Also, THE. COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED – ALL SOULS). (REMEMBER TO PRAY IN THIS MONTH OF NOVEMBER FOR YOUR RELATIVES, LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS WHO HAVE DIED).
COLLECT: “LISTEN KINDLY TO OUR PRAYERS, O LORD, AND, AS OUR FAITH IN YOUR SON, RAISED FROM THE DEAD, IS DEEPENED, SO MAY OUR HOPE FOR RESURRECTION FOR YOUR DEPARTED SERVANTS ALSO FIND NEW STRENGTH. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD, FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Wis 3:1-9; Ps 22:1-6; Rom 5:5-11 or 6:3-9; Jn 6:37-40
The Feast of All Souls is a fitting beautiful Catholic tradition. It is an annual special day of prayer for those who have gone before us in life and who are now in Purgatory.
This celebration is associated with the Catholic doctrine that the souls of some faithful at death have not been cleansed from temporal punishment due to sins they committed, and therefore, these souls cannot immediately attain or receive beatific vision or blessedness in heaven.
According to this doctrine, these souls may be helped to attain blessedness by our prayers, sacrifices and offering of Masses and almsgiving or works of mercy/charity. These souls form the “Church suffering”.
The author of “Bible Alive” November 2, 2016 edition, threw more lights into the above: “In contrast to yesterday’s feast during which we praised God for those whose lives were marked by the signs of blessedness, today (November 2), we focus our attention on those who have died, but perhaps whose life on earth was much more a mixture (perhaps of good and evil). It is comforting to know that even though God’s purpose is that all of his Son’s followers would manifest the same blessedness as his Only Son, the Church recognises its ministry towards those, including ourselves, who can fall short.
Today, especially, is an opportunity to pray for the dead. It reminds us that living a life of blessedness is not something any of us can accomplish simply by our own effort”. There is, therefore, the need to always sympathise with one another and offer prayerful support for one another.
Romans 6:23 teaches us that “…the wage paid by sin is death”. Human life was initially meant to be permanent but due to disobedience and sin, death came into the world, and it negatively affected humanity. The painful and worse side of this ugly death is that, scriptures confirm that death will, in most cases, come to us as a thief attacks people, coming at a time, an hour or a day that no one expects it.
Isn’t this sad, disturbing and worrying? The best for us should have been for death to always sound or give a warning to allow people, especially those of us who have garbage in our lives to clear it and straighten and put some order to our crooked lives, as a way of preparation for death.
What is more painful and disturbing is to see the ‘just” and “holy” ones dying, sometimes suddenly and sadly without any warning. At the human level and thinking, we wish God could intervene and prevent such deaths (the just and holy ones dying, especially without warning). This is one of the mysteries about God. We are not able to read his mind, we do not know his intentions and how he does things.
In any case, we, human as we are, cannot and will never be able to know or read the hearts and minds of our fellow human beings. Someone’s behaviour may be hypocritical, and the person’s actions may deceive and mislead us to think that the person is a “just” and a “holy” one, but in the sight of God, the person is the exact opposite. It is only God who knows us truly and truly.
Since it is possible that people we consider just and holy here on earth could be unjust and unholy before God, and therefore at their death they might still have some stains of sin or at the point of death they might not get the chance to make reparations for their wrong deeds and actions especially if the death is a sudden one, Mother Church believes and teaches that the souls of such people are in the state of Purgatory, waiting for purification and cleansing before they can be received into heaven. There is, therefore, the urgent and dire need for the living to pray for these souls to be raised up and be received by the Lord and to see him face to face as he really is.
All of us have lost our relatives, our loved ones and friends. Some have entered heaven and have received beatific vision and blessedness and others are still probably waiting to be received by God. Let us call to mind today, all our beloved dead ancestors, parents, relations, benefactors/benefactresses, friends and all the faithful departed, especially those waiting in the state of Purgatory, that the Lord of Resurrection may purify them and receive them into his heavenly abode. Stay blessed by the Lord who saves and gives eternal life to the dead.
WE MEDITATE TODAY, SUNDAY, ON THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES: ‘THE RESURRECTION, THE ASCENSION, THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE ASSUMPTION, AND THE CORONATION’. (WE PRAY FAITH, HOPE, LOVE OF GOD, GRACE OF A HAPPY DEATH AND TRUST IN MARY’S INTERCESSION)
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen”.
PRAYER: “GRANT, WE PRAY, O LORD, THAT YOUR DEPARTED SERVANTS, FOR WHOM WE HAVE CELEBRATED THIS PASCHAL SACRAMENT, MAY PASS OVER TO A DWELLING PLACE OF LIGHT AND PEACE. THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN”.
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863. Email: aloybaya20@yahoo.com
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