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All Souls Day
Nov
2
Written by:
Sunday, November 02, 2008
November 2, 2008
When I lived in Los Angeles, my drive to work took me by the graves of my relatives, and I never failed to make the sign of the cross for them while passing by. Even now, I continue to make the sign of the cross when going by a cemetery. Why? Catholics have been remembering the dead for 2000 years. We know this because of the prayers left to us from the first century and the inscriptions on graves in the catacombs. The sign of the cross is a wordless prayer that I offer to God for my family and friends who have died as well as all those I have buried. It is a good practice to develop.
There is a line in the classic book of spirituality The imitation of Christ that I find memorable: "Men will forget you sooner than you realize." How often do you pray for the dead, especially the souls in purgatory and members of your own family? You can be sure that they remember you! There are actually three possible destinations after death: heaven, hell and purgatory. It is true that we cannot help those who are in the first two places, but our prayers are very important for those in purgatory. When we pray for them, they in turn will pray for us, and this exchange of prayers is very powerful indeed.
There are many ways to pray for these souls, such as by saying a rosary or by making a small sacrifice or act of love for others. But the best prayer for the dead is the Sacrifice of the Mass. Why? Because the Mass makes present to us the very sacrifice of Christ on the cross: his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. It is by the Blood of Christ that we are saved. The Mass is a direct connection between heaven and earth. It is the most powerful prayer of all, because Christ himself is interceding for us there.
I have often asked myself at funerals what the deceased would say if they could speak to those in attendance. Certainly most of them would tell us that they love us, but I think they would also remind us to use our precious lives well. While we live, our prayers and choices for God have great grace before Him because we are still living in a time of faith. Faith is the key. After death, the game is over: souls see clearly all that was at stake, the eternal consequences of their choices and the great care God took in the details of their lives. Since we cannot expect to be much remembered after death, let us take care how we live and also remember the souls of our loved ones as well.
Father Gary
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