Sunday:       Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
Date:         November 2, 2003
Year:         B
The readings: [Is. 25:6-9; 1 Cor. 15:12-26; (Mk. 8:27-35 or Jn. 1:1-5, 9-14)]
The message:  Praying for our departed brothers and sisters.
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  1250

Click here for the Index of all the Homilies

Yesterday, we piously celebrated the solemnity of "All Saints" day; today, we are celebrating the "Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed," this feast also being known as "All Souls' Day."

Since both of these feasts concern the departed, some of you may ask yourselves, "What is the difference between these two feasts?" On All Saints' Day, we commemorate those who are in Heaven, those who are presently enjoying the beatified vision of God in their eternal glory. The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed is based on the theological basis that some of those who have departed from this world, they have not been perfectly cleansed from venial sin, or have not fully atoned for their past transgression.

As such, being temporary deprived of the beatified vision until such time as they have been completely sanctified in Christ, the departed souls are to remain in Purgatory. To assist these departed souls so that they may be freed from Purgatory, we as faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, can help the Faithful Departed through our prayers, alm deeds and most important of all, through the sacrifice of the Holy Mass.

As members and living stones of the Mystical Body of Christ, we as saints on earth, alongside with the saints in Purgatory and those in Heaven, await the glorious day when our Redeemer shall return on earth, at which time the resurrection of the physical bodies shall take place.

Each is resurrected in his own order. Christ was the first fruit to be raised from the dead. Then at His coming, those who belong to Him. For Christ is the first of many to follow. As death came upon the world through Adam, eternal life comes upon the saints through the Lord Jesus.

Today's First Reading from the Book of Isaiah [Is. 25:6-9] was prophetic in nature. It promised the coming of the Body of Christ. It promised the coming of the establishment of the invisible Kingdom of God in Heaven that is made visible through the Holy Catholic Church that has been instituted on earth through Jesus Christ. Today, we can look back and see the fulfillment of that promise.

Many of the words that we heard during the First Reading were symbolic in nature. In ancient time, the meaning of such words could have been taken literally because the spiritual knowledge that we now enjoy had not been revealed in those days. For example, it was stated in the first verse, "On the mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well- aged wines strained clear." Looking back, we now know that the Kingdom of God was not established on a mountain, but rather in Heaven. And we now understand that the great Feast of well-aged wines and rich foods is symbolic of the celebration of the Holy Mass.

In the second biblical verse, it was stated, "The Lord God will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever." Indeed, through His glorious Resurrection, the Lord Jesus has swallowed up death forever. In those days, the Lord God possessed only one people, the Jewish nation. There was no blessed hope for the other nations. At the same time, there was a heavenly shroud of secrecy regarding the Lord's intended plan for the Gentiles. As we now know, through Saint Paul, God's plan of salvation through fatherly love and mercy was extended to all the nations of the world, not just the Jewish nation.

During today's Second Reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians, [1 Cor. 15:12-26] in summary, we heard that Christ, through His glorious Resurrection, became the blessed hope of all Christians. If Jesus had not resurrected as we have been told from generation to generation, billions of Christian believers have their faith in a false blessed hope. But this is not the case. The glorious Resurrection of the Lord Jesus was witnessed by over 500 individuals according to the New Testament.

Through Adam, death entered the world; through Christ, death was eternally conquered. Through Adam, individuals lost their glory as "children of God." Through Christ, individuals were provided with the opportunity to be adopted as "children of God" through the new birth, the Sacrament of Baptism. Through the disobedience of Adam, Satan became the prince of the world; through Christ, God was given His rightful place as the eternal King, the King of the world, the King of kings.

When the fullness of time will arrive, on the day when the fullness of the divinely chosen number has been achieved, at the moment when all the saints of the past, present and future have been gathered in Heaven, then Jesus shall hand over His Kingdom to our heavenly Father. At that moment shall be fulfilled the last of the worldly prophecies concerning the end of the world. Then shall come Judgment Day.

During today's Reading from the Gospel of Mark, [Mk. 8:27-35] the Word of God revealed a number of facts to us:

1. That the people in the days of Jesus were not really sure as to who Jesus was. The beliefs of the many varied greatly, from Jesus being the reincarnation of John the Baptism, or a prophet, possibly Elijah and even the promised Messiah.

2. That Jesus prophesied His rejection by His own people, His suffering that would follow, His death and His glorious Resurrection.

3. That when someone opposes God's progressive Divine Plan by setting his mind on human things, or worldly ways, he is speaking as a child of Satan. He is allowing Satan to influence his thoughts, his words and his actions.

4. That when someone alleges that he wants to follow Jesus, he must deny himself, take his cross and follow the ways of the Lord. Those who seek the worldly life shall lose their eternal life; those who sacrifice the worldly life in order to serve the Lord, he will gain eternal glory in the Kingdom of God.

In order to maintain our status quo as Christians, we must persevere in our living faith with Jesus, through Jesus and by Jesus. We must remain loyal to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We must obey the teachings of the Church. We must receive the Sacraments of the Church. We must love our brothers and sisters as we love Jesus. In all our thoughts, words and actions, we must shine in humility, obedience and servitude. Through such, it will be witnessed by others that we are truly children of the Lord. In the end, because we have served Jesus, God the Father will honour us.

This week, the Catholic Church commands us to remember the faithful departed. In obedience, we do so, praying that when we have departed from this world, others will remember us, pray for us, make sacrifices on our behalf, and most important of all, have Holy Masses celebrated on our behalf so we may quickly inherit the our blessed hope, the eternal beatified vision of God. But for now, let us remember the faithful departed through pious devotions that hopefully will be echoed on our behalf when the time has come. May the grace of God shine on all of you this week.

* * * * * * * * * *

The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

* * * * * * * * * *

First Reading...

"On the mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. The Lord God will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever.

Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the lord has spoken.

It will be said on that day, 'Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation." [Is. 25:6-9]

* * * * * * * * * *

Second Reading...

"Beloved, if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, the our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain

We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ - whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised.

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order; Christ the first fruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ.

Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after Christ has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." [1 Cor. 15:12-26]

* * * * * * * * * *

Gospel Reading...

"Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that I am' And they answered him, 'John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.'

Jesus asked them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Peter answered him, 'You are the Messiah,' And Jesus sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, 'Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.'

Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their live will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it." [Mk. 6:27-35]

OR..

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.

He came to what was his own, and his won people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's son, full of grace and truth." [Jn. 1:1-5, 9-14]

* * * * * * * * * *