Dear Saints,
As I’m sure you already guessed, it’s not for nothing that I use the greeting above. You are saints, and you are called to be saints!
This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, which allows us to reflect a little bit on that reality. Following what I understand to be Saint Paul’s understanding, saints are members of a Christian community, forming the Body of Christ, and living totally for God’s plan and purposes.
So this weekend, we honor the saints as those who have gone before us bringing the love of God to life; we count them as mentors and role models in the faith, who persevered in love of God and neighbor as self all the way through and all the way to the end; and we lean on them as powerful intercessors for us in the cause of God.
If you don’t have favorite saints, then look around for one. A few of my favorites are Isaac Jogues, Philip Neri, Francis de Sales, Therese of Lisieux, John Henry Newman, and Mother Teresa. You can probably learn a lot about someone by the saints the keep company with!
On Monday we observe the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed. It’s especially important, given that we celebrate All Saints the day prior, to keep in mind the souls in purgatory - the people who have gone before us in faith, who are supported by our prayers as they undergo their final purification.
Along these lines, the Vatican has extended opportunities to receive plenary indulgences for the faithful departed throughout the month of November.
A Catholic who wishes to obtain a plenary indulgence must have full detachment from sin and also fulfill the ordinary conditions of an indulgence, which are sacramental confession, reception of the Eucharist, and prayer for the intentions of the pope. Sacramental confession and reception of the Eucharist can occur within a week of the indulgenced act.
Now on any day in the month of November, visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead (provided the conditions above are met) attains a full indulgence. Likewise, those who piously visit a church or oratory and recite the Our Father and the Creed can receive a plenary indulgence.
The Vatican also said that, because of the health emergency, the elderly, the sick, and others who cannot leave the house for serious reasons can participate in the indulgence from home by reciting prayers for the deceased before an image of Jesus or the Virgin Mary.
V. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. R. And let the perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Christ’s Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