ALL SAINTS AND ALL SOULS CELEBRATE THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS
My father died recently. He was 94, of sound mind, and had what is euphemistically known as “a good death”: in his sleep, in his own home, with family members there.
One of the most touching moments in our family’s marking of his passing was when we placed his ashes next to my mother’s in the mausoleum. After some prayers, we all said words that reminded us of Dad: kind, quiet, athletic, outdoorsman, quiet, etc. And we all agreed that he was now with Mom, whom he had missed sorely since her death 10 years earlier.
That little ritual came to mind as I reflected on these two important feast days in the liturgical life of the Church — All Saints and All Souls, celebrated Nov. 1 and 2. It was a visceral reminder that our existence does not end on our last day on earth. Rather, we walk through a door into an even vaster reality.
The Communion of Saints is the vast family of all those souls living and dead who are striving, one way or another, to know and love God. On All Saints, we celebrate those we believe are in heaven. This includes the canonized saints, of course, but also those who have achieved sainthood without the official recognition of the Church.
On All Souls, we remember everyone who has died but is not yet in heaven. We are reminded that they remain a part of who we are, even though we can no longer hear their voices and see their smiles. To my prayers to my long dead grandparents and my mother, I can now add prayers to my father, knowing he is listening and praying for me, my large extended family and friends.
In the Christian tradition of All Saints and All Souls, we share with many other religious traditions a veneration for those who have died before us. This tradition reminds us of the reality of death and teaches us not to fear it, but to accept it as just another stage in our existence. To that end, I’ve always appreciated the Days of the Dead, the Latin American tradition of marking Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 as a way of joyfully embracing this reality.
In our secular culture, we have diluted the profound nature of this tradition by turning it into a cute celebration of difference known as Halloween. At best, there is a nod to death in the little mobs of half-pint witches and vampires, along with the tombstones and skeletons. Nothing wrong with that, of course, as long as we set aside the candy next morning and take a little time for a few prayers to those who have gone before us.
Below if a prayer from the Lay Cistercians of South Florida (laycistercians.com) that the souls of our loved ones may rest in peace:
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.
Joseph Sinasac is the recently retired Publishing Director of Novalis Publishing. He has been involved with religious communications for almost 45 years as an author, journalist, editor and TV and radio commentator on all things Catholic.
