2ND NOVEMBER 2014 SUNDAY READING & MEDITATION. ALL SOULS.( commemoration of all the faithful departed) Reading :Isaiah.25:6-9; Rom.5:5-11; Jn.6:37-40. Every one who believes in him will be raised up at the last day Gospel : John 6:37-40 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; 39 and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. REFLECTION : All Souls:. We celebrated yesterday the feast of All Saints. Today is the commemoration of All Souls. The Church often speaks of the totality of the baptised as the Communion of Saints. The Communion of Saints is formed of three groups:- The first are those who can properly be called ‘saints’, that is, those who have died and are now enjoying a face to face relationship with God for all eternity. We sometimes call that ‘heaven’ but it is less a place than a relationship. The second group are those who are living on earth at the present time and are part of the Pilgrim Church on its way to ultimate union with God in unending happiness. The third group are those we are remembering today. They are those who have died but are not quite ready to meet God face to face. We acknowledge that we are far from perfect and that we still need to go through some purifying process before entering the eternal presence of God. What that process is like it is not for us to speculate. How long does this purification last? We do not know. Our duty is simply to help the deceased through our prayers and suffrages. What we are reminded of today is that those who are already in the eternal presence of God and those who are still on pilgrimage on earth can help the group we call ‘Holy Souls’ to reach the Vision of God sooner through our good works and prayers. And so, although it is a “holy and wholesome thought to praye for the dead”, it is especially appropriate on this day. Naturally, we will remember especially family members and good friends but we should also think of those who may not have anyone to remember them. When our time comes to leave this world, it is the prayers of those people on whom we will depend. And it is a time for us to remember and pray for the dead and reflect on our own mortality. To remember the dead and to pray for them is a Christian duty. Praying for the dead is a long-standing tradition of the Church. Such remembrance not only comforts them but also helps us to prepare ourselves to pass out of this world well prepared and to meet the Lord face to face and to enter into the new life with him. The celebration of All Souls Day is based on the theological basis that some of those who have departed from this world, have not been perfectly cleansed from venial sin, or have not fully atoned for their past transgression. these departed souls are to remain in Purgatory. The Catholic teaching on Purgatory essentially seen in our belief in two realities: First, that there will be a purification of believers prior to entering heaven and Second that the prayers and masses of the faithful are sure to benefit those in the state of purification. As to the duration, place and exact nature of this purification, the Church has no official dogma, although Saint Augustine and others used fire as a way to explain the nature of the purification. We believe that the prayers and Masses of the faithful do have an impact on the purification that the faithful are undergoing in Purgatory. The feast of All Souls is a reminder that they are members of the Communion of Saints, have been saved and will one day be in heaven. However, they need to be perfected before they can go to heaven that is cleansed of all blemishes, they come into full unity with the perfection that is God. In the short Gospel reading of today’s Mass, Jesus speaks twice about the resurrection that will take place on the Last Day. He will certainly not lose a single one of those whom the Father has given him. We have this assurance from the Lord himself. “For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. Prayer: Lord we pray for all those who have died in our family and community and for all our departed brothers and sisters that the sins be forgiven and they may enjoy eternal bliss in the company of all angels and saints in heaven. Eternal life grant unto them and let perpetual light shine on them. Amen. * 1st Reading. Isaiah 25:6-9. 6 On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;8 he will swallow up death forever.The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.9 In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” Psalm 23:1-6 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want; 2 he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his names sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. 2nd Reading. Romans 5:5-11. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 17:43:07 +0000
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