November 2, 2026
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
(All Souls)
Lectionary: 668
The following are a selection of the readings that may be
chosen for this day. The following are a selection of the readings that may be
chosen for this day. Please see Lectionary number 668 for the full selection of
approved options.
Reading I
The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there
is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no
evil, for you are with me.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no
evil, for you are with me.
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no
evil, for you are with me.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no
evil, for you are with me.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
or:
R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no
evil, for you are with me.
Reading II
Brothers and sisters:
Hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
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 person
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.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his Blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled,
will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Or:
Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.
For if we have grown into union with him through a death
like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him,
so that our sinful body might be done away with,
that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come, you who are blessed by my Father;
inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110226.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah
25:6,7-9; Romans 5:5-11; Matthew 11:25-30
On All Souls Day, the church commemorates the death and
memory of all the faithful departed, especially in light of the feast of All
Saints celebrated the day before. In many parishes, the entire month of
November, or at least a significant portion of it, is dedicated to praying for the
dead who now rest in the merciful hands of God. The practice of praying for the
dead recognizes that, while in faith we trust in an afterlife, we
also do not quite know how it all fits together. Today’s readings provide
both a glimpse of what awaits all the faithful departed, as well as a trusted
anchor for us who remain in anticipation.
A Place
Isaiah’s chapter 25 has been called a ‘mini-apocalypse’. The vision interrupts
the prophet’s oracles against the nations, powers, and armies surrounding
Israel in order to focus on a particular mountain settlement as the eternal
home of God’s people. ‘Apocalypse’ in this instance carries the opposite effect
of any doomsday scenario that the word connotes within popular imagination.
There are elements of terror in apocalyptic biblical literature, but in this
chapter it refers to a revelation about life after death. That concept, ‘life
after death,’ is already shrouded for the ancient Hebrew imagination, and
Isaiah addresses it rather boldly. There is a shift now in the Book of Isaiah
that does not see the nations as the greatest threat against Israel. Rather,
‘the shroud’ or ‘death’ is identified as the real threat against Israel and all
peoples.
The text here is specific:
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all
peoples a feast of rich food… And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud
that is cast over all peoples… and he will swallow up death forever.
Where is “this mountain”? One might immediately think of
Jerusalem. However, this vision in the previous chapter has already mentioned
Mount Zion (see Is 24:23). This place is an eternal dwelling, away from
political tensions of the nations. Theologically speaking, an eternal dwelling
place can be thought of both as quantity and quality. One person might
emphasize the duration of the afterlife as forever in the concept of time and
space. The text, however, describes this heavenly reality with respect to the
qualities of the place. What kind of setting is this? There is no death. The
closest sense the author provides for the reader is set within the context of a
great feast, a meal with the richest food imaginable.
A feast like this was reserved only for wedding banquets,
for a special religious observance like Passover, or the enthronement of a king
in ancient times. A meal like this, with lavish portions of
“rich food” as Isaiah describes, would be out of reach for
most ancient Israelites. But that’s the point. You can still imagine it while
understanding how rare and special a feast like this might be, especially when
all is provided for by a great Host. Heaven, in Christian terms, is the place
where the will of the Host is fulfilled wholly and comprehensively. Whenever we
capture a sense of God’s will on earth and a feeling that we are living
out the kingdom of God, we are experiencing a glimpse of heaven. As described
in Isaiah’s passage, although it is possible for us to conceive of
eternally dwelling in the afterlife, it is rare to be able to live
out that belief consistently on earth. But we are told to wait in
anticipation for these higher realities to be revealed to us:
It will be said on that day, “See, this is our God; we
have waited for him, so that he might save us.”
A Specific Grace
St Paul eloquently pours out a chain reaction of statements that leads to a
sure hope in God’s love now realized through Jesus’s self-offering. There is no
longer any shame haunting the believer:
Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has
been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
What is this “shame” that Paul mentions? Paul writes with a
Jewish background well aware of the Jewish biblical logic that there is no
justification for the ungodly. There is shame in the death of the unrighteous.
