BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL HAS SHARED THIS MESSAGE FOR THE MONTH OF ALL SOULS
Beginning with the Solemn Feast of All Saints (Friday, November 1) —- a holy day of obligation —- and the Commemoration of All Souls (Saturday, November 2), the entire month of November has long been dedicated to the faithful departed, “those who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace" (Eucharistic Prayer 1). The “sign of faith” is that “indelible mark” that the Catholic Church teaches comes with Baptism. St. Teresa of Calcutta once reflected “during this whole month we give them extra love and care by praying to them and for them.”
In the Catholic Church, this liturgical tradition has its origin in the prayers and remembrances of Catholic communities in the early Middle Ages (6th - 10th centuries). The idea, however, is more ancient, found in the Old Testament “it is, therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins (2 Maccabees 12: 46).” The Church celebrates the “saints” whom it believes are the “Church Triumphant,” dwelling with God in eternity. The “Church Penitent” are the souls of the baptized who have died, awaiting their passage into eternal life in heaven in purgatory. The “Church Militant” are those within the Catholic Church anticipating their death on earth, their judgment before God and their transition to eternity.
Read more HERE. THE CHANCERY OFFICES IN LAWRENCEVILLE are closed for All Saints Day. Normal business hours resume, Monday, Nov. 4.