all the faithful departed

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Wednesday, 2 November 2022 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today after the All Saints’ Day, we commemorate with solemn remembrance the occasion of All Souls’ Day. This day we remember all those holy souls in purgatory, all those who have departed from this world and have yet to deserve the glory of Heaven. While we do not know exactly the fate of the souls of the dead, except those whom by virtue of their great and faithful living and by careful investigation and scrutiny of the Church, had been declared officially as saints and therefore meriting the beatific vision of Heaven, the other souls of the faithful generally will end up in purgatory, except of course those who have willingly and consistently rejected God, and refused to repent from their sins and wickedness.

Those who have rejected the Lord, refused His mercy and kindness, those who committed mortal sins and refused to repent from them, all these had closed the doors of salvation upon themselves. It was not God Who desired their destruction, as history had proven again and again how God wanted and desired for each and every one of us, His beloved children and people, to be reconciled and returned, reunited and brought back to His Presence. He reached out even to the most stubborn, wicked and unworthy amongst us, and some of them had a change of heart, and were saved. Some of them even became saints later on, and were great examples for us to follow Yet, many others continued to resist the Lord’s efforts, hardened their hearts and minds, and consequently, they were deemed unworthy at the particular judgment upon their passing from this world, and were sent to hell.

Mentioning this matter of judgment, this is where we need to know that according to the Church teachings, there are two types of judgment, namely the particular judgment that happens for every single one of us, at the moment when our earthly existence ends, and where we will be judged, and has been judged, for those who had gone before us, to three possibilities, either of Heaven, or purgatory, or hell. The last and final, general judgment, also known as the Last Judgment will then take place at the very end of time as the Scriptures highlighted, and that will determine our eternal fate. Yet, those who have been condemned to hell has no way out, as they had rejected God and refused to be reconciled to Him, and will be judged unworthy of God, and cast out of His Presence. And those who are in purgatory and Heaven, all will be considered worthy and good, and will enjoy forever the eternal joy of the Lord and with God.

Now, we have to understand then what purgatory is all about, as this commemoration today of All Souls’ Day is about all the faithful departed, those who are not yet worthy of God like the saints and blesseds, and yet, those that have not openly rejected the Lord and refused to repent to the very end. We have to first understand that God is perfect and all good in nature, and sin as evil and imperfection born out of disobedience against Him and perversion of His Law and truth has no place in His Presence. Therefore, sinners as we are, unless our sins are mostly overcome and minuscule in nature due to our many merits and righteousness, which would then have merited us straight entry into Heaven as what happened to the saints and blesseds, or for martyrs who shed their blood and laid down their lives for the sake of their faith and God, then for most of us, we are likely to end up in purgatory.

Purgatory is a place where the souls of the faithful dead remain for a time before they are finally allowed to go to Heaven and enjoy there the same beatific vision and joy together with the saints, blesseds and other martyrs, and other holy men and women whom God deemed already worthy of Heaven. Purgatory is a place where those who were already destined to Heaven have to wait because their lingering sins and all those that prevented them from coming near to God are cleansed from them. And contrary to popular belief, purgatory is not a place where the holy souls are tortured by fire, as where the term ‘flames of purgatory’ originated from. In truth, the holy souls in purgatory do suffer, but they suffer from the ‘purifying flames’ of the Spirit, and also from the regret of the sins that they had committed, and yet unforgiven.

In the Gospel, the Lord mentioned to His disciples how when two people were on their way to court, they should try their best to resolve their differences and be reconciled, or else, when the judgment comes, those who have to suffer the penalty, jail and all, will have to endure them and will not end until they have paid back every single debt and settle every single punishments they deserve. In the same way therefore, everyone has to account for all the sins they committed, which had not been forgiven by God and for which they had not been pardoned, before they can enjoy the eternal bliss, happiness and joy of Heaven. Those holy souls in purgatory are therefore still suffering and waiting for the time when the Lord will finally lead them into His heavenly glory at the end of their time there.

The greater the sins one have, the longer it is that they had to endure in purgatory, however, as the Church taught us and from Scriptural evidences, prayers for the dead by us the living and also by the intercession of the saints do matter. Through our prayers for the holy souls in purgatory, God may be moved to show mercy to them, and this may shorten the time that those souls have to endure in purgatory, by the virtues of the faith that we, the living and the saints have, and by the love which we show to those souls who are now suffering and enduring trials and purification in purgatory. And we must not forget that just as I mentioned at All Saints’ celebration yesterday, the saints, blesseds, holy men and women of God in Heaven, and also the holy souls in purgatory are part of one Church of God, the Universal Church.

