The month of November is known as the month of the Holy Souls. It is a time in the Church for remembering in particular those who have died on earth and for praying that those we have loved who have died on earth may be sped to the side of the risen Christ in heaven.
One idea I have adopted this year is to make a simple calendar list, so that on each day of November I consciously call to mind a different person, or group of connected people, who I have known and who have died on earth. I think about them and the influence that they have had on my life, and I pray for them.
The Gospels tell us about God in Jesus’ words: ‘Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him’ (Luke 20:38). I have consciously written about death on earth, for faith in the resurrection gives us confidence that those who have died on earth continue to live in a new sense, journeying to or living in heaven where one day we will, once again, live with them.
Eternal rest grant unto those who have died on earth O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
