The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
(The following readings are selected from the options for this day.)
Additional Information about the Feast of All Souls
Readings for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed[i][ii]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible*
Readings and Commentary:[iii]
Reading 1: Wisdom 3:1-9
The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Wis 3:1-9
This passage, while frequently used on the feasts of martyrs can be understood as an early description of the process of achieving a place in the heavenly kingdom by all those who went before us in faith. The flow of this description provides a good picture of the purification of all the faithful that takes place in the transition from life, through purification in Purgatory (“…chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed”), to new life with the Father.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
The principle thrust of this, most popular of the Psalms, is trust in God. The figure of the Good Shepherd is later used extensively by Christ reinforcing his relationship to the Father.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: Romans 5:5-11
Brothers and sisters:
Hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person
one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his Blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled,
will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rom 5:5-11
St. Paul speaks of the hope of Christians who have been made holy, sanctified, “justified” by their faith in Christ Jesus. This faith was “poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” [in Baptism]. (This linkage begins the apostle’s Trinitarian theology)
This justification was not through some merit of theirs (ours) but through God’s infinite mercy. The demonstration of this mercy was Christ’s sacrifice for those who called him “enemy”. While still burdened by sin (the Law of Moses defined sin and all were sinners because of this), Jesus became the sacrifice of atonement, his blood reconciled us to the Father by removing the sin that kept us apart.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Or
Second Option: Romans 6:3-9
Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.
For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him,
so that our sinful body might be done away with,
that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rom 6:3-9
St. Paul expresses both the hope and the theology behind our belief in the resurrection of the faithful with Christ. In Baptism we are receive the adoption of God. As His children we join His Only Son and pass, as he did through death to new life.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 6:37-40
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
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 on the last day.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 6:37-40
This Gospel passage is part of the “Bread of Life” section from St. John’s Gospel. In this selection, the Lord tells those gathered that no one will be rejected that asks to follow the Son of God. He goes further telling the crowds, that anyone who believes in him “may have eternal life.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
As we reflect today on all those who have gone into the next life from this one – those who have died, we wonder; because God is merciful, does everyone get to heaven? …even the worst people (Hitler, mass murderers, suicide bombers and the like)? The short answer is no. God offers eternal life to all peoples but not everyone accepts that invitation. Pop culture even celebrates the idea that the hedonistic pleasures of life on earth out-weigh the possibility of eternal life in heaven (reference the song “Only the Good Die Young” by Billy Joel “I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints the sinners are much more fun...” We must always remember that there are those who adopt this mantra and condemn themselves to crying forever in the fires of Hell.
But God is a merciful God and as St. Ambrose said “Death was not part of nature; it became part of nature. God did not decree death from the beginning; he prescribed it as a remedy. Human life, because of sin ... began to experience the burden of wretchedness in unremitting labor and unbearable sorrow. There had to be a limit to its evils; death had to restore what life had forfeited. Without the assistance of grace, immortality is more of a burden than a blessing.”[iv]
Therefore, we have great hope and confident assurance that those who have gone before us went first to be washed clean; “…chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed” as we hear in the book of Wisdom. Our great gift is that once we (or anyone) reach this state of purification (which we call Purgatory) we are assured of achieving a place in heaven. Our cleansing, making us presentable for the wedding feast, varies with the imperfections we carry with us from this life. But we have already been victorious because one “like the Son of Man” took on flesh and defeated death for us. It was him who promised “everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
Today we rejoice with all those who have gone before us in faith. Indeed they have been assured a place of peace and eternal happiness at the Lamb’s High Feast in the Heavenly Jerusalem to which we who remain here aspire. Today our prayer is for all who have gone to rest with the father, for those who have achieved already their place at the great banquet table where their “cup overflows”, we ask for intercession, that their prayers for us might help us as we walk the path of faith. We also pray for those still making that journey from death to life, may our prayers for them speed their journey.
Pax
* Note: Universalis has provided a different Gospel option for this celebration. Commentary has not been written for St. Matthew’s account of the death of Christ.
[i] ALTRE
[ii] The picture is “Virgin and Child with Souls in Purgatory” by Luca Giordano, c. 1650
[iii] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[iv] Lib2, 46: CSEL 73, 273
(The following readings are selected from the options for this day.)
