The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

Additional Information about the Feast of All Souls

“An Angel Frees the Souls of Purgatory”
by Lodovico Carracci, 1610

 
Readings for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Note: The readings listed below are those suggested by the USCCB. The Ordo for Dioceses of the United States also offers #1011-1016 (Masses for the Dead). The Lectionary for Mass, #668, provides numerous other options for the celebrant/homilist. This post contains links to all the texts and commentaries offered to aid the homilist or student.
 
Reading 1: Wisdom 3:1-9

Options: Wisdom 4:7-14
Or: Isaiah 25:6a, 7-9
 
The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the LORD shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.
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Commentary on Wis 3:1-9
 
This passage, while frequently used on the feasts of martyrs, can be understood as an early description of the process of achieving a place in the heavenly kingdom by all those who went before us in faith. The flow of this description provides a good picture of the purification of all the faithful that takes place in the transition from life, through purification in purgatory (“chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed”), to new life with the Father.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
 
Options: Psalm 25:6 and 7b, 17-18, 20-21
Or: Psalm 27:1, 4, 7 and 8b and 9a, 13-14
 
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
 
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
 
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
 
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
 
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
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Commentary on Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
 
Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar songs in the entire psalter. “God's loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Psalm 23:1-4) and a host's generosity toward a guest (Psalm 23:5-6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Isaiah 40:11; 49:10; Jeremiah 31:10).”[4] While the theme of shepherd is mentioned in the first strophe, the psalm really speaks to the peace given to those who follow the Lord and place their trust in Him, even into the “dark valley.”
 
The reference in the third strophe above: “'You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes' occurs in an exodus context in Psalm 78:19. As my enemies watch: my enemies see that I am God's friend and guest. Oil: a perfumed ointment made from olive oil, used especially at banquets (Psalm 104:15; Matthew 26:7; Luke 7:37, 46; John 12:2).”[5]
 
CCC: Ps 23:5 1293
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Reading II: Romans 5:5-11
 
Options: Rom 6:3-9
Or: Romans 5:17-21
Or: Romans 8:14-23
Or: Romans 8:31b-35, 37-39
Or: Romans 14:7-9, 10c-12
Or: 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Or: 1 Corinthians 15:51-57
Or: 2 Corinthians 4:14-5:1
Or: 2 Corinthians 5:1, 6-10
Or: Philippians 3:20-21
Or: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Or: 2 Timothy 2:8-13
 
Brothers and sisters:
Hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person
one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his Blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled,
will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.
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Commentary on Rom 5:5-11
 
St. Paul speaks of the hope of Christians who have been made holy, sanctified, “justified” by their faith in Christ Jesus. This faith was “poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” [in baptism]. (This link between Christ and the Holy Spirit begins the apostle’s trinitarian theology.)
 
Justification was not through some merit of theirs (ours), but through God’s infinite mercy. The demonstration of this mercy was Christ’s sacrifice for those who called him “enemy.” While still burdened by sin (the Law of Moses defined sin, and all were sinners because of this), Jesus became the sacrifice of atonement. His blood reconciled us to the Father by removing the sin that kept us apart.
 
CCC: Rom 5:3-5 2734, 2847; Rom 5:5 368, 733, 1820, 1964, 2658; Rom 5:8 604; Rom 5:10 603, 1825
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Gospel: John 6:37-40
 
Options: Matthew 5:1-12a
Or: Matthew 11:25-30
Or: Matthew 25:31-46
Or: Luke 7:11-17
Or: Luke 23:44-46, 50, 52-53; 24:1-6a
Or: Luke 24:13-16, 28-35
Or: John 5:24-29
Or: John 11:17-27
Or: John 11:32-45
Or: John 14:1-6
 
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
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.”
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Commentary on Jn 6:37-40
 
This Gospel passage is part of the “Bread of Life” section from St. John’s Gospel. Jesus first clearly identifies himself as having come from God, his Father, and as heir to the kingdom of heaven, with “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me.” The Lord tells those gathered that no one will be rejected who asks to follow the Son of God. He goes further, telling the crowds that anyone who believes in him “may have eternal life.” For the faithful, this is an invitation to participate in eternal life.
 
