Homily for All Saints Day
“After this I
had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation,
race, people, and tongue.” Our first
reading from the book of Revelations gives us a description which should uplift
all of us. Today the Church celebrates
the Solemnity of All Saints Day were we gather to celebrate and honor all those
who have entered into their eternal reward.
The Saints,
individuals who lived just like us, experienced things the same ways we have,
serve as examples for us and give us something to which we should aspire. How do we become one of those saints. How can we join that great multitude? The answer is simple...pour out your hears
and trust in the Lord's mercy.
Brothers and
sisters, we are a people that longs to see the face of God may we turn to the
saints, seeking all their intercessions so that we may one day join with them
in God's eternal kingdom.
All Souls Day Homily 2014
“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees
the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the
last day.” It is the desire and will of
God that in the end we will be with Him and join the great multitude of the
Saints whom we honored yesterday.
Yesterday we celebrated the lives of the Saints those who are
experiencing the fullness of God's kingdom.
Today's celebration is geared differently for today we pray for those
who have died that are not quite yet in the fullness of the Lord's presence.
When we
celebrate “All Souls” day we must be careful because this is a truth. There are souls in purgatory. Now purgatory is not a bad place to be. A good way for us to look at purgatory as a
place where we go to be refined to prepare us for where the Lord desires us to
be. Going back to today's first reading
we hear “the souls of the just are in the hand of God.” That comes to us from the book of
Wisdom. Any soul in purgatory is in the
hand of God, yet we have a responsibility to pray for them and in return we ask
them to pray for us. If there is
something you need...pray for a soul in purgatory, for there is no better soul
we can turn to because they want to do all they can to experience what God
desires for them so they will go to bat for us at a drop of the hat. Pray...pray...pray for the souls in
purgatory.
On All Souls
day the priest can choose to wear white as we did for All Saints Day, black or
purple. For All Souls day I tend to lean
towards the black or the purple. Black
represents mourning or a loss. When
death occurs no matter when it comes there is sadness. We must recognize grief and I think one of the
biggest mistakes we make is that we gloss over grief in favor of focusing on
the joy of the Resurrection. Don't get
me wrong we must focus on the joy of the Resurrection for that is where we find
our hope, however we mustn't forget to acknowledge the pain one might be
experiencing because it is perfectly normal.
The other color
is purple. When do you see me wear
purple? Advent, Lent, and whenever I am
in the confessional. When we see purple
we think of the forgiveness of sins.
There is that word again...sin.
It's a reality, we all struggle with it and perhaps we might not be
completely rid of it when the good Lord calls.
I won't say much about it since I tackled it earlier in the homily but
that is why we pray for the dead. The
plenary indulgence is offered for the souls in purgatory which is why I offer
confession regularly, that is why at 12:30pm I will be heading out to visit the
Old St. Pat's/St. Mary's cemetery so that you will have the opportunity to
demonstrate an act of charity an act of love...praying for the dead.
For those who
have died and are in the hand of God today the Lord is their shepherd and they
want to experience the Lord in all His glory, so brothers and sisters, how
about we help them out. Let's pray for
them and ask them to pray for us that we will one day experience it with them.
Homily for the loved ones
Remembrance Service
We gather
here tonight to remember our loved ones…those who have died within the past
year, but also all those who have entered eternal life. Tonight we celebrate this special service on
the commemoration of “All Souls Day.” It
is fitting that on the commemoration of “All Souls” that we gather to honor
those whom have touched our hearts.
As we look
around we are reminded that we are not alone.
Every situation is different…some have lost a parent, grandparent, aunt,
uncle, cousin, or even a child. Yet the common
thread that unites us all and that is we have experienced a loss. Listening to God’s word tonight we find hope…in
tonight’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah we heard that the Lord will
destroy death forever. Death is not an
end, but rather a beginning of a new journey which awaits all of us gathered
here.
The Gospel
comes from John 6th the Bread of Life Discourse. The Lord Jesus said, “Any one eats this bread
will live forever, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Tonight I want to apply this reading to us
gathered here seeking comfort. We come
here in this Church to allow Christ into our hearts. Invite Him in and allow Him to fill our
hearts and minds. As we allow Him into
our hearts may we strive to let Him work in us so that we can comfort one
another with our losses! We can find
comfort in the Lord, but we can also find comfort in one another.
As we
gather tonight I encourage us to share memories of our loved ones. Remember the good times. Keep those memories alive remembering life is
not ended, it is changed! Our loved ones
are not dead in the sense that it is the end.
There is no end, only a new beginning.
Find hope in the Resurrection of Christ…for us as Christians Easter is a
victory. Those in the hand of God are
experiencing a victory. Pray for them
and ask them to say a prayer for us.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual
light shine upon them. May the souls of
all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
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