All Souls Day Homily

Today we observe the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed also known to us as All Souls Day.

All Souls Day reminds us of the importance of praying for those who have now gone before us. Our prayers are unable to redeem them if they have been judged as unworthy of Heaven. Therefore, Purgatory is not a second chance at salvation for we only get one chance at that. By passing through Purgatory one is cleansed of the consequences of their sin so that they can be pure and ready to enter into God’s presence. As the Book of Revelation states, “nothing unclean will enter it.”

The concept of praying for the dead is not something that was created by Catholics. It is found in scripture, it is present in the Church of the East, and is even something which is practiced in Judaism. The praying for the dead is only something which has been challenged by some Christians since the 16th century.

As is stated in 2 Maccabees, “If he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead…thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin.” In Judaism this is shown through the Mourner’s Kaddish which is prayed for 11 months from the day of death as well as on the anniversary of one’s death.

So often people get caught up on the concept of the dead and forget in the words of the Preface of the Dead “that life has changed, but not ended.” As we are told in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

This stresses the importance of the resurrection of the body which we proclaim as a truth of faith that lies in wait. The souls of those who have gone before us are assisted in their purification through our prayers. This hope is found in black vestments, such as the one that I wear today, for one is able to see the black of sin which is purified through the gold or silver in the vestment and thus the soul is being made ready for Heaven.

Let us continue to pray for these holy souls and to strive with the assistance of God’s grace to also one day be numbered among the saints of Heaven. May all the angels and saints pray them that they may be brought into Everlasting Life and may they pray for us that we may faithfully come to run this race towards Everlasting Life.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

All Souls Day Homily

Today we observe the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed also known to us as All Souls Day. On this day we call to mind that there is a necessity to pray for those in Purgatory. Purgatory is not a second chance at salvation for to be here is to already be judged as worthy of Heaven.

As we are told concerning those in Purgatory in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”

Therefore, through our prayers we must continue to assist these souls who are still imperfectly purified. Likewise, we must set our attention upon Heaven without looking back. Not desiring to slip into Purgatory with the tip of our toe, but to be judged as worthy of Heaven like those now in Purgatory and numbered among the saints in Heaven.

Let us continue to pray for these holy souls who have now gone before us into Eternal Life. Let us come to order our life after the Kingdom of Heaven while we still have the opportunity. Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

All Souls Day Homily

Today we celebrate the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed also known to us as All Souls Day.

One liturgy of the Church which is very important is the Funeral Mass. As time has passed by there are many who sadly forgo having any type of funeral liturgy offered be it during Mass or outside of Mass. This day serves as a type of funeral where we are reminded of the need to pray for the souls of the faithful departed who have now gone before us into eternal life. At the heart of the funeral liturgy is this understanding of the need to pray for the souls who have gone before us. Sadly, some have instead interrupted these rites to guarantee entry into Heaven no matter how sinful one chose to live their life.

When we speak of the souls in Purgatory we are not referring to a second chance at Heaven. There is only one opportunity that we get and thus we should do something with the time that has been allotted to us. Purgatory is for purification which must take place for according to the Book of Revelation nothing which is unclean will enter Heaven. Through our prayers we assist these holy souls in their preparation for Heaven and we mold ourselves into being true disciples of the Lord who live their life for Christ.

Let us continue to assist these souls by our prayers in order that all the angels and saints may escort them into Paradise this day. 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.

All Souls Day Homily

Today we celebrate the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed also known to us as All Souls Day.

When it pertains to the souls in Purgatory, as well as indulgences, there is a lot of misconceptions. Neither of these counteract our time on this earth and what we do with the time that has been entrusted to us. Purgatory is not a second chance at Heaven nor are indulgences a way to earn one’s way into Heaven. When a person dies they are judged either to Heaven or Hell. Indulgences only befit those who have been judged as worthy of Heaven and Purgatory is only for those who have been judged as worthy of Heaven.

We must remember that Christ already paid for our debt with His Blood upon the cross. The gates to Paradise were opened by His suffering and death. The souls who died in God’s grace have been found worthy of Heaven. Those in Purgatory, for whom we now pray, must first sufficiently atone for the temporal consequences due to sin that remain after death.

Sacred Scripture tells us of gold that has been tested in fire. It is this gold which comes to be purified by taking imperfections out of it. The only way to get an imperfection out of gold is by passing it through fire. Likewise, Purgatory exists in order to remove these imperfections for the soul in order that the soul may be prepared for Heaven. As the Book of Revelation attests, “Nothing that is impure will enter it.”

Let us entrust ourself to praying for these souls in Purgatory. Throughout this month of November we have the opportunity to receive indulgences on their behalf. For example all that one needs to do is go to a cemetery a pray for the souls of the deceased as well as receiving Holy Communion, making a confession, and remembering to pray for the intention of the Holy Father. 

May all the angels and saints escort these souls to Heaven this day.

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.

All Souls Day Homily

Today we commemorate All Souls Day where we are reminded of the need to pray for the souls of the faithful departed.

Praying for the souls of the faithful departed is an act of charity. We are called upon to pray for them that they may be cleansed from the temporal punishment for sin and for their cleansing from the attachment of sin. It is Purgatory which purifies the soul before it enters into Heaven. As the Book of Revelation instructs: “Nothing unclean will ever enter it.” Thus it is Purgatory which purifies the soul in order that this may be true.

