11/2/23

NIGHT PRAYER: 11/2 All Souls Day



All Souls Day by Aladar Korosfoi-Kriesch, depicting the custom of visiting cemeteries on November 2 and lighting candles at the graves of loved ones. 


 

At the heart of all our worship as Catholic Christians,
    we pause to remember… 
 
We remember Christ, and all he did for us;
    we remember how he suffered, died and rose for us;
and in word and sacrament, we remember 
    what he did at table with his friends
        on the night before he died,
so every time we celebrate the Eucharist
    we remember someone who has died: our brother, Jesus.
 
And every time we celebrate the Eucharist
    we also remember others who have died...
 
You know the words as well as I do:
    Remember our brothers and sisters
    who have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again;

    bring them and all the departed
into the light of your presence…

We remember all our brothers and sisters in Christ
    and not only them but all the departed
        - everyone who has died -
praying that through the mercy and love of God
    all of them will come to enjoy the light and peace of God, forever.

Of course, when we pray for those who have died
    we remember first those whom we loved the most,
        those whom we miss the most.
When I pray the remembrance of the dead,
    my heart seldom fails to remember my mother and my father,
        others as well – but always them.
I’m sure there are names that come to your heart, too.
And we pray for them…

But why do we pray for them?
What do we pray for them?

Our knowledge of human frailty and our faith in God’s mercy
    teach us that when we die, God might not be quite yet finished
        with fashioning us, making us ready for eternal life.

Our whole life on earth is a journey to the dwelling place
    Christ has prepared and reserved for us in his Father’s house.

Sometimes we stay right on the path that leads us home
    and sometimes we take short cuts or make detours
        or even turn around and walk in the other direction!

We need the Lord to shepherd us from death into life...

So it might be, it might even be likely,
    that at the end of life our rough edges
        might need some buffing and polishing.

The Church has long taught that after death, 
    those not quite ready for heaven 
        may need some further purification. 
 
This has sometimes been called purgatory. 
But we might have a false picture of purgatory. 
It’s not some  
    “flaming concentration camp on the outskirts of hell.” * 
 
It’s not God’s last chance to make us suffer!
 
St. Catherine spoke beautifully of the fire of purgatory as
    “God’s love burning the soul until it was wholly aflame
        -- with the love of God.”

It’s like the fire mentioned in the book of Wisdom:
    “As gold in the furnace, God will prove us, purify us,
        and take us to himself… we shall shine…
            and we shall abide forever with God in love…”

If there is pain in purgatory,
    it is the pain of longing to be with God,
        to be worthy of the heaven Jesus won for us.
 
And so we pray for those who have gone before us
    that God bring to completion the good work begun in their lives,
        while they were still with us.
 
We cannot know how or even if time is measured in this purification.
Perhaps one day, one hour of finally and fully realizing
    the greatness of God’s love for us 
perhaps one second will be all it takes
    to purify us of the sin of taking God’s love 
        and the love of others for granted.

When we remember those who have died
    some of us might recall those who hurt and harmed in this life.
Nothing is impossible for God.
We can pray for these, too, entrusting them to God
    who knows how to make even the hardest of hearts
        ready for his mercy.

Of course, many of those whom we remember on All Souls Day
    were long ago perfected by God’s mercy
        and welcomed to their places in heaven
We remember them, too.

Today, and through this month of November,
    we remember those who have gone to their rest
        in the hope of rising again
and all the departed...

And we remember Jesus, our brother, who died for us, rose 
    and opened the door to his Father’s house 
where he has prepared for each of us              
    a dwelling place in his peace.

Protect us, Lord, while we're awake
    and watch over us while we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
    and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen. 
 
*Leonard Foley, OFM 
 
Tonight's music
 
Song of Farewell  by Catherine O'Connell

If a video doesn't appear below, click here!
 
 
May choirs of angels lead you into paradise
    and may the martyrs come to welcome you
to bring you home into the holy city
    so you may dwell in new Jerusalem.
 
May holy angels be there at your welcoming
    with all the saints who go before you there
that you may know the peace and joy of paradise
    that you may enter into everlasting rest.


  

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