The Commemoration of the Holy Souls

The Church has encouraged prayers for the dead from the earliest centuries as an act of Christian charity. As early as the second century, Christians commemorated the remembrance of the dead, especially of the martyrs. The day of remembrance for the dead that we practice today originated in the seventh century and it is known that Saint Isadore of Seville promoted it. The monks of Cluny instituted November 2, the day after the feast of All Saints, and in the fourteenth century, Rome spread that practice to the universal Church. The practice of offering three masses on this day began in Spain in the fifteenth century. It was Pope Benedict XV who spread this privilege to the entire Church.

The celebration of All Holy Souls Day recalls the suffering and death of Christ, which gives meaning to the death of the Christian faithful. As we have died with Him, so shall we share in His resurrection. Belief in the resurrection of Jesus, and belief in our resurrection should assure us to take life seriously. Death is not something that we as Christian face with fear; it is not a threat to our lives. If we understand it as the necessary prelude to resurrection, then it will help us to determine how to live. We will then consider our time in this life as a series of opportunities for believing, hoping, loving, and growing. Such opportunities are unique, are gifts from God, and will not be repeated. So, we should not miss them!

Our destiny has been designed by the same Father who raised Jesus from death. He wants us to join his Son in glory where we will live with more intensity than ever before, and forever. All Souls is a feast of God's triumph, in Jesus, over sin and death, and "a promise that we will one day enjoy the vision of God's glory in the kingdom where hope is firm for all who love, and rest is sure for all who serve." (Sr. Kathleen Hughes, RSCJ, in Scripture in Church, v. 15, n.60, p.403).

Perhaps we will be more conscious of the Communion of Saints, which the Church teaches at every Mass, where our deceased loved ones join the Lord and the visible priest in the sanctuary. We are much closer to them at Mass than at any cemetery. They are always with the Lord, and He is with us as the true Celebrant of every mass.

When we pray for them, we experience a wonderful communion of help and companionship. They pray for us and look forward to our reunion one day. We can be aware too that we are also making our way to the fullness of life and happiness in Jesus. That life is the gift that He has won for us.

Each year, as we celebrate the Commemoration of the Holy Souls, may the God of all consolation "bless us with faith in the resurrection of his Son, and with the hope of rising to new life." And as the closing prayer of mass for All Souls reminds us, "To us who are alive may he grant forgiveness, and to all who have died a place of light, happiness, and peace."