We have a lot to offer these souls through our charity. From the Second Book of Maccabees we saw the need to pray for the souls of who have gone before us, “that they might be freed from this sin.” We should be active by having Masses offered for them, by praying for them, by offering up our sacrifices for them, and by obtaining indulgences for them. Pope Paul VI exclaimed concerning the importance of indulgences, the “aim in granting them is both to help the faithful expiate the punishment due sins and to urge them to works of piety, penance, and charity.”

Therefore, let us grow our charity for the faithful departed. Through this charity may we see our own need to order on life on this earth towards God and the coming of His Heavenly Kingdom.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. 

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest In Peace. Amen.

All Souls Day Homily (Cemetary)

Look around yourself. What do you see?

What surrounds us in this cemetary are those who once walked about this earth like you or me. Some who are buried here may be a member of your family or even your friends.

I believe that it is important that we have Mass here this afternoon for this hallowed place reminds us that we will one day join with them and that there is a need for us to pray and offer sacrifice for those who have gone before us into life eternal.

Some might claim that a place like this is filled with sorrow, but as Christians that is not the case. As I often remind at a Funeral Mass: “Life has changed, but not ended.” Truly, there is nothing for us to be sorrowful for because we profess in the Good News of Our Lord’s Resurrection.

With that we here on earth must remover our own mortality and order our life on this earth not towards sin for sin only brings about true death, but towards the Lord for from here death is not found, but instead Everlasting Life in Heaven.

Let us now continue to pray and offer sacrifice for those who have gone before us. Through our prayers and sacrifices they are cleaned and brought towards the Light of Heaven.

Eternal rest grant onto 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.

All Souls Day Homily

Our modern world has lost sight concerning the importance of the human body. With the rise of cremation we face issues such as a burial never taking place or ashes being spread around certain locations or divided up among family members. Actions such as these are incompatible with our faith.

Some claim that the body is not important for it is only an empty vessel which contained the soul which is now not present. Even with death our faith teaches that the body in important. The body is important for it is a temple of the Holy Spirit and points towards the Resurrection of the body to come. Even with the rise of cremation we should remember that “the Church (prefers) the practice of burying the bodies of the deceased.”

To bury one who has died is one of the corporal works of mercy. This corporal work of mercy also includes offering our prayers for the souls of the faithful departed. Sadly, it seems that not only have we lost sight of the importance of the human body, but also the necessity to pray for them.

We heard this reflected today from 2nd Maccabees which reminded us of this important need. Throughout the month of November we are especially encouraged to go to a Cemetary in order to pray for the souls of the deceased. A visit to a Cemetary reminds us of our own mortality and our need to set our life straight for Christ and reminds us to pray for those in Purgatory.

As we commemorate all the souls of the faithful departed on this All Souls Day may we come to understand and frequent our prayers for them.

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.

All Souls Day Homily

We are uncomfortable with the one thing that we cannot escape, death.

Nevertheless, death is the only avenue which leads towards Everlasting Life. In all reality death is something that we should not fear, but rejoice for. Despite this reality it can be hard to trust in the Lord at one’s final hour and it can be difficult to find that healing that we are in need of when we mourn the loss of a loved one.

Upon this earth we are only given so much time. When we think about it this time which has been given to us is short. How much of this time do we spend preparing for our death? It was not uncommon for individuals to keep skulls upon their desk to remind them of this eventual fate. This fate is something that we too must set our sight upon and thus prepare ourself for its grasp.

We prepare ourself for this eventual grasp of death by striving for Heaven each day. We can only do this with the help of the Lord and the Church. It is not enough to stumble our way into Heaven, but we should instead strive for it.

All Souls Day is an important day in the life of the Church because through it we are reminded of those who have now been called home to God, but must first be purged. These are the souls in Purgatory and we must continue to pray and offer sacrifice for them. At so many funeral liturgies we are told that our loved ones are now in Heaven and we have nothing to fear. This short changes these souls out of our prayers. We must remember to pray for them and sacrifice for them. Even if they are now in Heaven our prayers will not be wasted, but will go to those who are in need.

May we continue to pray for these souls and strive to go where they are now headed.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

All Souls Day Homily

Today we celebrate the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed. This reminds us of the necessity to pray for the souls of the faithful departed. We play a great disservice to the deceased when we fail to pray for them and to offer our sacrifice on their behalf.

The Book of Revelation is very clear that nothing which is unclean will enter Heaven. If scripture is true here all of us would be in great trouble, because nobody here is without sin. Thankfully, Purgatory takes those in their impurity and purifies them in order that they may be made clean. As scripture attests to this notion in the Book of 1 Peter: “As gold which is tested in fire.” When impurity is found within gold the only way to get that impurity out is to let it pass through fire. I must stress that Purgatory is not a second chance because these souls in question have already been judged as worthy of Heaven by God and must now undergo purification.

Some claim that our prayers and sacrifices do no good for the deceased, but from the second Book of Maccabees we heard concerning the importance of making “atonement for the dead that they might be freed from (their) sin.”

In our modern age funerals so often fail to lead us towards praying for the dead and considering our own mortality. The funeral is not a celebration of life, but rather it is to enter into the Sacred Mysteries of our Lord’s passion in order that the soul of the faithful departed may be cleansed. It is to say that we are not God and we cannot judge the salvation of another, but with the confidence of faith that we can trust in the reality of everlasting life. If we trust in this reality then we too will strive to be found worthy of the Kingdom of God by how we order our life on this earth.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest In Peace. Amen.