All Soul’s Day-XXXI Sunday OT:[A]:Wis3:1-9;Rom5:5-11;Jn6:37-40

All Soul’s Day-XXXI Sunday OT:[A]:Wis3:1-9;Rom5:5-11;Jn6:37-40

Introduction: This Sunday is the 31st in ordinary time. Having celebrated the solemnity of All Saints yesterday, today, the holy mother church in her wisdom gives us yet another opportunity to celebrate another group of “unsung heroes” of our faith who are believed to still be on a journey towards the heavenly Jerusalem. In a special way also, it is an opportunity for us to reflect on our Christian journey towards the eternal city of God.

Exegesis: Today also, we are invited to pray especially for this suffering church (ecclesia penitens) still on transit. That is, souls in Purgatory. All Souls Day commemorates the faithful departed, and is associated with the doctrine that the souls of the faithful who at death have not been cleansed from the temporal punishment due to venial sins and from attachment to mortal sins cannot immediately attain the beatific vision in Heaven, and that they may be helped to do so by prayer and by the sacrifice of the Mass by the living faithful.

Certain places or events can trigger our memory in such a powerful way that the person we remember seems present. These are common occurrences.  Now, some people will say, "Mom’s gone.” or "She’s just a memory, but she isn’t here any more,” and do their best to move on with life. We Christians do more than that, though. For us Christians the everyday event of sensing the presence of our departed loved ones during our family prayer reminds us of a wonderful reality: our loved ones still live.

The flashback to their presence in our lives often leads us to say a prayer for them. Perhaps we might say, "May she rest in peace, united to the Lord forever in the peace of Christ.” Why do we pray for our deceased loved ones? Why do we have this celebration today, the Commemoration of All Souls? Why do we dedicate the month of November to praying for the dead? Why do we have funeral Masses? Why do we visit graves of loved ones in this month? We do all these things because we believe in the power of prayer. We believe that our continual entreaty to God to bring our loved ones to peace will prepare them to bear the fullness of His Love in heaven. We pray because we believe in love. We believe that true love, the love that flows from God and returns to Him, true love remains forever.

The power of prayer is far greater, infinitely greater than we could ever imagine. Often when we pray we call on the strength of the Almighty One to perform an action beyond our capabilities. Today we pray that the Lord heals the wounds of all who are not yet ready to enter into the fullness of His presence. May they be healed!. May any part of their lives that have been closed to Love be completely open to the Presence of God. So we pray today for our deceased parents, spouses, children, relatives, and friends. We know that they were good people. But we also know that they were people.

We are united to the saints in their triumph. We are united with the souls in purgatory in their preparation for triumph. And the saints in heaven and the souls in purgatory are united with us in our efforts to make Christ a reality in our world. This reality is called “Communion of Saints”. "I will reject no one who comes to me,” the Lord said in our gospel for today, John 6:37. We trust in the God who loves us to care for us and our loved ones in life and in death. And so we pray, "May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.”

All Souls’ Day – Introduction

Message: The souls of the just are in God’s hands.  Christ, the Good Shepherd, died for us while we were still sinners.  He is the resurrection and the life.

Saints and Events in this Week : 3 – Third – Monday - Saint Martin de Porres, religious; 4 – Fourth – Tuesday – Saint Charles Borromeo, bishop;