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November 02, 2014
The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
Homily
The Word of God: Wisdom 3:1-9; Psalm 23:1, 3A, 3B-4 5, 6; Romans 5:5-11; John 6:37-40
Brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus came down from Heaven to give eternal life to
those who believe in Him; and on this Holy altar He gives us, his Body and Blood --the Bread
of life. Whoever believes in him, Jesus says, even if he dies, will live eternally in the presence
of God.
On this weekend the Liturgy marks two particular celebrations: “The Solemnity of all
Saints,” and “The Commemoration of all Souls.” The Saints that we celebrated yesterday are
not those that we well know like Saint Francis of Assisi or Saint Augustine, or Saint Peter and
Saint John, each one of them has his own feast day. The Solemnity of all Saint is for those
unknown men and women who lived giving witness to the Gospel, and die in the peace of
Christ. These saints are also now in Heaven rejoicing in the presence of God.
The Souls for whom we celebrate this Liturgy are “All those who die in God’s grace
and friendship, but still they are imperfectly purified. They are indeed assured of their eternal
salvation; but after death they must undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness
necessary to enter the joys of heaven;” Because whosoever comes into God’s presence must be
perfectly pure in the strictest sense.” “The eyes of the Lord, prophet Habakkuk says, are too
pure to behold evil.” “The Church gives the name of Purgatory to the final purification of the
soul of the chosen ones. This purification of the souls is entirely different from the punishment
of the damned.” (CCC 1030-1031)
The idea of being in purgatory in some people causes fear of the sufferings of this
purification; in some others it causes doubt of being taken up to the Glory of God; in some
others purgatory causes hope to see God as He is, as Saint Paul says; and in some others…
well there are some who do not even want to hear bout purgatory. But purgatory causes in
most people is that wondering about the time that the final purification of the soul last, or how
severe the sufferings of soul are in purgatory.
First of all, Purgatory is not a place or time of punishment that we can think of in terms
of human measurements. Purgatory is a condition or process of temporal purification for those
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who, departing this life in God’s grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not
fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions. At the Council of Florence (in 1031) and
the Council of Trent (in 1563) the fathers of the Church declared that, “The Catholic Church,
instructed by the Holy Spirit, has, from the Sacred Scripture and the ancient tradition, taught
that there is a purgatory, --yes, there is purgatory-- and that the souls therein are helped by the
prayers of the faithful, and especially by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar.”
Many have the idea of fire in purgatory to punish the souls, and therefore they are afraid
of purgatory. But flames and fire, however, was a common symbol of purification and
cleansing in the Holy Bible. The First Reading, for example, tells us that the Lord God proves
the just ones through fire, and finding them worthy “He takes them to himself.” In Old
Testament times, fire was also a symbol of the presence of God. It was in the Burning Bush,
for example, that the Lord God talked to Mosses. And fire is frequently associated with the
Holy Spirit, particularly on his coming upon the Apostle at Pentecost.
So, if there is fire in purgatory, as the fathers of the Church argue, this is a cleansing
and purifying fire; purifying fire in terms of God’s love, says Pope Benedict XVI. Purgatory,
says the Pope, is a transforming burning moment of the soul into God’s love; because
whosoever comes into God’s presence must be perfectly pure; because of the eyes of the Lord
God are too pure to see an impure soul.
Now, how painful is this purification? The Fathers of the Church and several saints
agree that the sufferings in purgatory cannot be compared with any of the sufferings we might
experience on earth. To the question, are the sufferings of the soul in purgatory more severe?
The answer is yes, they are more severe; because these are the sufferings of the soul. In Saint
Mathew’s Gospel Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body but cannot
touch your soul.” Nothing and no one on earth can even touch your soul, except yourself with
your sins. In purgatory, however you are just soul, there is no body. So the sufferings touch the
soul. But in fact, there is only one suffering; but this one means everything, everything that the
souls desire and long for, but they do not yet have: God. The pain of the souls is to be
temporally separated from the One who created it, and created it for himself; the One who is
the object of its longing: God. In purgatory the only desire of the souls is to be in the presence
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of God. What else can the soul desire? At this point remember the words of Saint Augustine,
“Our heart is restless until it rests in You, oh Lord.” Until then the soul greatly suffers.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “The souls in purgatory are indeed assured
of their eternal salvation.” Some people refer to the soul in purgatory as “The Holy Souls,”
because they cannot longer sin. So that assurance of salvation is already a great joy for the
souls; but it is precisely the cause of their suffering for not yet having that salvation. The
conciliar fathers said that the souls in purgatory can be helped by the prayers of the faithful,
and especially by the Holy Eucharist offered to God so that they may be taken up into the
Glory of Heaven.
In Old Testament times, according to the Book of Maccabees, Judas, the commander of
the Israelite army sent twelve thousand drachmas of silver to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices for
the sins of the dead. Judas believed that those who died with godliness, had great grace laid up
for them. Tertullian, one of the Fathers of the Church in the II century, advises a widow to
pray for the soul of her husband, begging repose for him and participation in the resurrection
of Christ. Tertullian also commands that widow to make oblations for her husband on the
anniversary of his death, and charges her with infidelity if she neglects to succor his soul. And
Saint John Chrysostom reminds us of the sacrifices of Job saying, “If Job’s sons were purified
by their father’s sacrifice, why should we doubt that our offerings for the dead would bring
them same consolation?
Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus said that the sufferings in purgatory are avoidable for
those souls who totally surrender themselves to God. For example, Most Blessed Virgin Mary,
who, at the annunciation of God’s plan of salvation by the Angel, said, “Ecce ancilla Domini,
fiat mihi secundum Verbum tuum” --Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me
according to your word.” And from that very moment, Mary consecrated totally herself to the
Mystery of her Son, the Son of God. And because of Mary’s faith and faithfulness to the
Mystery of Christ Jesus, her Son, She was taken up, Body and Soul, into the joys of Heaven;
without passing through purgatory.
Because of the lives of our faithful departed are not even close to the life of Mary Most
Holy, as Saint John Chrysostom recommends, let us not hesitate to help those who have died,
and to offer our prayers for the salvation of their souls.