Additional Information about the Feast of All Souls
Readings for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed[i][ii]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible*
Readings and Commentary:[iii]
Reading 1: Wisdom 3:1-9
The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Wis 3:1-9
This passage, while frequently used on the feasts of martyrs can be understood as an early description of the process of achieving a place in the heavenly kingdom by all those who went before us in faith. The flow of this description provides a good picture of the purification of all the faithful that takes place in the transition from life, through purification in Purgatory (“…chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed”), to new life with the Father.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
The principle thrust of this, most popular of the Psalms, is trust in God. The figure of the Good Shepherd is later used extensively by Christ reinforcing his relationship to the Father.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: Romans 5:5-11
Brothers and sisters:
Hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person
one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his Blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled,
will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rom 5:5-11
St. Paul speaks of the hope of Christians who have been made holy, sanctified, “justified” by their faith in Christ Jesus. This faith was “poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” [in Baptism]. (This linkage begins the apostle’s Trinitarian theology)
This justification was not through some merit of theirs (ours) but through God’s infinite mercy. The demonstration of this mercy was Christ’s sacrifice for those who called him “enemy”. While still burdened by sin (the Law of Moses defined sin and all were sinners because of this), Jesus became the sacrifice of atonement, his blood reconciled us to the Father by removing the sin that kept us apart.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Or
Second Option: Romans 6:3-9
Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.
For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him,
so that our sinful body might be done away with,
that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rom 6:3-9
St. Paul expresses both the hope and the theology behind our belief in the resurrection of the faithful with Christ. In Baptism we are receive the adoption of God. As His children we join His Only Son and pass, as he did through death to new life.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 6:37-40
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
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 on the last day.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 6:37-40
This Gospel passage is part of the “Bread of Life” section from St. John’s Gospel. In this selection, the Lord tells those gathered that no one will be rejected that asks to follow the Son of God. He goes further telling the crowds, that anyone who believes in him “may have eternal life.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
As we reflect today on all those who have gone into the next life from this one – those who have died, we wonder; because God is merciful, does everyone get to heaven? …even the worst people (Hitler, mass murderers, suicide bombers and the like)? The short answer is no. God offers eternal life to all peoples but not everyone accepts that invitation. Pop culture even celebrates the idea that the hedonistic pleasures of life on earth out-weigh the possibility of eternal life in heaven (reference the song “Only the Good Die Young” by Billy Joel “I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints the sinners are much more fun...” We must always remember that there are those who adopt this mantra and condemn themselves to crying forever in the fires of Hell.
But God is a merciful God and as St. Ambrose said “Death was not part of nature; it became part of nature. God did not decree death from the beginning; he prescribed it as a remedy. Human life, because of sin ... began to experience the burden of wretchedness in unremitting labor and unbearable sorrow. There had to be a limit to its evils; death had to restore what life had forfeited. Without the assistance of grace, immortality is more of a burden than a blessing.”[iv]
Therefore, we have great hope and confident assurance that those who have gone before us went first to be washed clean; “…chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed” as we hear in the book of Wisdom. Our great gift is that once we (or anyone) reach this state of purification (which we call Purgatory) we are assured of achieving a place in heaven. Our cleansing, making us presentable for the wedding feast, varies with the imperfections we carry with us from this life. But we have already been victorious because one “like the Son of Man” took on flesh and defeated death for us. It was him who promised “everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
Today we rejoice with all those who have gone before us in faith. Indeed they have been assured a place of peace and eternal happiness at the Lamb’s High Feast in the Heavenly Jerusalem to which we who remain here aspire. Today our prayer is for all who have gone to rest with the father, for those who have achieved already their place at the great banquet table where their “cup overflows”, we ask for intercession, that their prayers for us might help us as we walk the path of faith. We also pray for those still making that journey from death to life, may our prayers for them speed their journey.
Pax
* Note: Universalis has provided a different Gospel option for this celebration. Commentary has not been written for St. Matthew’s account of the death of Christ.
[i] ALTRE
[ii] The picture is “Virgin and Child with Souls in Purgatory” by Luca Giordano, c. 1650
[iii] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[iv] Lib2, 46: CSEL 73, 273
1 comment:
Eternal Father, I offer You the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ for the conversion of sinners and for the relief of the souls in Purgatory.
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