We note the humility with which the Lord makes this offer (“I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me”). “St. Augustine, commenting on vv. 37 and 38, praises the humility of Jesus, the perfect model for the humility of the Christian: Jesus chose not to do His own will but that of the Father who sent Him: 'Humbly am I come, to teach humility am I come, as the master of humility am I come; he who comes to Me is incorporated in Me; he who comes to Me, becomes humble; he who cleaves to Me will be humble, for he does not his will but God's' ("In Ioann. Evang.", 25, 15 and 16).”[6]
 
CCC: Jn 6 1338; Jn 6:38 606, 2824; Jn 6:39-40 989, 1001; Jn 6:40 161, 994
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Reflection:
 
The feast we celebrated yesterday, “The Solemnity of All Saints,” coupled with today’s great celebration, the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls), has been embraced and twisted by the secular societies of our continent.  It is similar in some ways to what has been done to Christmas and Easter.  Christmas is now more about materialism than faith, and Easter more about candy and eggs than the Risen Savior. But because this season’s focus is on those gone before us in faith, the rather dark secular culture that has emerged over the years is trying to make the current theme of Halloween into a much darker time.  It has become a blend of the “day of the dead,” in some of the Hispanic cultures, and the twisted Voodoo superstitions of the Caribbean. I’ll borrow some research from popular Catholic columnist, Mark Shea:
 
"Actually, Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, in spite of what is said by those who enjoy bashing religion, most especially the Catholic Faith, has very Catholic roots. The All Saints celebration came about because back in the early Church in Italy there were numerous martyred saints venerated regionally, where they had the greatest impact.  To allow for unified veneration of these numerous examples of heroic virtue, Pope Gregory III (741) established the feast to be celebrated on May 13^th.  It was later moved it to November 1^st, to coincide with the dedication day of All Saints Chapel at St. Peter’s in Rome. (You may have heard this was somehow a plot of the Church to supersede or suppress pagan rituals around the same time in Ireland, but as you can see, at that time there were very few Druids in Ireland, and Italy is a long way off.)  It was Pope Gregory IV many years later (841) that extended the feast to the whole Church.
 
"So where did the feast we celebrate today come from? Well, about a century and a half later, St. Odilo, the abbot of the monastery at Cluny (in southern France) added a celebration of All Souls on November 2^nd. Because St. Odilo had great influence over the faithful of the time, the celebration quickly spread.  As a result, we now have back-to-back feasts for those in heaven (the saints) and those on the way to becoming saints, those in purgatory.
 
"What about those in hell?  Around the same time a tradition sprang up in Ireland (not supported by the Church) that to appease the souls in hell they would go out on All Hallows Eve and bang pots and pans together, not much more developed until the 14^th and 15^th centuries when the “Black Death” took a tremendous toll of lives.  At that time Feast of All Souls became a huge celebration and the danse macabre, or “dance of death,” developed featuring the devil leading a chain of people to the tomb.  The dance was accompanied by the French dressing in costumes.
 
"Fast forward to the 17^th century. We find the French and their traditional costumes and the Irish mollifying the dead.  It all came together.  Around this time, we also have a great deal of anti-Catholic sentiment in the colonies.  Much of this revolved around Guy Fawkes, an English Catholic who allegedly tried to blow up Parliament in 1605.  The celebration by the Protestants was on November 5^th, and revelers would show up at Catholic houses demanding cakes for their celebration, so “trick or treat” was likely a very real threat.  When we mash all of those traditions together over the years, we come up with Halloween, a holiday inspired by All Saints and All Souls, not suppressing the Druids or the Wiccan feast of Samhain."
 
Now we come to the serious topic of the real meaning of All Souls. Today is the day we celebrate God’s promise of salvation through the forgiveness of sins and recall all those who have gone before us in faith. We believe that our family members and friends who professed faith in God and his Son have, or one day will achieve, a place in the heavenly kingdom. We pray that their passage from this life to the next will not be too difficult.
 
The promise is made in St. John’s Gospel “everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” That promise is amplified by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans, as he defines the opening of that heavenly gate as our baptism into Christ’s family. In that baptism, we not only embrace the life of Christ, but his death. And in dying with him, we will rise with him.
 
This is our great hope. But those who have gone before us need our prayers, because we know a few things, also from Scripture. First, we know that God’s time is not our time. We also know that, in order to come before him, we must be completely purified. It is stated in the reading from the book of Wisdom:
 
“For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.” (Wisdom 3:4)
 
We see in this verse the process necessary before we come to that heavenly place. This is stated clearly in our understanding of that passage as defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
 
“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.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1030)  [7]
 
Some time back while reflecting upon this process of purification, I offered this short poem – Imagining Purgatory.
 
Pax
 
In other years on this date: Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
 

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[1] The picture is “An Angel Frees the Souls of Purgatory” by Lodovico Carracci, 1610.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] NAB footnote on Psalm 23.
[5] Ibid.
[6] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 592.
[7] English Translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, © 1994 United States Catholic Conference Inc., Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1030.