All Souls' Day

September 11, 2001 is embedded in our memory as Americans. In the sad days that followed the events in Manhattan, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, The New York Times, seeking to respect and honor all who had lost their lives, made a commitment to highlight individuals who had died that tragic day. In the weeks that followed, tiny snapshots of people appeared in the Times, capturing the minds and hearts of Americans across the nation. There was something mysteriously inspiring about the portraits: affectionately recounted stories, acts of kindness, expressions of love. “Never before” wrote Jack Bogdanski, professor at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland Oregon, “in my forty‐plus years as a reader, have I been moved to close my eyes, place my palm on the page of the newspaper, shed a tear and say a prayer.” (Collected Portraits of Grief, New York Times, Times Books, 2002) 

I offer this experience as we reflect on the meaning of All Souls Day, which Mother Church commemorates on November 2nd. While birth and death are perhaps the most common life experiences, they are also among the most intimate and personal. Giving up one’s life, whether expected or unexpected, is heart‐rending for each person and for their loved ones and one’s life’s story, lovingly retold after their death, can move even strangers to heartfelt sympathy. For the Catholic family, All Souls Day offers us a similar moment – a celebration of memory, you might say, in which we can actively call to mind our beloved dead. These memories are filled with recollections of our beloved dead, those who have gone ahead of us: our family, friends, colleagues, neighbors - our fellow companions on the journey. We remember those we love who have departed from this life. In their time on earth they bore many burdens, faced hardship and disappointment, struggled with sin. But now they are at rest with God. We pray that they are renewed by His mercy and love and filled with peace. As we lovingly remember them, we celebrate their goodness and encourage one other to be mindful of God’s tender promises of faithful, steadfast love of each of us as we strive for eternal life. 

And so, On All Souls Day, our prayerful gaze turns to those who have left this world and are waiting to reach the heavenly City. The Church has always exhorted us to pray for the dead. She invites believers to look upon the mystery of death not as the last word on human fate, but as the passage toward eternal life. "While the dwelling of this earthly exile is destroyed an eternal habitation is prepared in heaven." It is important and proper to pray for the dead because, even if they died in grace and in friendship with God, perhaps they still have need of a further purification to enter into the joy of heaven (CCC 1030). Intercession for them is expressed in various ways, among which is also a visit to the cemetery. To visit these holy places is a propitious occasion to reflect on the meaning of earthly life and to nourish, at the same time, hope in the blessed eternity of Paradise.

Sacred Scripture urges us to trust that unfailing goodness and fidelity of our God, to have confidence in Jesus’ teaching and to believe in His promise of eternal life. Listen to the inspired Word: “The souls of the just are in the hands of God…they are in peace.”, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want”, “ …hope does not disappoint…”and finally, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day.’ The Church offers a litany of hope on All Souls Day and on every day of the year to all who mourn loved ones, reminding us that the daily process of dying and rising will come to completion when each of us finally passes through physical death and rise to eternal life. 

This is the hope we hold for ourselves and the hope we hold for all who have gone ahead of us in our family of faith. To remember with love, to recall poignant memories and reminiscences and to pray that our “beloved dead” rest in the gentle and forgiving arms of God is at the heart of our celebration of All Souls Day. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." The world accepts only what it sees; it lives only for the moment. It thinks it foolish to place ones hope on a world beyond the grave. But we trust in the Lord. We believe that God who created us for love will bring us to fulfillment in heaven. We do not fear death. Instead we say with the Psalmist: "I rejoiced when I heard them say, 'Let us go up to the house of the Lord.'" May Mary, Gate of Heaven, help us never to forget or to lose sight of our heavenly homeland, final goal of our pilgrimage on earth.


~ Rev. Fr. Robert T. Cooper, Pastor