Word to the Wise
Tuesday, November 2, 2021 - Nov. 2 - The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
[[3 options]; [13 options]; [12 options],739]"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." [John]
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2021 ALL SOULS' DAY
[Wisdom 3:1-9 Romans 5:5-11 OR Romans 6:3-9; John 6:37-40]
"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." [John]
When I was in early grade school, my mother, who was a university professor, would enroll myself and a younger brother in the summer school for kids at the university where she taught. Part of the program was learning to swim at the "natatorium" (a university word for a swimming gym). It always puzzled me why they would make us go through a shower before we could get into the pool. Later on this procedure suggested itself to me as an image for purgatory! My recollection of All Souls' Day back tehnthe was not particularly joyful with black vestments and mournful "Requiem aeternam." I still hear references to the POOR souls in purgatory. Priests were authorized to celebrate three Masses on that day to help get as many souls out of purgatory as possible!! It was like a "reduction in sentence" program.
It was when I became a pastor in San Antonio and saw how All Souls' Day was celebrated in a Latino culture that a happier idea was offered. Families would spend the day at the cemetery on the Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead). Flowers were everywhere and picnics were set up on gravesites! Favorite beverages were poured out or special toys or other mementos displayed.
One may celebrate All Souls' Day as a Day of Bereavement for loved ones who have died and take Jesus at his word, namely, those who believe in him will have eternal life. The medieval visions of a gruesome purgatory should be left to history. The amount of "time" one has to spend in that shower before getting into the pool may depend on how dirty we are to begin with, but the pool will be there on the other side. That's a happy thought. The Lord is determined to keep us from getting lost in the shower! AMEN
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