The writer George Elliot once stated that:

“Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them.”

I think it is fair to say that we may not need a particular day or month to bring our deceased loved ones to mind and yet praying for the dead during November – the month of Holy Souls – is so much more than just remembering, it is an act of love and faith.

The Church sets aside this month, beginning with All Saints and All Souls Days, to remember all the faithful departed, a practice rooted in the belief in the communion of Saints, the spiritual union of all believers, on earth, in purgatory and in Heaven.

Praying for the dead is also for Catholics a spiritual work of mercy as well as an act of love offered for them. It acknowledges our belief in purgatory, a state of final purification for those who die in God’s grace but are not yet perfectly cleansed. Our presence and our prayers, especially at Mass, assist souls on this journey towards the ultimate Christian vision of seeing God face to face where there is complete happiness and lasting peace. Of course, our prayer for the dead is also a reminder of our own mortality. As we pray for those gone before us, we are humbled and sometimes haunted by the realisation that our time on earth is short and to examine our priorities.

Last December Pope Leo encouraged Catholics to reflect upon the reality of death because above all he reminded those listening “It teaches us to choose what we really want to make of our existence.”

So, this November, let us embrace this life affirming tradition, a noble tradition, offering our prayers as a gift of love to all our brothers and sisters awaiting the fullness of God’s presence.

Fr Andrew