Month of remembrance

By Orla Wright - Pastoral Support, Community Life & Worship

When I grew up in Ireland, folklore and faith were intertwined in many celebrations.
Our ancestors divided the year into two seasons. Bealtaine, celebrated in May, marks the end of darkness and the arrival of light and new beginnings. Samhain (November) marks the end of the harvest season when darkness returns and life winds down to death.
On Oiche Samhain (the eve of Samhain) the veil between the living and the dead was believed to be at its thinnest, allowing the spirits of the dead to walk among us. This belief evolved into our modern Christian ‘All Hallows Eve’ or Halloween, the eve of All Saints, all the holy ones.

As Catholics, we celebrate All Saints’ Day on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2. It is a time to remember with love, gratitude, and perhaps some sadness, all those who have gone before us.

November, the month of remembrance, invites us to contemplate our own mortality and the promise of eternal life. The communion of saints reassures us that death is not the conclusion of our story but a transition into a new chapter of existence.

Through our shared faith in Christ and the hope of resurrection, we remain connected to our loved ones even after death.
This month presents a sacred opportunity to deepen our awareness of the spiritual bonds that unite us.

As we honour the saints, pray for the souls in purgatory, and reflect on our personal journey, we are reminded of the profound hope central to the Catholic faith: we are all called to share in the eternal joy of heaven, united with God and one another in perfect love.

In this time of remembrance, let us draw strength from the communion of saints and take comfort in knowing we are never truly alone. We remain connected with those who have gone before us as we all journey together toward the promise of eternal life.

Though the loss of a loved one brings grief, we as Catholics hold onto the hope of eternal life. We pray for our departed loved ones, offering our prayers to assist them on their journey to heaven. While we strive to follow Christ, we acknowledge that we often fall short. This recognition is what differentiates All Souls’ Day from All Saints’ Day. The saints are those who, having lived lives of devotion to Christ, are believed to have entered heaven and the communion of saints immediately upon death.

Those who die in a state of grace but are still in need of purification spend time in purgatory, where our prayers can assist them in attaining the holiness required to enter the communion of saints.

At our baptism, when our parents brought us to the church, they were asked, ‘what do you ask of God’s Church?’. Their answer was likely baptism, faith or eternal life.

As we begin to look towards Christmas celebrations, we may become overwhelmed with grief and sadness for the family members who have gone before us.

Feelings of festivity and hope can be replaced with sorrow and isolation. Let us take this month of remembrance to acknowledge any pain of separation through death that we feel and remind ourselves that death does not have the last word; as the veil between life and death thins, so too does the veil separating us from the communion of saints.

As Christians, through our baptism, we are all promised eternal life and we join with the communion of saints each time we partake in the Eucharistic meal.