For All Souls Day…
… so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:13
November is the month our Church invites us to pray for departed souls. St. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians talks not only about grieving for our beloved dead, but the necessity of grounding our grief in the hope given to us through Christ. This timely season of praying for souls relies on the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and the promise of his coming again. And while we know ‘neither the day nor the hour’ (Mt. 25:13), we look to Christ who suffered and died for us—and rose again. Jesus is our true hope in this world and in the next.
This month-long hope-filled prayer of the Church is a powerful consolation. Let us join our prayers to it with vigor.
Lord, have mercy on the souls for the faithful departed. May eternal light shine upon them and may the hope of the resurrection be our consolation.
