All Souls Day - A Final Pilgrimage

For Christ, while we were still helpless,

died at the appointed time for the ungodly.

Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,

though perhaps for a good pperson one

might even find courage to die.

But God proves his love for us

in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

The day will come when each of us will take our last breath and say goodbye to everything that is familiar to us. All of the things that we considered important, all of the property we owned, all of the money we had in the bank will remain behind and only the things that we can carry in our heart will follow us.  This is the truth for all men, not just Christians, or Jews, or Muslims, or Buddhists, or even atheists.   Our lot as human beings is the same.  Death pares down the differences between us and makes us all the same. 

But, death does not mean an end, it means only a change. We change mortality for immortality.  We acquire a new dwelling place where we will live forever.  The choices are three, and we ourselves will sentence our souls to what we will know in that awful moment our fate should be.  Heaven for those who are completely turned to God.  Purgatory for those of us who need to release attachments to sin and to purify in us what needs to be purified.  Sadly, for some, hell will be their place of eternal sojourn, forever blaming ourselves for hating God and turning fully away from Him. 

Has someone you've known and loved passed away during this past year?  This holy day was instituted for them.  Take a moment before you retire for the evening and pray for the souls of the dear departed.  Pray especially for the souls that died recently and suddenly who have found themselves unprepared for eternity.  Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.  They will remember those who prayed for them, even once, and will be forever grateful. 

May the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.   Amen.