In November We Remember.

The Church devotes the month of November to prayer for our loved ones beginning with All Souls Day on November 2^nd. Often overshadowed by the two days preceding it, Halloween (Oct. 31st) & All Saints Day (Nov 1^st), All Souls Day is a solemn celebration commemorating all of those who have gone before us! Indeed, the Church encourages us during the month of November to take time to pause, remember and pray for all our loved ones.   

Many people pay a visit to a cemetery with a flower or a nightlight. ‘It is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be freed from their sins’. In prayer we are in God’s presence and we believe we are in some way in communion with our loved ones.

No matter how we may wish to avoid talking about death, we don’t like being reminded of our mortality. Woody Allen famously quipped, “I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” It strikes a chord because that is how many of us deal with death. We joke about it while keeping our real thoughts and fears to ourselves.

Some of our deceased relatives we got to say goodbye to, while others left us before any goodbyes could be exchanged. By remembering our deceased in prayer or by visiting their resting place is an attempt at saying we haven’t forgotten them and that they will always be a special part of our lives.  

May all our loved ones who have died rest in peace!