Allhallowtide

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Sunday, 2 November 2025 : 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, after we have celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints yesterday, now on this Sunday, we celebrate and commemorate the occasion of All Souls Day, in which we remember all those holy departed souls, who have gone from this world before us, and are now still in Purgatory. Purgatory refers to the state or situation in which the souls of the faithful departed who have gone from this world, and yet, because they have not yet been cleansed or purified completely from their taint and corruptions of sin, thus they cannot yet enter into the fullness of bliss, glory and happiness in Heaven, to be with God. That is why they are still currently in Purgatory, spending the time and occasion there in purification so that they may be fully and completely free from the taint and corruption of their sins.

This does not mean that God has purposely made it difficult for us mankind to reach out to Him or punished us unjustly. In fact, the truth is that no one can possibly be tainted by the corruption of sin and be in the Holy Presence of God. Otherwise, the sins and wickedness, corruptions and evils remaining in us will condemn us before the Lord, and the Lord’s goodness and perfection will wipe us out from existence. Hence, from the beginning of the Church, the Church fathers and traditions of our Christian faith have always taught that the souls of those who have died in the state of grace, and have not denied the Lord and remained unrepentant to the very last moment, do not end up in either Heaven or Hell.

The former, Heaven, is because the soul was still tainted with some venial sins, the residual effects of the corruptions of their soul, which had not been resolved and forgiven at the moment of their passing from this world. Meanwhile, for the latter, Hell, the Lord’s grace is so great and powerful that, to those whom He has deemed and judged at the moment of death, also known as the Particular Judgment, to be saved, thus, He did not condemn into Hell. Instead, that soul of the departed will eventually end up in Heaven. It is just that, those souls will not be able to immediately enter the glory of Heaven, unlike the saints, whose faith, virtues and commitments to God had deemed them worthy in the eyes of God to enter immediately into the glory of Heaven.

This state of the souls who have not yet been able to enter Heaven is thus known as the Purgatory. Unlike Hell, in which the condemned soul has no hope ever to enter into Heaven, and will suffer eternity of sufferings, punishments and regret for their sins, the souls in Purgatory do suffer, but not for an eternity. Why do they suffer, brothers and sisters in Christ? That is because their intense love for God was raging in them, ever desiring to be reunited fully with God, but because of the residual corruptions and effects due to the sins which they had committed and which had not been resolved and forgiven, that ardent and burning love for God made them to endure the purifying fire of Purgatory. This should not be understood as a physical place with fire or any kind of flames that purified the souls in Purgatory, but rather, it was the love those souls had for God which made them to endure those burning love and zeal that had yet to be fulfilled completely.

And what is important today, as we commemorate this All Souls Day, we must remember that we ourselves may also end up in Purgatory one day, and we must not forget or ignore the holy souls in Purgatory. Many of our loved ones and those whom we know, our own family members and friends may be in Purgatory now, and are still awaiting the moment when they will finally enter into the eternal and true glory of Heaven. They are also still part of the Church, as I have mentioned on All Saints Day yesterday. Just as the saints, the holy men and women of God who are already enjoying the glory and the beatific vision of Heaven, are part of the Church Triumphant, and all of us still living in this world are part of the Church Militant, struggling daily for our faith against the temptations of sin and evil, thus the holy souls in Purgatory are part of the Church Suffering.

They are also our brothers and sisters, who need our love, care, compassion and prayers. The holy souls in Purgatory all need our prayers and help, as they cannot help themselves, and they cannot pray for themselves. They can pray for us, who are still living in this world, and no doubt, they hope that we do not make the same mistakes and sins they had done, which prevented and kept them away from the Lord’s glorious inheritance and true joy for the time being. They are in need of our prayers and help, and our every prayers for their sake do matter, as through prayer, we help them by moving God to have pity and mercy on these holy souls who are currently still in Purgatory. When their sins had been expiated, cleansed and they had been completely forgiven from those sins, the holy souls in Purgatory can finally then enter into the glory of Heaven, and enjoy what the saints have been enjoying.

