Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

November 2

Wis 3:1-9; Rom 6:3-9; John 14:1-6/Matt 25:31-46

image credit: Mangalore diocese

A Short reflection:

The Church teaches us that the souls of the just who have left this world with traces of venial sin remain for a time in a place of expiation called purgatory, where they suffer whatever punishment may be due to their offenses. Even if pardon has been obtained for the sins, satisfaction must be made to God, our Creator, in this world or in the next; for His sanctity has been insulted by the self-will of human beings. It is a dogma of our faith that the suffering souls are relieved by the intercession of the Saints in heaven and by the prayers of the faithful upon this earth. 

To pray for the dead is therefore an act of charity and of piety, certainly obligatory for a Christian who professes to have charity in his heart. 

We read in Holy Scripture: “It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins,” (2 Macc 12:46).

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

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