All Souls (2026-11-02)

[VERSION 04] Remembered by Name, Held by Christ

All Souls Day — November 2, 2026

1. Remembering Our Loved Ones by Name

Today, on All Souls Day, and throughout the month of November, we remember the names of those who have died: our parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, children, relatives, friends, and fellow parishioners.

We remember them not simply because they were part of our lives, but because we continue to love them. And because we love them, we pray for them.

Each person has a particular story, a particular life, and a particular relationship with us.

But our Christian hope rests on something greater than our ability to remember those who have died.

It rests on the promise of Jesus Christ, who tells us in today's Gospel:

"I will not reject anyone who comes to me."

And he promises:

"I will raise him on the last day."

2. Learning to Mourn with Faith

Many years ago, when I was about 29 years old, a very dear friend of our family died. His name was Jerry.

Jerry was someone my parents, my siblings, and I had known for many years. He was something of a father figure to me.

And when he died, his death shook me up personally.

I knew, of course, that people die. I knew that someday my parents would die. I knew that I would die.

But knowing something intellectually and confronting it personally are two different things.

Jerry's death forced me to recognize the reality of my own mortality and the mortality of the people I loved.

And I remember something else about his funeral.

My parents, my aunt, and my uncle showed me something about what it means to mourn as people of faith.

There was sadness, certainly. There were tears. But there was also laughter, gratitude, and the sharing of memories.

We could grieve Jerry's death and still give thanks to God for his life.

And as we were leaving the church after his funeral, my mother's brother, my uncle, said something that has stayed with me all these years.

He said, "That's how I want to be buried."

The funeral had been beautiful and deeply moving, and my uncle wanted something like that for himself.

But at 29 years old, I thought that was a strange thing to say. I wasn't thinking about my own death. But apparently my uncle was.

My uncle understood something that I was only beginning to understand.

He was preparing for his own death through his prayer, his faith, and his reception of the sacraments.

He understood that death is part of our human journey, but that death is not the end of our journey with God.

3. Purgatory: Preparing Us to Love Completely

And that brings us back to what we are doing here today.

On All Souls Day, we do more than remember the people who have died.

We pray for them.

We pray because we believe in God's mercy. And part of God's mercy is the purification that prepares us for the fullness of eternal life.

This is what the Catholic Church teaches us about Purgatory.

Think about a husband and wife who genuinely love one another. Their love is real, but that doesn't mean their love is perfect.

Perhaps one spouse is impatient, selfish, or always wants to have the last word.

That person may love deeply, but there is still something that needs to change in order to love more completely.

Throughout our lives, God calls us to grow in that kind of love: to become less selfish, more forgiving, more generous, and more willing to put others before ourselves.

And if we die in God's friendship but are not yet fully purified, we trust that God, in his mercy, completes that purification.

That's what we mean by Purgatory.

It is not a second chance to choose God after death. It is God's final purification of those who are already destined for heaven, preparing them for the fullness of life and love with him.

And so we pray for our loved ones who have died. We ask God to forgive their sins, purify them, and bring them into the fullness of eternal life.

Our love for them does not end with death. Neither do our prayers.

And we do this because of what Jesus promises in today's Gospel.

He tells us that he will not lose those whom the Father has given him.

And he promises:

"I will raise him on the last day."

Jesus does not promise that we will never experience grief or that death will never cause us pain.

Jesus himself wept at the death of his friend Lazarus.

But Jesus promises us something greater:

Death does not have the final word.

And today, as we remember our loved ones, we can also prepare for our own death, not by living in fear, but by living faithfully today through prayer, through the sacraments, and through loving God and one another.

We remember our loved ones because we love them. We pray for them because we believe in God's mercy. And we entrust them to Jesus Christ because he has promised not to lose those whom the Father has given him.

The promise of Jesus remains:

"I will raise him on the last day."

Amen.