Let us all therefore be charitable and compassionate to our brothers and sisters, the holy souls in Purgatory, that we remember today on this occasion of All Souls Day. Let us all remember that one day, we ourselves may also end up in the same condition and place, suffering the wait in Purgatory just as the holy souls in Purgatory are now enduring and experiencing their temporary wait and separation from God. We should always spend some time and moments to pray on behalf of those poor souls in Purgatory, be it those whom we may know, from our own family and circle of friends and acquaintances, but also those whom we do not know. There are many holy souls in Purgatory who had no one to remember them or pray for them, and today, on this All Souls Day, we should also remember them and love them, show them God’s love and compassion through our efforts and prayers for their sake.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, on this All Souls Day therefore, let us all first of all remember and pray for all the holy souls in Purgatory, all those who have passed on from this world and have yet to enter the glory of Heaven. Let us all ask the Lord to have mercy on these souls, and allow them to be forgiven and to be cleansed and purified from their residual corruptions by sin, and thus, able to enter into the glory of Heaven the soonest. Then, at the same time, as we have discussed and talked about earlier, we should also remind ourselves that we should strive to do what we can so that our lives will always be truly worthy of God, in obeying His Law and commandments, and in distancing ourselves and keeping ourselves away from sin and its corruption, as best as we can.

Let us all hence do what we can so that we may inspire one another to live our lives worthily in God’s path. Let us all be committed to lives that are truly virtuous and righteous in the sight of God and mankind alike, and do our part such that we may be the faithful bearers of God’s truth, Good News and love to more and more people, and that more souls may be saved from the damnation to Hell, and may at least end up in the purifying fire of Purgatory on their way to Heaven, because of their faith in God. May the Lord be with us all, and especially also with the holy souls in Purgatory, our brothers and sisters, and may He remember them, particularly those who have none to remember them or pray for them. May God grant them all eternal rest in Him, and may they rest in God’s love and peace. Amen.

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Sunday, 2 November 2025 : 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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Sunday, 2 November 2025 : 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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Sunday, 2 November 2025 : 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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Sunday, 2 November 2025 : 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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Saturday, 1 November 2025 : Solemnity of All Saints (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day united as one in the Universal Church we all celebrate with all the glorious saints in Heaven the occasion of the Solemnity of All Saints, as we rejoice on this All Saints’ Day. On this All Saints Day, we rejoice in the glory of all the saints, both the ones whose names and lives are known to us, as well as the many other innumerable holy men and women of God out there who are saints, and yet not known to us. There are also all those other holy men and women who have deserved the glory of Heaven, and yet have not been named and declared saints yet, because of various circumstances. Today, as we rejoice on this All Saints’ Day, we remember all those whom I had mentioned, the ones who have lived their lives worthily of God.

Who are the saints, brothers and sisters in Christ? First of all we have to understand the role that the saints play in the history of our salvation and in the Church. The saints are all those holy men and women of God who have been deemed by the Church after a period of scrutiny and exploration, as worthy of God and as deserving of the glory of Heaven. The process of the declaration of someone as Saint is one that is usually lengthy one, as one went from being a Servant of God, Venerable, and then Blessed or Beatus and finally Saint. All those things are meant to highlight that being a Saint means that the person, his or her life and actions are truly worthy of God and of being exemplary Christians. This is to ensure that the person mentioned as saints are truly worthy of veneration and honour, and being followed by other Christians as good role models and inspirations.

And then, we must understand also that the saints are not divine beings or gods, or divinities, as what some others might and may still misunderstand about this particular practice of the Church. Quite a few people both inside and outside the Church have the misunderstanding and misconception thinking that we worship the saints. Yet, that is a very wrong way of seeing how we Christians venerate the saints and blesseds since the very beginning of the Church. Ever since the earliest days of the Church, the faithful Christians have always venerated important members of the Church who have been martyred for their faith, or have led exemplary lives, venerating them as great role models and inspirations, and beings worthy of Heaven, to inspire them in their own lives.

That is in essence what saints are and how they are significant for us all. The saints are our role models and inspirations, who by their words, actions and deeds have been deemed by the Church and the authorities of the magisterium to be worthy of God’s grace and eternal kingdom, to experience the beatific vision of Heaven prior to the Last Judgment, and are now in Heaven with God and His Angels. Christians and even the Jewish people of the past believed in the life after death, and the existence of the world to come, and the saints are those who have been welcomed to enter into God’s heavenly Presence, to enjoy the fruits of their labour and faithful life. And when we venerate those saints, we honour them for all that they had done out of faith and love for God.

