{"id":1482,"date":"2014-11-02T12:35:50","date_gmt":"2014-11-02T17:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=1482"},"modified":"2014-11-02T12:35:50","modified_gmt":"2014-11-02T17:35:50","slug":"all-souls-day-homily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/all-souls-day-homily\/","title":{"rendered":"All Souls’ Day – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"

All Souls\u2019 Day<\/a>
\nWisdom 3:1-9
\nRomans 6:3-9
\nJohn 6:37-40
\nNovember 2, 2014
\nYesterday morning we celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints, venerating those who have already passed into the Kingdom of Heaven.<\/p>\n

Today we celebrate the Commemoration of the All the Faithful Departed, commonly known as All Souls\u2019 Day.<\/p>\n

Why celebrate All Souls\u2019 Day?\u00a0 What about our Catholic Faith are we recognizing today?<\/p>\n

As people of our faith, we seek God and to know God fully in the Kingdom of Heaven.\u00a0 God invites each and every person to enter into His Kingdom.\u00a0 This does not mean everyone necessarily gets into Heaven.<\/p>\n

Jesus says, \u201cI will not reject anyone who comes to me.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 He also says \u201cthat everyone who sees the Son and believes in him<\/strong> may have eternal life.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 It is not enough to just know about Jesus.\u00a0 We must come to him, we must believe in him.\u00a0 Coming to Jesus, believing in Jesus, means living in accord with what he has taught us.<\/p>\n

Not everyone does.\u00a0 It takes effort and it takes time.\u00a0 Paul writes, \u201cFor if <\/strong>we have grown into union with him\u2026 we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

When we do follow Jesus, earthly death is not a final end.\u00a0 It is not an affliction<\/em> to be avoided nor is it utter destruction.<\/em>\u00a0 When we believe in Jesus, earthly death is a transformative moment leading us to the heavenly kingdom for the souls of the just are in the hand of God<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This is our faith but still why \u201cAll Souls\u2019 Day?\u201d<\/p>\n

We try to follow Jesus but the unfortunate reality is that we don\u2019t always succeed.\u00a0 We sin and that divides from God.\u00a0 We need to be forgiven.\u00a0 We receive God\u2019s forgiveness in this world through confession and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.<\/p>\n

Our sins are truly forgiven in the sacrament but the reality remains that our sins are part of who we are.\u00a0 I think that is part of why it can be difficult to feel forgiven, we still remember what we did and how it affected other people.<\/p>\n

Sin affects who we are and that needs to be addressed after our earthly death but before we can enter into Heaven.\u00a0 That\u2019s why we pray for our deceased family and friends.\u00a0 That\u2019s our theology of offering Mass intentions for the deceased.\u00a0 While anniversaries and birthdays can be good days to offer Mass intentions, theologically it is not about the anniversary but praying for their time in Purgatory.<\/p>\n

Yes, Purgatory still exists.\u00a0 We don\u2019t talk about it much but we haven\u2019t gotten rid of it.<\/p>\n

What is Purgatory?\u00a0 Everyone who is in Purgatory has already received judgment.\u00a0 If you make it to Purgatory, you will make it to Heaven but first we need some refinement of the effects of our sins.<\/p>\n

Our prayers do not change people\u2019s sins.\u00a0 Rather, our prayers are to ease time in Purgatory and make it quick.\u00a0 I say \u201cease\u201d their time.\u00a0 Does that mean Purgatory is painful or difficult?\u00a0 Here let me first say we don\u2019t really know exactly what Purgatory is like.\u00a0 It is described in the writings of some of the saints as a cleansing fire.<\/p>\n

Fire?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t Hell where we think of fire?\u00a0 Purgatory and Hell use different images of fire.\u00a0 In Hell, fire is painful and destructive.\u00a0 Purgatory is a very different sense of fire, its goal to purge out the bad.<\/p>\n

Think of the fire of Hell like a wildfire that is out of control and destroys everything in its path.\u00a0 Think of the fire of Purgatory as a controlled burn to get rid of the bad undergrowth so the good may thrive.<\/p>\n

Purgatory is all about getting rid of what is bad inside us.\u00a0 God very much wants us to be in Heaven but to be in Heaven we need to be perfect and the reality is that we aren\u2019t perfect.\u00a0 We know this and God knows this.\u00a0 That is why God has given us the gift of Purgatory.\u00a0 Yes, I said gift<\/em>.\u00a0 It is a gift because God chooses to give it to us to make it possible for us to be in Heaven and without a doubt Heaven is a gift.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the need for Purgatory, today on All Souls\u2019 Day we can pray specifically for our own deceased family and friends but today especially we pray for all the souls in Purgatory, especially those that have no one to pray for them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All Souls\u2019 Day Wisdom 3:1-9 Romans 6:3-9 John 6:37-40 November 2, 2014 Yesterday morning we celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints, venerating those who have already passed into the Kingdom of Heaven. Today we celebrate the Commemoration of the All the Faithful Departed, commonly known as All Souls\u2019 Day. Why celebrate All Souls\u2019 Day?\u00a0 What …<\/p>\n

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