All Souls ~ Commemoration of Our Beloved Dead

 



The Liturgical Year—All Saints and All Souls

All the saints are celebrated each year on November 1;  however, most Christian traditions of honoring the dead are linked with All Souls Day on November 2.  On this day, we remember our own loved ones who have gone before us in faith.  These tributes extend beyond the day itself and last through the month of November, the Month of All Souls.  The days are now at their darkest; crops have been harvested; leaves have changed colors and are falling to the ground; while the readings of the liturgy direct our thoughts to the end times, when Christ will return in his full glory restoring the fullness of salvation to all creation.  What a perfect time to remember our beloved dead.

 

 

 

All Souls Remembrance 

 

For I am convinced

that neither death, nor life,

nor angels, nor rulers,

nor things present, nor things to come,

nor powers, nor height, nor depth,

nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us

from the love of God

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans:8:38-39

 

Prayer for the Dead

In your hands, O Lord,
we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters.
In this life you embraced them with your tender love;
deliver them now from every evil
and bid them eternal rest.

The old order has passed away:
welcome them into paradise,
where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain,
but fullness of peace and joy
with your Son and the Holy Spirit
forever and ever.
R/. Amen.

 

 

green path in woods

 

Give Them Light and Peace

God, who gives life to all who believe,
you dwell in unapproachable light,
yet your mercy leads those who hope in you
to a place in your presence before your throne.
Grant light and peace to our brothers and sisters
who have gone before us
marked with the sign of faith
and who have trusted in your never-ending love.
Bring the faithful departed into your kingdom
of light, happiness, and peace.
Give them a secure dwelling place
in the mansion of your holiness,
and let them shine with the light of your glory.
Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Amen.

 

 

 

 

O gather up the brokenness and bring it to me now / The fragrance of those promises you never dared to vow / The splinters that you carry, the cross you left behind / Come healing of the body / Come healing of the mind / And let the heavens hear it, the penitential hymn / Come healing of the spirit / Come healing of the limb

Behold the gates of mercy in the arbitrary space / And none of us deserving, the cruelty or the grace / O solitude of longing where love has been confined /  Come healing of the body / Come healing of the mind / O see the darkness yielding, that tore the light apart / Come healing of the reason / Come healing of the heart

O troubled dust concealing, an undivided love / The Heart beneath is teaching to the broken Heart above / O let the heavens falter and let the earth proclaim:  Come healing of the Altar / Come healing of the Name

O longing of the branches to lift the little bud / O longing of the arteries to purify the blood / And let the heavens hear it, the penitential hymn / Come healing of the spirit / Come healing of the limb / O let the heavens hear it, the penitential hymn / Come healing of the spirit / Come healing of the limb

 

 

We remember them…

 

Bell Tower in Fall

In the rising of the sun and in its going down, we remember them.

In the beginning of the year and when it ends, we remember them.

In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn, we remember them.

In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter, we remember them.

In the opening of buds and in the rebirth of spring, we remember them.

In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer, we remember them.

When we are weary and in need of strength, we remember them.

When we are lost and sick at heart, we remember them.

When we have joys we yearn to share, we remember them.

So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us, as we remember them.

 

 

 

 

 Hymns of Glory for All Souls Day

 

 

 

Prayer for Our Beloved Dead

Almighty God,

it is our certain faith that your Son,

who died on the cross,

was raised from the dead,

the first fruits of all who have fallen asleep.

Grant that through this mystery

your servants

who have gone to their rest in Christ,

may share in the joy of his resurrection.

I ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

  

 

 

 

 Earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.
-St. Thomas More

 

 

 

 

 

All you holy men and women, pray for us.

 

  A litany for the month of November


 

"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 up on the last day."

- Jn 6:39-40 

 

 

 Our beloved deceased from November 2020 through October 2021

 

Of Blessed Memory

 

 

 

All Souls waves

   

Angelo Tata

Celia Juras

Kimberly Gallagher

James Podzikowski

Ronald Frazier

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those who have died are still with us

and we are still connected with them.