The holy souls in purgatory are part of the Church Suffering just as we are part of the Church Militant, still living and enduring the hardships and challenges of this world, and just as the saints, blesseds and all those already in heavenly glory are part of the Church Triumphant. The whole entire Church are united in purpose, love and communion, by our sharing in the same Precious Body and Blood of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Eucharist, and by our common baptism. And those who are not baptised yet, and those who have not yet known God are also open to salvation because it was not by their fault that they did not know God or His truth. Those holy souls in purgatory therefore include all those Christians and even non-Christians whom God deemed to be worthy of Him, and just having the venial sins and unforgiven faults that prevented them from coming to Heaven right away.

And as members of the same Church of God, each one of us therefore should not ignore those holy souls in purgatory, our own fellow brothers and sisters, who are in need of our help and company. Let us all not forget that as Christians, we have been taught by God to love one another just as we love God and ourselves. We must not be selfish and thinking of only our own salvation. Just as much as we are supposed to love our brothers and sisters in this world, helping those who are needy and those who are lacking in love and care, hence, we should also love and show our care for the holy souls in purgatory as well. Some of them are those whom we know, our own departed family members, relatives, friends and other loved ones.

And some of these holy souls in purgatory may have no one at all to pray for them. They also cannot pray for themselves, and depend on us and the saints to intercede for them. Therefore, this day, we should keep in mind just as we pray for the souls of our beloved ones who have departed before us, that we also commit to our prayers all the holy souls in purgatory who have no one praying for them. Let us not forget that we too one day will come into the end of our earthly existence, as death is something that all of us mortal beings have to experience and endure, and we may ourselves end up in purgatory. If we do not want to pray for those who are now suffering in purgatory, then what if that very same fate awaits us as well, brothers and sisters in Christ?

Therefore, today’s All Souls’ Day commemoration should also serve as a kind reminder to all of us that we are all called to lives that are more appropriate and worthy of God as Christians, that is as those whom God has called to be one of His own people, to be His flock, followers and disciples. To us, through His Church, Apostles and disciples, God has revealed His truth and love, and therefore, we are expected to lead a true Christian living and faith, and be truly faithful in all things, in our every words, actions and deeds, and not only just in mere appearances only. We have to be sincere and genuine in how we live our faith, if we have not done so.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore commit ourselves to righteous and virtuous Christian living from now on, and let us all be good examples of faith to one another, that we are always reminded of our mortality and our own eventual fate. If we seek to go to Heaven, then we should really do our very best to live our lives in accordance to what God has taught us to do through His Church and through His disciples. Let us all pray for our predecessors, the holy souls in purgatory, that God may show mercy upon them and bring them into the glory of Heaven as He wills it. May God bless all the holy souls in purgatory, and all of us here still living in this world. Amen.

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Wednesday, 2 November 2022 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Luke 7 : 11-17

At that time, a little later after Jesus healed the servant of a captain in Capernaum, He went to a town called Naim. He was accompanied by His disciples and a great number of people. As He reached the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; there followed a large crowd of townspeople.

On seeing her, the Lord had pity on her and said, “Do not cry.” Then He came up and touched the stretcher, and the men who carried it stopped. Jesus then said, “Young man, I say to you, wake up!” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

A holy fear came over them all, and they praised God saying, “A great Prophet has appeared among us; God, has visited His people.” The news spread throughout Judea and the surrounding places.

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Wednesday, 2 November 2022 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Romans 5 : 5-11

And hope does not disappoint us, because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God. Consider, moreover, the time that Christ died for us : when we were still helpless and unable to do anything. Few would accept to die for an upright person; although, for a very good person, perhaps someone would dare to die.

But see how God manifested His love for us : while we were still sinners, Christ died for us; and we have become just, through His Blood. With much more reason now He will save us from any condemnation. Once enemies, we have been reconciled with God through the death of His Son; with much more reason, now we may be saved, through His life.

Not only that, but we even boast in God because of Christ Jesus, our Lord, through Whom we have been reconciled.

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Wednesday, 2 November 2022 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 7-9, 13-14

YHVH is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? YHVH is the rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.

One thing I ask of YHVH, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His Sanctuary.

Hear my voice when I call, o YHVH, have mercy on me and answer. My heart says to You, “I seek Your face, o YHVH.” Do not hide Your face from me nor turn away Your servant in anger. You are my protector, do not reject me; abandon me not, o God my Saviour!

I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of YHVH in the land of the living. Trust in YHVH, be strong and courageous, yes, put your hope in YHVH!

