Tonight, in our Evening Prayer, we will read the names of every sister in our community who has gone to glory. It is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed also known as All Souls Day. It’s a day set aside by the Church to pray for all those who have gone before us. We pray for them because we believe in the infinite mercy of God.
All souls… That’s every created soul since the beginning of the world! Those who died before Jesus Christ walked the earth and those born after the salvific moment of his resurrection are held in the prayers of the universal Church. The implied theology is powerful. Our prayers for the dead are effective. How? In what way? We can’t quite say because the portal to eternal life is not yet open to us. But the mere fact that we have the capacity to intercede for one another – even after death – speaks of the power of love and the expansive heart of our God. In the gospel today the Lord Jesus makes us a promise. “I will not reject anyone who comes to me (John 6:37)…” We must take him at his word and trust that our loved ones are safe in his arms.
Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki
All souls… That’s every created soul since the beginning of the world! Those who died before Jesus Christ walked the earth and those born after the salvific moment of his resurrection are held in the prayers of the universal Church. The implied theology is powerful. Our prayers for the dead are effective. How? In what way? We can’t quite say because the portal to eternal life is not yet open to us. But the mere fact that we have the capacity to intercede for one another – even after death – speaks of the power of love and the expansive heart of our God. In the gospel today the Lord Jesus makes us a promise. “I will not reject anyone who comes to me (John 6:37)…” We must take him at his word and trust that our loved ones are safe in his arms.
Blessings and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki
