This year, the Feast of All Souls coincides with the 31st Sunday of OT A. Christianity is about life and having it to the full. The selection from John 6:37-40, part of the Bread of Life discourse in John founds our hope that those among us who shared in the table of the Lord's Body and Blood and who have preceded us will never be lost. The first reading from Wisdom underlines the truth that even if the just man may appear dead to the foolish, they are in fact in the presence of God. Read this article and use the following as your guide.
1. The feast of All Souls calls our attention to the "Church Suffering", that is, those among us who are still being purified before they could stand in the presence of God without any stain of sin. We believe that those who have died without mortal sin are in the state of purgation because only those who have been purified can stand before God and be in His presence. In this state, all the merits of the Total Christ necessary for filling up what he lacks is applied. What occured in the first Jerusalem community -- that no one among the brothers lacked anything because all shared what they had in common -- continues to happen even now. The Church Militant and Triumphant working closely with Christ, the Head, facilitate the purification of those who are in the state of purification.
Reflect: Make a list of those among your relatives and friends who have passed away. The Church -- as expressed in her prayers for the dead -- hopes that these, her children, are in purgatory, if not in heaven (that is why the Feast of All Saints is also commemorated). The Church depending on your affection for them hopes that you are praying and offering sacrifices on their behalf1. Have you been giving your share for their release from purification?
2. About Offering Sacrifices for the Dead. In Maccabbees 12:38-46, we find the inspired writer praising Jason for what he does for the dead. We Catholics believe that our sacrifices have little value or none at all if these are not united with the sacrifice of Christ. In the Gospel selection of the day (John 6:37-40), the sacrifice of jesus on the cross, commemorated in the Table of His Body and Blood becomes the way by which we unite our own sacrifices with His.
Reflect: Review your list of friends and relatives who have gone ahead of you. Have you been offering Masses on their behalf?
3. A Thought From Benedict XVI. In his encyclical "Spe salvi", the Pope makes a suggestion towards the end of the document in which he recalls the practise of "offering up" one's daily annoyances:
What does it mean to offer something up? Those who did so were convinced that they could insert these little annoyances into Christ's great “com-passion” so that they somehow became part of the treasury of compassion so greatly needed by the human race. In this way, even the small inconveniences of daily life could acquire meaning and contribute to the economy of good and of human love. Maybe we should consider whether it might be judicious to revive this practice ourselves. (Spe salvi, 40)
Any form of suffering whether big or small, so long as it is not due to sin, can be offered up in union with the sacrifice of Christ. It can be a headache or a bad hair day. And this can be "offered up" in behalf of the poor souls in purgatory.
Reflect. Make a list of the daily annoyances that you usually experience. Each of these "sufferings" can be united with the sacrifice of the Lord and "offered up" in behalf of a relative or friend who has passed away. One can simply pray "I unite this my suffering to the sacrifice of the Lord in behalf of N." It just takes a few seconds, but gives a lot of comfort for those whom we pray.
- 1. Our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together. No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone. The lives of others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve. And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for worse. So my prayer for another is not something extraneous to that person, something external, not even after death. In the interconnectedness of Being, my gratitude to the other—my prayer for him—can play a small part in his purification. And for that there is no need to convert earthly time into God's time: in the communion of souls simple terrestrial time is superseded. It is never too late to touch the heart of another, nor is it ever in vain. In this way we further clarify an important element of the Christian concept of hope. Our hope is always essentially also hope for others; only thus is it truly hope for me too[40]. As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: how can I save myself? We should also ask: what can I do in order that others may be saved and that for them too the star of hope may rise? Then I will have done my utmost for my own personal salvation as well. (Benedict XVI, Spe salvi 48)