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Wednesday, 2 November 2022 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple/Violet

Isaiah 25 : 6-9

On this mountain YHVH Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, meat full of marrow, fine wine strained. On this mountain He will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations, and death will be no more.

The Lord YHVH will wipe away the tears from all cheeks and eyes; He will take away the humiliation of His people all over the world : for YHVH has spoken. On that day you will say : This is our God. We have waited for Him to save us, let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.

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Monday, 2 November 2015 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate All Souls’ Day, when we commemorate and pray for the souls of all our brethren who have departed from this world ahead of us. We pray for the sake of their souls so that by the grace and the mercy of God, they may be found worthy of God’s everlasting kingdom. We pray that the souls in purgatory may be rid of their sins, and gain entry soon to the kingdom of heaven.

Today is not a day of sorrow and gloom, but a day of hope. For on this day, although we are reminded ever of our humanity and mortality, that all of us, without exception will succumb to death, but this death is not an everlasting death. It is because one Man had shown us the way, that death does not have the final say, for God has given us Jesus our Lord, to bring us from death into eternal life by His resurrection from the dead.

That means death is not an eternal separation, but a temporary one, where now we cannot see those who have departed physically in this world, but in the world to come, we shall see each other again and live a life filled with true joy in the presence of God for eternity. This is the hope brought about by our Lord’s resurrection, through which He has dealt death an ultimate defeat.

If yesterday, on the feast of All Saints, I spoke of a Universal Church that does not consist just of us all the faithful still living on earth, the Church Militant, but also consisting of the hole men and women deemed worthy of heaven, the saints of God, who are the Church Triumphant, and then also the souls of the faithful dead who are the Church Suffering, the souls in holy purgatory.

If you wonder, brethren, why ‘suffering’? This is because when someone reaches the end of his or her earthly and mortal life, there are three possible paths for them to go to from there. The first one, is the most difficult one to achieve, that is the path of the saints. This path is taken by those who lives have been filled with much piety, good deeds, faith and genuine love for God and for their fellow men. As a result, although they too are sinners, God deems that their venial sins have been completely overcome and absolved by their good deeds.

God blessed them and welcomed them into the glory of heaven. And the Church officially recognised some of them as saints, those who have been deemed worthy of heaven after their death. Then, there exists another path, which many had taken, that is the path of hell and eternal damnation. This is meant for all those who have been wicked in their lives, having committed mortal sins such as murder, disrespect for life and for the Lord, disrespecting the Church and its teachings, and other serious errors, from which they refused to repent.

These souls are lost from us and from the Lord forever, as these souls directly go into hell and without any hope for escape or redemption. They were unrepentant and therefore in His wrath, God also rejected them just as they have first rejected Him. Today, on this All Souls’ Day, these are not the souls whom we are praying for, for there is truly no benefit to pray for those who have been marked as eternally lost from us and condemned.

Of course, the fact is that we do not know who belong to this category, for it is only God, the true Judge of all, have the final decision of who is to receive eternal damnation and hell, and who to be given an opportunity or to receive the glory of eternal heaven. So we should not directly condemn so and so as evil, or deserving of hell, since all of us are sinners, and each and everyone of us are at the same risk.

Then, we come to the group in the middle, those who were not outrightly evil and wicked, so as to deserve hell and eternal damnation, and those who were also not sufficiently upright and holy so as to deserve eternal life and heaven right away, which ends up in the place called purgatory. It is in the teaching of the Church that the souls of the faithful dead, who have kept their lives mostly in line with the faith and in obedience to the Lord, but still having sufficient amount of venial sins have to spend some time in this place for the purification of their souls.

Why is this so, brethren? That is because we have to realise that while God loves us all and cares for all of us, but with us there still lies the obstacles of sin. Sin is an obstacle and a barrier that prevents us from our full and complete reconciliation with our Lord. It was because of sin, caused by disobedience, that had separated our ancestors from the grace and the blessings which God had intended to be ours for eternity.

God is good and perfect, and so good and holy such that no sin, even the smallest amount of sin should be ever present in His presence. A sinner that stands in the presence of God shall be subjected to the wrath of God and be destroyed immediately. Then, one may then ask, how about the saints then? Were they not once sinners too when they still walked on this earth?

Yes, indeed, they were once sinners too, but on the account of their great merits and their faith to God, their numerous good actions and deeds had been judged to be sufficient to atone completely for the sake of their sins. This means that all of the multitudes of their sins have been considered as being paid completely in full by their merits, as they placed their complete trust in the Lord Jesus.

