Homily for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)

Today, we remember those we have known and loved who have gone before us in death. The entire month of November is a time for us to remember our dead .in a special way.

As Christians, our remembering of those who have died is always done in the context of faith and prayer. Praying to God for our beloved deceased is one of the ways we consciously and spiritually experience our abiding communion with them in God. We believe that they are with God and that God is also with us in this life. It is that shared connection with the Lord that keeps us in communion with our loved ones who have died.

In praying for our beloved deceased, we ask God to bring them to the fullness of life. We also pray in thanksgiving for the gift of their earthly lives and the many ways God blessed us through them.

Today, we entrust our beloved deceased to God. As “God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us,” (Romans 5:5) we pray they will experience that love fully in God's kingdom of everlasting love and peace.