings, so the one's chosen may not match these exactly.)