Feast of All Souls 11-2-25

                                                                            


The readings this weekend call our attention to remembering our ancestors. It is the feast of All Souls.  In the Hispanic tradition of South America and Mexico this is called the Day of the Dead.  It is not a day of gruesome memories but rather a festive day of remembering those who have gone before.  It is a day filled with special foods and celebrations particularly as they reflect the memory of those who have gone before us.  In some locations families visit cemeteries to decorate the graves of their relatives with flowers of special mementos that remind them of their relatives.   In our masses this weekend, we too shall pray and remember our loved ones who have died.  We may remember individuals that extend two to three generations back.  We realize through these readings of the liturgy this Sunday that these individuals, while dead to us physically, are very much alive in God.  And we believe that through prayer, and the sacraments, we can in a spiritual way touch their presence.  For in God all things live.  In and through Jesus there is no death only life everlasting.                                                                        Rev. Dr. Barba Homes in a recent reflection wrote the following about her belief in the power of ancestors and the gifts she has received from their lives and the traditions and beliefs they have left behind, even those who were not her blood relatives.  She writes- “The end result is that I know that I am not alone. I am connected to the past and the future by the ligatures of well-lived lives, the mysteries of “beyondness,” and the memories and narratives that lovingly bind and support me. While I hope that when I die, one of the elders in my family who have crossed over to the realm of the ancestors will be at my bedside, I certainly did not expect contact prior to that time.  And yet here I am, [in my work] hearing from liberation leaders I have never personally met. As it turns out, they are also my elders as certainly as if they occupied a branch of my family tree. They have bequeathed to all of us a legacy of resolve, resistance, and spiritual expansiveness.”1.                                                                                      How have your ancestors, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles impacted or influenced your life?  What treasures spiritual, familial, or actual have they left to you?  On this special weekend, which commemorates the lives of our ancestors, we are called to remember their roles in our lives.              Now sometimes those impacts on our lives have not been positive.  Our ancestors may have abused or scarred us by their behavior.  We may feel a certain reluctance to pray for them or to pray for their souls.   But I would ask to remember that the feast this Sunday is the Feast of All Souls.  And as such, we are called to pray for all souls, the ones who have helped us and even the ones who may have hurt us.  The latter group, those who have hurt us, may be at first difficult for us to pray for and perhaps that is why St. Paul’s letter to the Romans is so particularly important.   He writes, in the 8th chapter of this  letter  about how, at times it is difficult to pray for things that leaves us with unpleasant memories or fears but be that as it may we still need to pray for such and so he writes   “,,,,In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will” (Romans 8:27-27).   In other words, if it is our desire to pray even if we cannot form the words, the Spirit prays for us and as such is able to lay before God our intent for the good of others.  And the fruit of such prayer will often be a birth of Hope in us and for those for whom we pray.  And that is why Paul reminds us that “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”(Romans 5:5)                                                                                   The first reading this weekend comes from the book of wisdom. The words echo to us about God's care for all his creation, especially his human creation. He wishes them to be with Him forever. Whether this is the case, for everybody, is dependent upon the decisions of how they have lived their lives and where we have placed their belief.  As Jesus said in the gospel this weekend that God sent him into the world to save the world. And those who believe in him and trust in him are the ones who will be saved.  To hold onto such belief is the beginning of true wisdom.

1. Center for Action and Contemplation, CAC.com, Monday, 10-27-25

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