All Souls Day

Today we observe All Souls Day, when we pray for our loved ones who have entered eternal life. On this day we remember those who are still in purgatory awaiting their entry into paradise and seeking to find eternal rest and peace. As Christians we believe death is not the end, but is a birth into eternal life with God forever, after we are refined and purified in purgatory so we can enter into God's presence and become one with Him. Our prayers aid those in purgatory to be freed from their sins and so the Church has dedicated the month of November to remind us to pray for the dead.

"For if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin." 2 Maccabees 12:44-46 (http://www.usccb.org/bible/)

​Eternal rest grant to him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen!