Feast of All Souls [replaces 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time]

 


FEAST OF ALL SOULS


A mother of one has just become a mother of two. However, there are complications. As it turns out, the baby never makes it home from the hospital. The doctors do all that they can do, but it’s not enough. Now the mother has to break the news to her daughter. She explains it this way: “Your baby brother has gone to be with Jesus.”  The daughter feels the need to be alone, so that she can say a prayer. Meanwhile, the mother receives a call from one of her friends. As she talks into the phone, the mother opens up about the profound sense of grief. She wonders out loud: “How are you supposed to recover when you have lost your child?” 


For her part, the daughter happens to overhear the conversation. Therefore, later on, as she is being tucked into bed, the daughter poses the following question: “Can something be lost if you know where it is?”  As far as the mother is concerned, it would be a mistake to describe something as lost if you know where it is. The daughter then responds: “You have already told me that my baby brother is with Jesus in Heaven. Since we know where he is, why are you telling people that he is lost?”  


The point here is that sometimes we are just like the mother: we’re connected to the faith, but the connection is not completely secure. If somebody has died, we might refer to them as being “gone.”  And yet, from a Christian standpoint, they are not gone. More precisely, they have “gone ahead.”  Where, exactly? They are either with the Lord, or they are being “made ready” for that face-to-face encounter (see 1st John 3:2). In other words, they might be experiencing Purgatory (see the Catechism, sections 1030-32). 


We need to understand what Purgatory is, and what it is not. It is not a method for keeping people out of Heaven. Rather, it’s a means through which we can gain entry; we can be brought into Heaven—ripened, for all practical purposes. That’s why today [All Souls] represents not just an opportunity to remember; it also represents an opportunity for prayer. We are in the habit of praying for those who have gone before us. Do they all stand in need of our prayers? No, probably not. Still, given the characteristics of human nature, let’s assume that there’s going to be SOMEBODY who benefits when we offer prayers for the dead. 

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