What Jesus our Lord did when He gave up His life for us on the cross, was that He took up all of the original sins and the wickedness that had tainted all of us, and offering Himself as the perfect offering and sacrifice for our sins, He had liberated us all from the darkness and the sins that afflicted us all. He gave us all a new hope of salvation, for He conquered death, the ultimate consequence of sin.

This means that while once we looked at death and eternal death as our fate, and hell is our destination, but with our Lord’s intervention, He has lifted us all up and gave us a chance to enter the glorious heaven and be recipients of the original graces and blessings intended for us. But of course, as mentioned earlier, there are those who rejected this offer, and indeed, hell is their reward.

Today, on this Feast of All Souls’ Day, the ones whom we are concerned with are those souls in purgatory, who are spending their time separated temporarily from their Lord and delayed in their entry into the glorious heaven because of their residual sins. They are suffering the flames of suffering in purgatory, not because they are unworthy or wicked, but rather because they need to suffer for a while the consequences of the sins that they had remaining in them before they can enter into the presence of God, purified and cleansed.

Through our genuine and sincere prayers for these souls in purgatory, we are able to help them to reduce their time spent in purgatory, and by asking God for His mercy and for His love for these souls, we hope that the souls of our beloved brethren currently will be able to enjoy soon the glories and the joys of heaven, in the presence of our loving God, who is just and merciful.

And remember, just as we pray for them, they are also praying for us. The souls in purgatory still remember all of us, and just as they have lived their earthly lives committing good deeds and sins, they realised how their sins have made them to suffer temporarily, and those sins prevented them from directly enjoying the blessings of God in heaven. Thus, they are praying for us, that we will realise our own sins, and repent so that we will not suffer the same suffering they encountered in purgatory.

May Almighty God therefore hear our prayers, and together with the saints, and the souls in purgatory, let us all pray together as one whole Universal Church, that more and more people will be brought closer to salvation, that all of us may escape the threat of hell, and be brought ever closer to heaven, the destination that we are all looking forward to. May God receive the souls of the faithful departed and give them the everlasting joy of heaven. Amen.

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Monday, 2 November 2015 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple

Mark 15 : 33-39 and Mark 16 : 1-6

When noon came, darkness fell over the whole land and lasted until three o’clock; and at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You deserted Me?”

As soon as they heard these words, some of the bystanders said, “Listen! He is calling for Elijah.” And one of them went quickly to fill a sponge with bitter wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to Him to drink, saying, “Now let us see whether Elijah comes to take Him down.”

But Jesus uttered a loud cry and gave up His Spirit. And immediately the curtain that enclosed the Temple sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The captain, who was standing in front of Him, saw how Jesus died and heard the cry He gave, and He said, “Truly, this Man was the Son of God.”

When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so that they might go and anoint the body. And very early in the morning on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb.

They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” But as they looked up, they noticed that the stone had already been rolled away. It was a very big stone. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right, and they were amazed.

But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified; He has been raised and is not here. This is, however, the place where they laid Him.”

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Monday, 2 November 2015 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple

Romans 5 : 5-11

And hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God. Consider, moreover, the time that Christ died for us : when we were still helpless and unable to do anything. Few would accept to die for an upright person; although, for a very good person, perhaps someone would dare to die.

But see how God manifested His love for us : while we were still sinners, Christ died for us and we have become just through His blood. With much more reason now He will save us from any condemnation. Once enemies, we have been reconciled with God through the death of His Son; with much more reason now we may be saved through His life.

Not only that; we even boast in God because of Christ Jesus, our Lord, through Whom we have been reconciled.

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Monday, 2 November 2015 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple

Psalm 26 : 1, 4, 7-9, 13-14

The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the rampart of my life; I will not be afraid.

One thing I ask of the Lord, one thing I seek – that I may dwell in His house all the days of my life, to gaze at His jewel and to visit His sanctuary.

Hear my voice when I call, o Lord, have mercy on me and answer. My heart says to You, “I seek Your face, o Lord.” Do not hide Your face from me nor turn away Your servant in anger. You are my Protector, do not reject me. Abandon me not, o God my Saviour!

I hope, I am sure, that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Trust in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Yes, put your hope in the Lord!

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Monday, 2 November 2015 : Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Black or Purple

Isaiah 25 : 6-9

On this mountain YHVH Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, meat full of marrow, fine wine strained. On this mountain He will destroy the pall cast over all peoples, this very shroud spread over all nations, and death will be no more.

The Lord YHVH will wipe away the tears from all cheek and eyes; He will take away the humiliation of His people all over the world : for YHVH has spoken. On that day you will say : This is our God. We have waited for Him to save us, let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.