On ‘All Souls Day’ We Remember
Those Who Have Gone Before Us
By Saying a Prayer for Our Dearly Departed
Image Courtesy: CRS@Twitter
(Franciscan Media) The Church has encouraged prayers for those who have passed away before us from the earliest of times as an act of charity.
“If we had no care for the dead,
we would not be in the habit of praying for them.”
–St. Augustine
Yet pre-Christian rites for the deceased retained such a strong hold on the superstitious imaginations, that a liturgical commemoration was not observed until the early Middle-Ages, when monastic communities began to mark an annual day of prayer for their departed members.
In the middle of the 11th century, St. Odilo Abbot of France Cluny, decreed that all Cluniac Monasteries offer special prayers and sing for ‘Office for the Dead’ on the 02 November the day after the Solemnity of All Saints — This custom spread from Cluny and was finally adopted throughout the Church.
The theological underpinning of today’s Feast, is the acknowledgement of human frailty. Since few people achieve perfection in life but rather go to their graves still scarred with traces of sinfulness, some period of purification seems necessary before a soul comes face-to-face with God. — The Council of Trent affirmed this purgatory state and insisted that the prayers of the living can speed the process of purification.
Superstition easily clung to the observance. Medieval popular belief held that the souls in purgatory could appear on this day in the for of Witches, toads or will-o’-the-wisps (a phosphorescent light seen hovering or floating at night over marshy ground) graveside food offerings would supposedly ease the rest of the dead.
Observances of a more religious nature have survived. These include: Public processions or private visits to cemeteries, the decorating of graves with flowers, lights and candles. — Today Feast of ‘All Souls Day’ is observed with great fervor in Mexico.
Candles Light Up a Cemetery in Commemoration
of All the Faithful Departed on ‘All Souls Day’
Related: For Today’s Most Holy Scripture Readings and More, Visit: -USCCB