All Souls

"On this Holy Mountain ..."  The Book of Wisdom offers us a vision of a place with God, on his Holy Mountain, in which the love and mercy of God will destroy death and sinfulness.  The invitation given to us by God is to dwell in a place of light, happiness, and peace, forever.  This is the promise that is given to us by God throughout the sacred scriptures.  God maintain and sustains us throughout our lives. 

Writer Rainer Maria Rilke writes that because we live in a world surrounded by artificial light, that we have forgotten how to be comfortable with being in darkness.  There is a wisdom and lesson to be learned from the darkness which surrounds us.  It pushes us to contemplate mortality and death.  Long ago we had wakes in our homes.  Today the moments of death and dying are sterile and clean. 

The mystics who understood and struggled with darkness, came to realize the immensity of God's nature.  More so many of our beliefs have become almost like idols, and our call is to surrender our attachments so as to grow into a deeper relationship with God.

Our ancestors in faith struggled with death and came to understand, and believe that even in the midst of sadness and grief comes the brightness of God's love.  Our faith in the Paschal mystery, that is the passion, death, and resurrection, of Jesus Christ, gives us the courage to release of grip on the things we think we know, and enter into the realm of faith, trust, and hope.  Our God is the living God who desires salvation and peace for all of creation.  At funerals today we speak eloquently about uncles Zeke's love of fishing, while forgetting to talk about the saving death of Jesus Christ.

Baptism and Confirmation unites us into a community here on earth, but also gives us communion with our brothers and sisters who have gone on before us from this life.  Just as we treated each other well in this life, we maintain our connection to each other as member of Christ's Body, and pray for our friends in Christ who have died.  We believe that there is this process which we call Purgatory, by which we are made fully ready to live with God forever.  There is this final orientation to God, whereas we come into the presence of God's glory. 

We continually pray for those who have died and entrust them to God.  There is a literal handing over to God the souls of our beloved.  We believe and trust in the mercy and love of God.  The Gospels, especially St. John, indicates that Gos makes us ready to share in this glory.  The cross and resurrection already unite us to God Through Jesus, but we are continually filled up with what is lacking in our lives.

Today is a special day to declare God's faithfulness, and call to mind our family and friends who have died.  Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them.