The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

The meaning of the celebration

+ On this day the Church remembers all those women and men who have gone before us, marked with the sign of faith, and prays that the Lord in his mercy will welcome them into the Kingdom of Heaven.

+ It was the Benedictine abbot Saint Odilo of Cluny who, in 998, ordered that this feast be celebrated in all the monasteries associated with the great abbey of Cluny. The celebration was later adopted by other religious communities and dioceses. On this day, clergy and religious pray the Office of the Dead (unless the celebration falls on a Sunday) and priests are given special permission to celebrate three Masses on this day: for the souls in Purgatory, for the intentions of the Pope, and for the priest’s own intentions.

+ The various readings from Scripture that can be used for this celebration remind us that God’s power is stronger than death and that nothing is greater than the gift of eternal life God promises us through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

+ As we honor those who have gone before us, we commend them to God’s mercy and love.

For prayer and reflection

“The Church has always strongly advised that we pray for the dead. She invites believers to regard the mystery of death not as the ‘last word’ of human destiny but rather as a passage to eternal life. As we read in the Preface of today's Mass: When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death we gain an everlasting dwelling place in heaven.”—Pope Saint John Paul II

Spiritual bonus

On November 2, we also remember the tenth century Scottish anchoress Saint Baya and her spiritual student, Saint Maura.

Prayer

Listen kindly to our prayers, O Lord,

and, as our faith in your Son,

raised from the dead, is deepened,

so may our hope of resurrection for your departed servants

also find new strength.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.