Dear friends in Christ
Let us all rejoice in the Lord, as we celebrate the feast day in honour of all the Saints, at whose festival the angels rejoice and praise the Son of God.
With these words of the Introit of the Mass, we begin the celebration of All Saints this weekend. We recognise the great diversity of Saints from every age and condition. Our Mother the Church invites us to bring to mind, in a special way, those who have experienced the same trials of life we experience, and yet triumphed over them and so achieved the crown of imperishable life in Heaven. We might think of all those we have known, and those we will never know on earth, who have lived the Christian life heroically. We have all met such heroic characters along the road of our Christian vocation. Perhaps our parents or grandparents or other family members and friends, have shown us how to live the virtues of the Christian life perfectly. We venerate them all on this day, together with those that the Church has officially canonised. It is perhaps consoling to realise that people whom we have known and influenced our lives are now contemplating the face of God. We continue to be united with them through the Communion of Saints, which is the family life of the Church. They assist us from Heaven, and we remember them with joy and ask their intercession. St Teresa of Avila would pray to the Saints in Heaven: O holy ones who knew how to prepare so delightful an inheritance, help us now that you are so near the fount of holiness. Draw water for those of us who are perishing from thirst.
Monday is the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed—All Souls Day. We traditionally place the names of our departed loved-ones under the Altar throughout this month, so that they may be close to the Sacrifice of the Mass and present in our personal prayer. Any offerings made are used for Holy Souls Masses through the year. We could visit the graves of our family members and friends or simply pause at our Memorial Garden where ninety members of the Parish are buried and there offer an Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord…for their souls. Remember that a Plenary Indulgence can be gained at this time under the usual conditions (see elsewhere in this Newsletter)
God bless you all as we make our way as pilgrims of hope towards eternal life!
Msgr Kevin Hale