THE COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED (ALL SOULS’ DAY)

As gold in the furnace, he proved them. 

As we commemorate All Souls’ Day today, we might light a candle at church in honor of our loved ones who have died. Or we might display their photos in our homes. Many cultures devote today to remembering deceased friends and family members—and to pray for them. But why exactly should we pray for the dead?

It’s all about our desire for them to experience the joys of heaven.

We know that because Jesus died and rose from the dead, every one of us has the hope of heaven. Jesus has forgiven us, defeated death, and opened the doors to eternal life. But we also know that the effects of sin can still take their toll, even when we are in friendship with God. Think about times when someone forgave you for an angry outburst or hurtful word, but the pain that you caused that person still lingered.

Can any of that coexist with God? Those lingering consequences of sin? The mixed motives? No. Thanks be to God that when we die in friendship with him, we are saved. But for those persistent effects of sin, God offers us opportunities to be purified and cleansed even more deeply, like gold that is refined to remove impurities (Wisdom 3:6).

In his encyclical Spe Salvi [Saved in Hope], Pope Benedict XVI says that when we come face-to-face with Jesus, “all falsehood melts away.” As we encounter him whose love has conquered all evil, “we absorb the overwhelming power of his love” into our hearts. That love is so strong that it burns away whatever evil or sin remain in us. Benedict calls this “the pain of love” (47). It’s something that can be painful—but joyful too—because it ultimately brings us salvation. We can look at it as God’s way of loving the sin out of us.

So take heart! God wants to keep cleansing you, even after death. He wants to bring you into the joys of heaven—you and all your loved ones. So pray for your loved ones. Ask the Holy Spirit to help them pass through this “pain of love” so that they can see God face-to-face!

“Lord, bring all those who have died in friendship with you into heavenly joy!”

Wisdom 3:1-9
Psalm 23:1-6
Romans 5:5-11
John 6:37-40