DEATH: A Pascal way that leads to life eternal

John 6: 37-40

Yesterday, we celebrated a splendid feast – the Solemnity of All Saints – a day during the Church year on which we celebrate all those holy men and women who have embraced the life of Jesus as their own and now experience the fullness of God’s presence in the eternity of His heaven. 

Today, we celebrate a similar day, but a bit softer and silent, a day that I would suggest has significant meaning for most of us – the Feast of All Souls – a day on which we remember all the holy souls, all of those dear people who have been woven into our lives – who have passed from this world to the next and are still journeying to God. A day to reflect more deeply on death and eternal life.

            Tradition testifies that from the beginning Christians have prayed for the dead. The custom of remembering the faithful departed goes back to the early days of the church, when their names were posted in the church so they could be remembered. As early as the sixth century, monasteries held special days of remembrance for the dead from their community and by the ninth century they were commemorating all the faithful departed.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, citing Pope St Gregory the Great, explains: "All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven." 

Today we remember all the faithful departed; we put faces and names on those we honor and for whom we pray.  And by that very fact and its connection to our lives, our celebration can reminder us of old sad memories.  It is never easy to let go of those whom we love.  There is no right time or reason to let go off.  And because of that reality, I think it is essential that we see in this day the heart and substance of our faith as Christians.

Today’s Gospel offers some insight and consolation as we commemorate all the faithful departed. Jesus says: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” Jesus’ words are consoling words because they are real words.  He uses a very simple, consoling and understandable language for us on this day. He says: I came down from heaven so that I should not lose anything of what my Father gave me. This is the major theme in John’s gospel right from the beginning.

In John’s Gospel, the basic perspective concerning Jesus and his mission is that the Word made flesh is sent by the Father in to the world to give us life and to save that which was lost. I think that the commemoration of all the faithful departed is a commemoration of fullness of life. And the question here is what “fullness of life” means? Jesus says: For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the son and believes in him may have eternal life. In this verse, Jesus clearly meant something more than mere physical existence.

The life Jesus refers to is not only the physical life; it is rather being connected with God, the author of life. Real life is a relationship with the living God, a relationship of trust, love and obedience. And no one can enter that kind of life and relationship except through Jesus. To those who accept him as Lord and savior, he offers hope to share in his resurrection; he gives the promise to raise them up to immortal life when he comes again on the last day. That is what we are celebrating; that is all Souls day: a commemoration of hope and promise. We are looking at the reality of death not as the end of life, but as the Pascal way that leads to life eternal. Enlightened by faith, we have the insurance that our life though fragile and vulnerable is not limited to earthly existence but destined to continue in the company of the saints. May God help us and may he strengthen our faith and hope in his promise.

Prayers of the faithful

Celebrant

Every human being is condemned to death, but by the grace of Christ’s death and resurrection our seeming condemnation becomes a blessing for all eternity. We pray that we may be prepared for that infinite beatitude.

Reader

1.      For the Church and especially for her leaders, that they may help us to grow in faith and love, and to see death as our birth in the beautiful kingdom of heaven, let us pray to the Lord.

2.      For all who are experiencing the solitary and single act of death, that they may be fortified by the love of Christ, the help of the Church and the concern of friends, let us pray to the Lord.

3.      For our dying brothers and sisters, that by faith their anxiety about death may be transformed into happy expectation, let us pray to the Lord.

4.      For family members and friends who have died, that they may take part in the heavenly banquet where God himself will wait on them, let us pray to the Lord.

5.      For ourselves, that we may see death as a way to fullness of life and prepare ourselves with serenity, confidence and trust, let us pray to the Lord.

Celebrant

God our Father, welcome our departed brothers and sisters into your bosom as you welcomed Lazarus. Welcome us also in our time, though we may be poor in faith, hope and love. We ask this through Christ your son, who died that we might live and is now sited at your right hand for ever and ever.