But just ones also die. What about them? Here is where Paul’s theology shines
the brightest. Justification comes through faith,
struggle, weakness—and all these ultimately from and through Christ:
But God proves his love for us in that while we still
were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely, therefore, since we have now
been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of
God.
The “wrath” (i.e. death) deserved no longer applies because
of the efforts of God’s son. This becomes the reconciliation that Paul argues
for, and assures the person of faith to hope in for his or her own life. When
one considers that divine wrath is actually quelled, according to the Apostle,
the scripture brings relief for the person who has passed
away. But even more, there is also a sense of relief for their
loved ones who remain.
An Anchor to Another Anchor
In today’s passage from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus preached a certain mysticism
signaling the burden of everyday life and its problems, while holding up a
spiritual roadmap that leads to rest and peace. The heaviness of life and the
moral challenges we sometimes face are not easy to navigate. Yet, Jesus insists
on a path forward:
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle
and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light.
We all have problems and burdens. Imagine if every person of
faith took on the right problems and courageously carried noble burdens
for the betterment of their souls and the world around them. Imagine if every
Christian held Jesus’ words in the highest esteem:
…my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
The kind of rest that Jesus promises—the kind that
assures you that your faith and life have not been lived out in
vain—indeed gives birth to a lightness for the burdens and losses we carry.
That kind of persistence and existence provides a way to a life well
lived and a final death that has lost its sting.
So Jesus tells us:
Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy
burdens, and I will give you rest.
https://sacredspace.com/commentary/fa1102r/
All Souls Day
LECTIO
Opening Prayer
Spirit of God, come from the four
corners of the earth and breathe on these dead persons so that they may rise again
(Ez 37: 9). Come Holy Spirit, breathe on our minds, hearts and souls so that we
may become a new creation in Christ, firstborn into life eternal. Amen.
Gospel Reading – John 6: 37-39
Jesus said to them, "All that
the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast
out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of
him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose
nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this
is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." Prayerful Silent Time
That the Word of God may enter
into our hearts and enlighten our life.
MEDITATIO
A Key to the Reading
In John’s Gospel, the basic
perspective concerning Jesus and his mission is that the Word made flesh is
sent by the Father into the world to give us life and to save that which was
lost. The world, however, rejects the Word incarnate. The prologue of the
Gospel presents us with this thought (Jn 1: 1-18), which the Evangelist will
gradually elaborate in the Gospel story. The synoptic Gospels also, in their
own way, proclaim the same news. One need only think of the parables of the
lost sheep and the lost drachma (Lk 15: 1-10); or the declaration: I did not
come to call the just, but sinners (Mk 2: 17).
This thought is also found in this
passage: I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of
him who sent (Jn 6: 38). This is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees
the Son and believes in him should have eternal life (Jn 6: 40). The key words
in John’s Gospel are see and believe. To see, implies and automatically means
to believe in the Son sent by the Father. This attitude of faith brings the
believer to possess eternal life. In John’s Gospel, the salvation of the world
is already fulfilled by the first coming of Christ through the incarnation and
the resurrection of the one who allows himself to be lifted up on the cross.
The second coming of Christ on the last day will be a completion of this
mystery of salvation.
Today’s Gospel is taken from the
section that speaks of the mystery of Jesus (Jn 1-12). The text takes us, for
the second time in John’s Gospel, to Galilee, at the time of the Passover:
After this, Jesus went across the sea of Galilee... it was near the Passover,
the feast of the Jews (Jn 6: 1, 4). A great crowd followed him, (Jn 6: 2) and
Jesus seeing the crowd that followed him, multiplies the loaves. The crowd want
to proclaim him king, but Jesus disappears and goes up to the mountain alone
(Jn 6: 15). After a brief pause that allows us to contemplate the Lord walking
on the waters (Jn 6: 16-21), the story continues the next day (Jn 6: 22), and
the crowd goes on waiting for and seeking out Jesus. Then comes the discourse
on the bread of life and Jesus‟ warning to obtain the food that
will last forever (Jn 6: 27). Jesus defines himself as the bread of life and
makes reference to the manna given to the people of God through Moses, as a
figure of the true bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the
world (Jn 6: 30-36). This is the context within which the words of Jesus are
pronounced and that we are using for our Lectio (Jn 6: 37-40). In this context,
too, we come across a new kind of opposition and a new rejection of the
revelation of the Christ as the bread of life (Jn 6: 41-66).
