10/24/21 All Souls' Day Mass of Remembrance

10/24/21

All Souls' Day Mass of Remembrance

Dear Faithful,

Tuesday, November 2nd, is All Souls Day, when the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered for all the souls of the faithful departed. This is a special day when the Church on earth offers Masses, prayers and sacrifices for the holy souls in Purgatory. We will have a special All Souls Mass on Tuesday, November 2nd at 7:00PM at Our Lady of Fatima Church. At this Mass we will remember those of our entire parish who have gone ahead of us marked with the sign of faith over the course of this past year. At this Mass the names of the deceased will be read and a candle will be lit for each of them. There will be forms at the Church entrances for you to list the names of your departed loved ones. You can drop your completed form into the basket which will be placed before the altar. These names will remain at the altar and will be remembered during Masses and devotions throughout the month of November.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1472) teaches us that every sin, even venial sin, involves an unhealthy attachment which must be purified either when we are on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. There are many misconceptions surrounding Purgatory. Sometimes even life-long Catholics don’t quite know how accept that a loved one would be in Purgatory and is in need of our prayers, especially Masses. People sometimes think that talk of Purgatory somehow means that their loved one was not a good, loving person.

In reality, Purgatory is how our Loving Father assists us in the conversion that was already taking place within us while on this earth. Purgatory is an extension of God’s mercy. He purifies us and makes us fully ready to receive the blessed vision of His glory. Let us be generous in our prayers for our deceased loved ones. Let us be quick to assist them in this purifying process by having Masses said for them, by offering prayers for them. Our loved ones are not in any way insulted by our presumption that they need our prayers after death. In fact, they will be among those who, upon our death, will happily receive us into eternal dwellings.

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


In the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts,
Fr. Jean-Luc, OSB