The Feast of All Souls

Today we celebrate the feast of All Souls--those women and men who have returned to their eternal home before us. For many of us, that means that we have said good-bye to our grandparents, parents, some of our siblings, Aunts and Uncles, some of our cousins, nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews. All have been "brought to life" in Christ Jesus, we are told in the entrance antiphon of today's liturgy.  The first reading, Wisdom 3:1-9, reminds us that the "souls of the just [our loved ones] are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.....[T]hey are in peace.....[C]hastised a little, they... [are] 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;... the Lord...[is] their King forever."

We do not know the day nor the hour that you and I will be born into eternal life nor do we know the circumstances of our death. God knows! And God will be at our side when we die. God will come to us at that moment and be the light in the darkness of our death. God will take us by the hand and guide us through death's door into eternity, saying to us:  "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Mt. 25:34)!