The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day)

“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.”

On All Souls’ Day, the Church pauses to remember all who have gone before us, marked with faith. This is not a day of sadness alone, but of hope and love, a moment to entrust our loved ones once more to the mercy of God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus promises that those who come to Him will never be rejected. What a comfort this is for our grieving hearts! The love of Christ reaches beyond death, binding us together in what the Church calls the Communion of Saints, the living and the dead united in His love.

We participate in this communion when we light a candle, visit a grave, or offer a Mass for the departed. These simple acts of faith express our sacramental consciousness, the awareness that even ordinary signs reveal God’s grace.

As we remember the faithful departed, we also renew our trust in Christ’s promise: “I shall raise them on the last day.”

May eternal light shine upon them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon us all.