Jesus’ words concerning everyone
who goes to him, echo God’s invitation to takepart in the benefits of the
banquet of the covenant (Is 55: 1-3). Jesus does not reject those who come to
him, rather he gives them eternal life. In fact, his mission is to seek and
save the lost ones (Lk 19: 27). We are reminded of this in the story of the
meeting of Jesus with the Samaritan woman by Jacob’s well (Jn 4: 1-42). Jesus
does not reject the Samaritan woman, but, begins a “pastoral” dialogue with the
woman who comes to the well to draw material water and there finds the man, the
prophet and the Messiah who promises to give her the water of eternal life (Jn
4: 13-15). In our passage we find the same structure: on the one hand the
people seek material bread and on the other Jesus gives them a long spiritual
discourse on the bread of life. The witness of Jesus who eats the bread of
God’s will (Jn 4: 34) echoes the teaching of the Master in this Gospel passage
(Jn 6: 38).
At the last supper, Jesus takes up
this discourse again in chapter 17. It is he who gives eternal life (Jn 17: 2),
preserves and watches over all those whom the Father has given to him. Of these
none is lost except the son of perdition (Jn 17:
12-13).
A Few Questions to Guide Our
Meditation and Practice.
• The Word made
flesh is sent into the world by the Father to give us life, but the world
rejects the incarnate Word. Do I welcome into my life the Divine Word who gives
eternal life? How?
• I came down
from heaven not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me (Jn 6: 38). In
Jesus we see obedience to the will of the Father. Do I internalize this virtue
in my life and live it out daily?
• Anyone who
sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life (Jn 6: 40). Who is
Jesus for me? Do I try to see him with the eyes of faith, listen to his words,
contemplate his way of being? What does eternal life mean for me?
ORATIO
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
he
makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he
restores my soul.
He leads me
in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod
and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou
preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anoints my head
with oil, my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Closing Prayer
O God, who at the table of your
word and of the bread of life nourish us so that we may grow in love, grant
that we may welcome your message into our heart so that we may become yeast and
instruments of salvation in the world. Through Christ our Lord. Amen
CONTEMPLATIO
Contemplation is knowing how to
adhere with one’s mind and heart to the Lord who by his Word transforms us into
new beings who always do his will. “Knowing these things, you will be blessed
if you do them.” (Jn 13: 17)
All Souls
Yesterday we celebrated the feast of All Saints. Today is
the commemoration of All Souls—a commemoration of all the faithful departed.
The Church often speaks of the totality of the baptised as
the Communion of Saints. The word ‘saints’ is used in the scriptural sense of
the New Testament, when it generally refers to baptised members of Christian
communities.
The Communion of Saints is formed of three groups. The first
are those who can properly be called ‘saints’, that is, those who have died and
are now enjoying a face to face relationship with God for all eternity. We
sometimes call that ‘heaven’, but it is less a place than a relationship.
The second group are those who are living on earth at the
present time, and are part of the Pilgrim Church on its way to ultimate union
with God in unending happiness.
The third group are those we are remembering today. They are
those who have died, but are not quite ready to meet God face to face. Most of
us would probably acknowledge that we are far from perfect, and that we still
need to go through some purifying process before entering the eternal presence
of God. What that process is like, it is not for us to speculate.
What we are reminded of today is that those who are already
in the eternal presence of God, and those who are still on pilgrimage on earth
can help the group we call ‘Holy Souls’ to reach the Vision of God sooner,
through our good works and prayers.
And so, although it is a “holy and wholesome thought to pray
for the dead”1,
it is especially appropriate on this day. Naturally, we will remember
especially family members and good friends, but we should also think of those
who may not have anyone to remember them. When our time comes to leave this
world, it is the prayers of those people on whom we will depend.
____________________________________________
- From
2 Macc 12:46, as stated in the Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition Bible. ↩︎
https://sacredspace.com/commentary/f1102s/
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