We must understand that veneration does not equal adoration and worship or ‘latria’. Those are reserved for God and God alone. Not even Mary, the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven by virtue of her Divine Motherhood, is to be worshipped and adored. On the contrary, to her we accord the greatest honour and veneration or also known as ‘hyperdulia’ among all the other saints and beings, as the one who bore the Messiah or Saviour of the world in her, and who is our greatest intercessor, ever being present by her Son’s side in Heaven, pleading for our sake before Him. To Mary we accord the greatest of veneration, but that still does not equate to adoration and worship that we only give to God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Triune God, the one and only True God.

Then to St. Joseph we accord the next greatest honour of ‘protodulia’ which accords him the first of honour among all the saints just after Mary, her spouse. St. Joseph as the foster-father of the Lord and the Protector of the Universal Church has that place of honour and also because of his virtuous life, which are again great inspiration, examples and role models for each one of us as Christians. Then the other saints and blesseds also have their own unique life stories and examples which we can emulate and follow in our own lives. That is why we venerate them, as we are all inspired by their examples, and wanting to follow them, and why we adopt their names as our baptismal names as well. And not only that, as we also believe that the saints are already in the presence of God in Heaven, we also ask the saints for their help and intercession.

Now, what we need to realise is also that the saints although they are no longer physically with us, they are still very much part of the Church. The saints, blesseds and all the other holy men and women of God already in Heaven and have not yet been officially recognised by the Church as saints, are all parts of the same Church of God, as the Church Triumphant. Meanwhile, all of us still living in this world are the Church Militant, those who are still struggling and enduring the challenges and trials of this world daily. Then the Church is completed by all those souls who have departed from this world and yet, they are not yet worthy of Heaven, and are enduring the purifying flames of purgatory, the Church Suffering. Those holy souls in purgatory will be remembered tomorrow in the All Souls’ Day.

Altogether, the Church Triumphant, the Church Militant and the Church Suffering all form a united Church of God, all united through the indivisible link and union through the common Communion in Christ. All of us are united together as one Church, and as such, we are united in prayer for each other. The saints and blesseds have no more need for our prayers, but they are always praying for us in this world, the Church Militant, as well as for the ones who are still suffering in the purgatory, the Church Suffering. We ourselves as those who are in this world can also pray for those in purgatory. We can see how each and every one of us are still united as one Church, and just as we are still connected to each other, we should also be inspired to follow the examples of the saints in our respective lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have been shown the means and the ways for us to follow the Lord faithfully as Christians. As we heard in our first reading today from the Book of Revelations of St. John the Apostle, the vision of St. John revealed to us the glory of the innumerable saints of God, who in the vision had appeared in their pure white garment, all made white by washing in the Precious Blood of the Lamb of God. The martyrs suffered at the hands of their persecutors and those who oppressed them, but they remained resolute and firm in living their lives faithfully, in standing up to their Christian vocations and missions, and enduring whatever persecutions with grace and faith. Some of them had to shed their blood and some perished, but even those who did not perish, had to endure martyrdom of sorts, as they were persecuted and had to face hardships and challenges.

They practiced what the Lord had told them all to do as we heard in our Gospel passage today on the Beatitudes, or the Eight Beatitudes, in which the Lord listed down all the behaviours and attitudes that are truly worthy of Him, and praised all those who have done according to those ways. Essentially through the Eight Beatitudes, the Lord has called on all of us as Christians to be His true disciples, as those who are poor in spirit, for those who are sorrowful and suffering for their faith, for those who are gentle and kind, and for those who hunger, thirst and desire for justice, for those who show mercy to others, for those who are pure and virtuous at heart, for those who advance and work towards peace and help others to seek peace, and for all those who are persecuted. All of those are essentially what we are expected to do as Christians in our own daily living.

Now, if we are not sure how and where to start in this regard, we must not be disheartened or give up the effort before we even start it. That is precisely why we have the saints to inspire us and to show us the way how we should live our lives. Each and every one of them had distinct and unique circumstances that some may in one way or another inspire us in our respective lives and journey, to be our compass and guidance in how we are to practice our faith in life. Each and every one of us are called and constantly reminded of the many good actions and deeds of our holy predecessors, and we should do the same. The question is, are we all willing to commit ourselves to this cause that the Lord had called us to do? Are we willing to put the effort to transform our lives from one that is based on worldliness and wickedness into one of virtue and adherence to God’s ways?

