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Sunday, November 2, 2008

All Souls


This is the day we pray for all those who have died. The Mass of the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed takes precedence over the Sunday Liturgy; this should not surprise us as November 2 was one of the two days that priests were allowed to say three Masses, the other being Christmas Day. This was, of course, before the reform of the Liturgy. The readings for today are very consoling:
We read in the Book of Wisdom (3:1-9) that "the souls of the just are in the hands of God." Psalm 23 tells us that The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want." Paul's letter to the Romans (5:5-11) tells us that the "love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit...God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." In John's Gospel (6:37-40) we read: "For this is the will of our Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life and I shall raise him on the last day."
All of us face death; it is good to know that others continue to pray for us after death!

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