31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed of the Parish of the Epiphany of the Lord
We are Saved Together: Fostering a Culture of Encounter with the Families of the Departed Souls of the Faithful
Our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together. No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone. The lives of others continually spill over into mine. And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for worse. So, my prayer for another is not something extraneous to that person, something external, not even after death. In the interconnectedness of Being, my gratitude to the other—my prayer for him—can play a small part in his purification. And for that there is no need to convert earthly time into God’s time: in the communion of souls simple terrestrial time is superseded. It is never too late to touch the heart of another, nor is it ever in vain. In this way we further clarify an important element of the Christian concept of hope. Our hope is always essentially also hope for others; only thus is it truly hope for me too.
(Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter on Christian Hope: Spe Salvi facti sumus: In Hope We were Saved [Romans 8:24], 2007, Para. 48.)
After celebrating the Solemnity of All Saints on 01 November, the Holy Mother Church invites us to commemorate All the Faithful Departed (All Soul’s Day) on 02 November of each liturgical year, to turn our eyes to the many faces who have gone before us and who have ended their earthly journey.
The month of November is a time of remembrance of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and the liturgical color for the month is green, which symbolizes growth and hope. We visit cemeteries, visualize gravestones of loved ones, and pray for the souls of all those on our family genealogy trees, known and unknown to us. We remember and pray for the souls of friends, and we pray for all the deceased and for those souls for whom there is no one to pray for.
To our Parish Community of the Epiphany of the Lord, hence, I would like to offer a few simple thoughts on the reality of death, which for us Christians is, illuminated by the Resurrection of Christ, and so as to renew our faith in eternal life: O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Cor 15:55)
The Roman Pontiff Benedict XVI, during his pontificate (April 2005-February 2013), often loved to emphasize the importance of community and interconnectedness in the Christian faith. His phrase no one sins alone, no one is saved alone in the above-cited paragraph means that our actions, both positive and negative, are interconnected with others in our community, so we are not completely isolated in our choices to sin or to be saved; our lives influence and are influenced by those around us, making the journey of redemption a shared experience rather than a solitary one. While we are redeemed together, we are enabled, here on earth, to foster a culture of encounter with the Families of the Departed Souls of All the Faithful, especially, of All the Faithful Departed of the Parish of the Epiphany of the Lord.
In other words, our choices in life have ripple effects on others, meaning our sins can affect those around us and our acts of goodness can positively impact them as well. We are not completely autonomous individuals, and our salvation is often facilitated by the support and guidance of others within our community. The above-quoted phrase encourages a sense of shared responsibility for the well-being of others and the pursuit of moral goodness.
Nevertheless, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that in death, which is nothing but the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of the Resurrection of Jesus from the grave, the beginning of the end for death (Hebrews 2:14).
However, our Catholic doctrine and the Nicene Creed are so important here: we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Our liturgical celebration of All Soul’s Day keeps us anchored in the above truth, in hope, and in charity. We approach the inevitability of death with the Gospel truths that set us free and keep us joyful and happy as we walk on earth with a burning desire for eternal happiness with God in Heaven.
I therefore, encourage all the families of our Parish to pray fervently for the dead, for their family members and for all our brothers and sisters who have died, that they may obtain the remission of the punishments due to their sins and may hear the Lords call: Come, O my dear soul to eternal repose in the arms of my goodness, which has prepared eternal delights for you. (Francis De Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, 17, 4).
Fraternally in Jesus Christ,
Fr. John Peter Lazaar SAC & Fr. Clement Sahaya Anand SAC