The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
(All Souls)
Information about All Souls
Readings for All Souls[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible[3]
Commentary:
Reading 1 Wis 3:1-9
This passage, while frequently used on the feast 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 Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
(All Souls)
Information about All Souls
Readings for All Souls[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible[3]
Commentary:
Reading 1 Wis 3:1-9
This passage, while frequently used on the feast 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 Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
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.
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 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 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:
Today is the day we celebrate God’s promise of salvation through the forgiveness of sins and recall all those who have gone before us in faith. We believe that our family members and friends who professed faith in God and his Son have (or one day will) achieve a place in the heavenly kingdom. We pray that their passage from this life to the next will not be too difficult.
The promise is made in the St. John’s Gospel “…everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” That promise is amplified by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans as he defines the opening of that heavenly gate as our Baptism into Christ’s family. In that baptism we not only embrace the life of Christ but his death and in dying with him, we will rise with him.
This is our great hope. But those who have gone before us need our prayers because we know a few things, also from scripture. First we know that God’s time is not our time. We also know that, in order to come before him we must be completely purified. It is stated in the reading from Wisdom:
“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.”
We see in this verse the process necessary before we come to that heavenly place. This is stated clearly in our understanding of that passage as defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1030)
So today we pray for those who have gone before us in faith assured of a place of light and peace, but on a continuing journey to holiness. We pray especially today that their passage may be swift, and when our time comes, we also may take that road to life with Christ.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The Picture used today is Graveyard Under Snow by Caspar David Friedrich, 1826
[3] First reading and Gospel are alternate selections from 1011-1016 of Lecotionary Vol. IV
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 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 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:
Today is the day we celebrate God’s promise of salvation through the forgiveness of sins and recall all those who have gone before us in faith. We believe that our family members and friends who professed faith in God and his Son have (or one day will) achieve a place in the heavenly kingdom. We pray that their passage from this life to the next will not be too difficult.
The promise is made in the St. John’s Gospel “…everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” That promise is amplified by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans as he defines the opening of that heavenly gate as our Baptism into Christ’s family. In that baptism we not only embrace the life of Christ but his death and in dying with him, we will rise with him.
This is our great hope. But those who have gone before us need our prayers because we know a few things, also from scripture. First we know that God’s time is not our time. We also know that, in order to come before him we must be completely purified. It is stated in the reading from Wisdom:
“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.”
We see in this verse the process necessary before we come to that heavenly place. This is stated clearly in our understanding of that passage as defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1030)
So today we pray for those who have gone before us in faith assured of a place of light and peace, but on a continuing journey to holiness. We pray especially today that their passage may be swift, and when our time comes, we also may take that road to life with Christ.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The Picture used today is Graveyard Under Snow by Caspar David Friedrich, 1826
[3] First reading and Gospel are alternate selections from 1011-1016 of Lecotionary Vol. IV
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