You can find all the readings for this Sunday at: http://www.usccb.org/nab/110208.shtml
The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
My mother died just over a month ago. She was almost ninety-three. She lived a long life, that by some people’s standards, was a hard life. Yes, she suffered much physical pain and she lived through multiple human tragedies. But that is not what I will remember her for.
Her utter, complete trust in God is her legacy. It was expressed in so many ways that I am sure will only be understood with the passing of time. She had a level of understanding and care for the poor that knew no bounds. Perhaps it was her living through the Great Depression which gave her some of that insight. Whatever it was, it did not make her bitter; it merely gave her a point of reference to live her life by.
Our Scripture readings on this Feast of All Souls calls us to trust and be faithful. They call us to accept the world’s beatings and defeats as minor. They speak of the hope which is ours, to get us through the hard stuff, to be united with Christ’s resurrection through our Baptism. And that we who have died with Christ will also live with him.
She was a great mom. She provided a smile and encouragement when it seemed the world could provide only scorn. She baked a chocolate cake that could take most of the day’s cares away. But most of all, she had a tear for our sorrows, a tear for our joys and a tear of just being so proud of us that you could feel that God was on your side, no matter what.
This Feast gives us the opportunity to give thanks to God for those who have profoundly touched our lives through their example of faithfulness. It bids us to be strengthened in our own faithfulness. And it urges us to help faith grow in others. There may be sadness in remembering the dead, but the sadness is really a way of paying tribute to the persons who have helped us realize God among us and within us. THANKS, MOM.
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