It is important that as Christians we have to live our lives worthily of the Lord, doing whatever we can to uphold our Christian faith and actions, in each and every possible moments like what the saints had done. But at the same time we must also have the correct understanding of what the saints are and how they can help and lead us on the right path. Sadly, even within the Church there are still many people, among the faithful who misunderstood the meaning of sainthood, and conflating it with idolatry, which resulted in the so-called popular devotions and faith among the people becoming corrupted with the worship and adoration of the saints instead of a proper veneration. Not only that, but those same people end up depending on the saints and hoping that the saints would solve all of their issues and problems, and that by praying to them everything they were troubled with would magically and immediately be solved.

That is why we have to correct our wrong or mistaken understanding and knowledge about the saints, should we have any of them. And we should also encourage ourselves on this Solemnity of All Saints, that each one of us will no longer be idle and be ignorant in the living of our faith. Instead, we should be more active and involved in being true and devout Christians starting this very moment, being inspired by the many examples of our holy predecessors, the saints and blesseds we have among the Church Triumphant. We as the Church Militant are reminded that we are still facing the trials, struggles and challenges that can prevent us and lead us astray from reaching the path towards God and His salvation. We cannot let the temptations of worldly glory and fame to make us abandon these struggles, and as long as we keep our focus on the Lord and strengthened by the courage and examples of His saints, we surely can find a way to live worthily of God.

May the Lord continue to strengthen and guide us in all of our lives, and may He, through His saints, constantly inspire and encourage us that we too may be holy just as those saints had led holy and worthy lives. May God be with us always and may He bless us all in our every good works and endeavours. All the Holy Saints of God, holy men and women who have glorified the Lord by your lives, all of you who are now with God in Heaven, pray for us sinners! Pray for the sake of all your brethren still living and struggling in this world who are in dire need of God’s mercy, love and strength. Amen.

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Saturday, 1 November 2025 : Solemnity of All Saints (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 5 : 1-12a

At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and His disciples gathered around Him. Then He spoke and began to teach them : 

“Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn; they shall be comforted. Fortunate are the gentle; they shall possess the land.”

“Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with pure hearts, for they shall see God.”

“Fortunate are those who work for peace; they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are My followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God.”

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Saturday, 1 November 2025 : Solemnity of All Saints (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

1 John 3 : 1-3

See what singular love the Father has for us : we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Beloved, we are God’s children, and what we shall be has not, yet, been shown. Yet, when He appears in His glory, we know, that we shall be like Him, for, then, we shall see Him as He is. All who have such a hope, try to be pure, as He is pure.

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Saturday, 1 November 2025 : Solemnity of All Saints (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 23 : 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

The earth and its fullness belong to YHVH, the world and all that dwell in it. He has founded it upon the ocean and set it firmly upon the waters.

Who will ascend the mountain of YHVH? Who will stand in His holy place? Those with clean hands and pure heart, who desire not what is vain.

They will receive blessings from YHVH, a reward from God, their Saviour. Such are the people who seek Him, who seek the face of Jacob’s God.

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Saturday, 1 November 2025 : Solemnity of All Saints (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Revelations 7 : 2-4, 9-14

I saw another Angel, ascending from the sunrise, carrying the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice, to the four Angels empowered to harm the earth and the sea, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.”

Then, I heard the number of those marked with the seal : a hundred and forty-four thousand, from all the tribes of the people of Israel. After this, I saw a great crowd, impossible to count, from every nation, race, people and tongue, standing before the Throne, and the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands, and they cried out with a loud voice, “Who saves, but our God, Who sits on the Throne, and the Lamb?”

All the Angels were around the Throne, the elders and the four living creatures; they, then, bowed before the Throne, with their faces to the ground, to worship God. They said, “Amen, Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen!”

At that moment, one of the elders spoke up, and said to me, “Who are these people clothed in white, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, it is you who know this.” The elder replied, “They, are those who have come out of the great persecution, they have washed, and made their clothes white, in the Blood of the Lamb.”