November

November is a month to pray for the faithful departed and contemplate the body of Christ and the life of the world to come.

Throughout the month of November, parishioners are invited to  bring photos of your deceased loved ones to place on the table of the Narthex at each campus. You may also sign their names in the Book of Remembrance. We will pray for the repose of their souls throughout the month of November. 

Please remember to retrieve your photos on November 14-15th. 

Prayer for the Dead, Explained!

It may seem strange to pray for someone who is already dead and who, according to our earthly reckoning of time, has already undergone judgment. But God is not subject to the constrictions of time as we understand them. Our prayers for the dead are, like our prayers for the living, an expression of charity and the unity that exists between all members of the Body of Christ.

Prayer for the dead is a practice which not only predates Catholicism but predates Jesus Christ, as we see in the Second Book of Maccabees (2 Maccabees 12:42-45).

“By virtue of the ‘communion of saints,’ the Church commends the dead to God’s mercy and offers her prayers, especially the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist, on their behalf,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1055).

The most common Catholic prayer for the dead is as follows: “Eternal rest grant unto them, o Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.”

All Souls

Question:

November is called the month of All Souls. More recently, it has been called the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. Can you tell us more about this feast and the remembrances of this month?

Answer:

November 2^nd, the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, dovetails with November 1^st, the feast of All Saints. The saints, our models of Christian living, are one with God in heaven. All the faithful departed are those who have died with hope and trust in a loving God who calls us to greater growth and development, even beyond death. This growth and development occurs in a state of being that we have traditionally called purgatory.While the Western Church has emphasized the cleansing and purifying nature of purgatory, the Eastern Orthodox Church has emphasized the growth and development aspect of it. Today, belief in purgatory allows one who has died in Christ to continue growing and developing before meeting God face to face. God continually invites communion with these loved ones, but some feel the need to continue growing and developing before entering into full communion with God.These November feasts vividly remind us of the rich reality known as the communion of saints. This belief stresses the strong affirmation that the church is always one in Christ. Death does not sever any of the bonds that unite us in Christ. That is why it is a fitting practice to pray for the dead and to ask them to pray for us. Just as we do that for each other when we are alive, so, too, do we continue that bond and concern for each other even beyond death.

Blessing for All Souls 

Dear Lord,

Bless those who have gone before us. 

We entrust their precious souls to Your merciful care.

Those departed are deeply missed and dearly loved.

Be with them as they journey to eternity. Amen.

Prayer for Our Deceased

Dear Lord,

Comfort us in our grief as we mourn

those no longer with us on earth.

Free those in purgatory quickly,

and guide us in Your will,

so that one day we may all be united

with You, for eternity.

Amen.