Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Nov. 2 each year we celebrate the Feast of All Souls. It is a day when in a special way we pray for the dead, for those who have gone before us in faith. The tradition of praying for the dead can be found in the Old Testament book of Maccabees. Judas Maccabeus once sent money to Jerusalem to pay for a sin offering for some soldiers he had buried that day.

Our Catechism says; “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” This final purification is what we call Purgatory.

Pope Benedict says; “Purgatory strips off from one person what is unbearable and from another the inability to bear certain things, so that in each of them a pure heart is revealed, and we can see that we all belong together in one enormous symphony of being."

We remember our dead and pray for them to aid them in this process of purification. Traditionally, the month of November is a particular time to remember and pray for our loved ones who have died. At the back of the church you will see a folder where you may write the names of your relatives and friends who have passed. These brothers and sisters will be remembered in our Masses during this month.

God bless,
Fr. Tony