Pope Francis prayed at the graves of children and of miscarried babies on the feast of All Souls before concelebrating Mass with several hundred mourners.
"You … must be perfect," Jesus insisted, "as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48). Without such perfect holiness, Scripture says, "no one will see the Lord (in heaven)" (Heb 12:14), because "nothing unclean shall enter it" (Rv 21:27). But how many of us will have become perfect by the time we die, making us ready for heaven?
As the sun broke through the morning sky after a torrential downpour in Rome, Pope Francis was wheeled past dozens of gravestones that marked the final resting place of members of the military forces who died during and immediately after World War II.
As Christians await their death and the final judgment of God, the Gospel tells them what they must do to be welcomed into heaven: love others because God is love, Pope Francis said.
Due to restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, Pope Francis will celebrate the feast of All Souls with a "strictly private" Mass at a Vatican cemetery.
Plenary or full indulgences traditionally obtained during the first week of November for the souls of the faithful in purgatory can now be gained throughout the entire month of November, the Vatican said.
If you were to walk past my parish on your dark and damp walk on the evening of Nov. 2 in years past, you would have heard the strains of Mozart's Requiem drifting outward from the bronze doors of St. James Cathedral, Seattle.
The month of November begins with the Solemnity of All Saints, where we remember all God’s holy ones who were victors in the great contest of life and loved God with their whole heart, soul, mind and strength. These heroes, our brothers and sisters, are now experiencing in heaven the perfect joy for which our hearts long.
The early November feasts of All Saints and All Souls are reminders that God's church exists both on earth and in heaven and that all the faithful, living and dead, can and should pray for each other, a top Vatican official wrote.
The Mass for the feast of All Souls is "realistic, concrete" in calling Catholics to remember the people and events of their past, to consider how they live today and to hope for eternal life with God and their loved ones who preceded them, Pope Francis said.
