(Wis 3:1-9; PS 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6; Rom 5:5-11; Jn 6:37-40)
“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.” Wisdom 3: 1-9
Mom. Dad. Baby Catherine. Grandparents on both sides. A childhood friend killed crossing a road. Another falling off a bridge. Others from cancer.
A lot of memorable deaths have occurred in my life. Each of them became a part of me, like a tiny scratch on my heart that aches whenever I think about the loss I felt when they left.
Especially in November … and even more so today, All Souls Day, the special day that always follows All Saints Day on the Liturgical Calendar. Today we remember those souls are no longer trapped in their earthly bodies.
They are not dead … they live. But we still pray for them.
We pray for them, not because we fear they are suffering. Only those who completely, knowingly and willingly reject God are condemned to the suffering of hell. Everyone else is at peace, on a journey toward reconciliation with God in heaven.
It’s a “reconciliation” with God because when we are in our mother’s womb, we are with God. Alive, but not yet drawing our first breath. (You think a baby cries because of the slap of its bottom? I think they cry because they just left the warmth and comfort of God’s embracing presence in the womb.)
That warmth and comfort will return when we draw our final breath here on earth. That is the promise. That is our Christian hope.
To fear death is folly. Many of our saints embraced death. Hastened it to come. But it’s understandable to love life so much – our own lives, the lives of our family, our friends – that we naturally fear the separation that takes place at death. That’s grieving. And it’s not easy.
But as we are reminded on days like today, there is comfort in knowing that as our souls depart, they are on a journey toward heaven. Even those souls in need of purification – which would be just about everyone – are not heading toward some fork in the road where they could go “up” or “down.”
No, the souls of the faithful departed are at peace, even before they are in heaven.
I think of purgatory as a loosely defined period of time in which the soul can gaze into heaven, but not yet join the saints until it has been refined and made new. If there is any sense of suffering, it is only in that they can see heaven, but not yet be there. A suffering of anticipation, if you will.
So why bother praying for these souls? If they are at peace, and already on a one-way train to Jesus, what’s the big deal?
We do so because we love them and we want them to be in heaven with God. Quickly. We don’t want them to have to wait for salvation. As souls with no more free will, they have lost the ability to help themselves along in the journey. Our prayers are needed.
Praying for all souls is also good for us. It can be a vivid reminder that our Christian family extends well beyond our fellow parishioners and our fellow Christians across the land. Our family includes those who have gone to their eternal rest before us – AND – those who are yet to come.
Praying for souls is also reminder of where we are headed in our own lives and our deaths. When you spend a little time pondering the fact that death can come at any time – it could be me or you today – then you start to reflect on what is truly important in life.
That kind of reflection usually makes us a better person as we are reminded that all of the earthly things that seem so important to us – our toys, our trinkets, our unholy passions – are fleeting.
They will fade. They will not be in our luggage when we hop on that train to see Jesus.
What will be in our luggage? The love and prayers of those we leave behind.
And those … we will need for the journey.