 

 

Marilyn Serapiglia

Violeta Pacatan

Bradford Baldwin

Salud Williams

Sue Kennedy

 

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled

 

 

“The right to weep must not be denied. Even Jesus was deeply moved and profoundly troubled by the bereavement of a family he loved. We can, instead, draw from the simple and powerful witness of many families who have known how to grasp, in the difficult passage of death, also the safe passage offered by the Lord, crucified and risen, with his irrevocable promise of the resurrection of the dead. The work of God's love is stronger than the work of death. We must seek to be 'accomplices' to that love, with our faith. … Death was defeated by Jesus on the cross. Jesus will restore all of us to our families.”                                                                                                                                    Pope Francis

 

 

 

Robert Proffitt

Euna Feschnuk

Bernard Laframboise

Michael Lennon

Susanne Smith

 

 

All Souls Steps

 

Roberta Wilder

Patrick Curtin

Dennis Markey

Angie Caratelli

Randy Wilson

 

Those whom we love and lose

are no longer where they were before.  

They are now wherever we are.  

St. John Chrysostum

  

 

Rebecca Lesser

Andrew Lesser

Giuseppina Ferrari

Jean Duplessis

Sr. Jane Zoltek

 

 

There Is A Place

  

 

 rocks and water             

 

I am the resurrection.  

Whoever believes in Me shall never die. 

 

Richard Gadoua

Frederick Kendall

Dee Becker

Michael Kollenberg

Jerry Utych

 

 

 

 

   

 All Souls Sand

  

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, 

 

and let  perpetual light shine upon them.

  

May the souls of the faithful departed,  

 

through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

 

 

 

 

My Spirit is Still Alive

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond that glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autum rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft star that shines at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there; I did not die.

 

 A song for a time of loss

 

 

LIFE GOES ON...

ABOUT THE SADNESS OF THE LAST GOOD BYE...
AND THE JOY IN KNOWING THAT THE END IS THE BEGINNING.

LIFE GOES ON 

Here's the fated hour
This unwelcomed time
Where there's no pretending
Where we draw a line
Facing a truth that from now on 
Defines your life's journey...and mine

One last look for the moment
I already miss your grace
I see your physical features
But it's an empty face
If ever I wondered now I know for sure 
That you are in a better place

It weighs my heart, fills my head
Trust me -- This is taking so much more 
Than I could ever imagine
It rips me up, breaks me down
I'm torn apart 
But I'm holding to the faith we share
And I am still believing
Life goes on

When this goodbye's over
How do I go home 
Ladened with my memories 
And a heart like stone
I need the Lord to carry me
God knows I won't make it on my own

It weighs my heart, fills my head
Truly this is so much harder 
Than I could have ever imagined
Why're you looking for me here, 
At what remains, you seem to say 
It's almost like you're standing next to me
Whispering to me that

Life goes on
It weighs my heart, fills my head
Trust me -- This is taking so much more 
Than I could ever imagine
Why're you looking for me here, 
At what remains, you seem to say 
It's almost like you're standing next to me
Whispering to me that
Life goes on

 



Music & Lyrics: Judy Bailey
© Dyba Music

 

 

De Profundis

Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice.
Let Your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication.
If You, O Lord, mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?
But with You is forgiveness, that You may be revered.
I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in His word.
My soul waits for the Lord more than sentinels wait for the dawn.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the Lord,
For with the Lord is kindness and with Him is plenteous redemption;
And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.

 

 

 

Sometimes our hearts may be filled with fear – fear of now, and fear of our future.

At times it may even be hard to say what we are afraid of, but we know that we are afraid.

God knows our fears, and God promises to listen to our deepest concerns,

to provide for all our needs, and to stay close to us when we are afraid.

 

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (Isaiah 43:1-3)

 

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

 

"Don't be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch, and you will see the wonderful way the Lord will rescue you today." (Exodus 14:13)

 

"Don't be afraid, do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you. (2 Chronicles 20:17)

 

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (Matthew 6:34)

 

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."(2 Timothy 1-7)

 

"I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." (Psalms 34:4)

 

Prayer

Jesus, you and I have both grieved. As you trusted your Father, may I learn to trust. As you experienced Resurrection may I experience resurrection. And when I grieve, be a part of me with your strength and compassion.