All Saints and All Souls

This Monday is the feast of All Saints Day, and Tuesday is the feast of All Souls day. On All Souls day, we remember those who have died this past year, and we are reminded to pray for all of our family members who have died.

A few years ago, a priest that I greatly respected and served with, Fr Bob Hoefler, died. While he was in the hospice center with the final stages of his cancer, I and some other people were visiting with him and he made a comment to all of us who were there. He said that at his funeral he did not want anyone to canonize him. He did not want people to constantly say that he was in heaven. Don’t get me or him wrong, he really wanted to go to heaven, but what he wanted was for people to pray for him, because if we always say that someone who has died is in heaven, there is no need for us to pray for them anymore, and they may still need our prayers.

The feasts of All Saints and All Souls are important feast days for us as Catholics. We celebrate these days in order to remember those who have gone before us to eternal life. While they are similar in the fact that we are celebrating those who have died, they are different in what we are praying for. For those that are in heaven (All Saints) we pray a prayer of thanksgiving, one that is also asking those saints to pray for our needs. For those who are not in heaven yet, those who are in purgatory (All Souls) we are praying for their needs, that God will speed the time of their purgation of sin and bring them lovingly into the kingdom of heaven.

At a funeral, I will always tell people that the person who has died is in the loving and merciful hands of God now. I will not say that they are in heaven, because I am praying that they will be there and I want them to receive the benefits of our prayers. We pray for them, not in the body that is on earth which is dead and buried, but for the soul which is eternal and is entrusted to God’s hands now.

On All Saints day, we celebrate all those who have served the Church in a special way, those who have fought the good fight of their lives and have been examples of holiness. Most of the people we celebrate are the countless examples of how to live holy lives. Only one of the saints in our history has been a perfect example, which is Mary the mother of Jesus, who was also perfect because He was God. Even though the saints are not perfect, they are still examples that can lead us to holiness.

In the month of November, we remember our loved ones who have died. Here at St. Luke’s, there is a book in the gathering space of church to write down the names of our loved ones, and you are welcome to write down the names of any of your loved ones who have passed away.

God bless,
Fr. Ken