St. Faustina Parish Celebrates All Souls Day
St. Faustina Parish celebrated All Souls Day on Thursday, November 2, with a beautiful Mass that honored all those who were called Home during 2023, all those family and friends who now reside in God’s Heavenly Kingdom, and offered prayers for those Holy Souls who are in the state of Purgatory. The Bilingual Mass included the lighting of the Memorial Wreath, the prayer given St. Gertrude by Jesus, the reciting of the poem, “We Remember Them”, and the Celebration of the Mass. The annual Mass was hosted by the parish’s Bereavement and Consolation Ministry.
To see the names of those we honored at this year’s Mass, please click the button below.
Pope Francis calls All Souls Day, “a day of memory that takes us back to our roots. It is also a day of hope. It reminds us of what we can expect: the hope of encountering the love of the Father.”
The Pope’s reflections focused on three themes: memory, hope, and lights that help us along the road of life. “There is a path we need to follow, and we cannot take the wrong path,” he said. “The Beatitudes, which Jesus taught us, show us the right road to take. To be pure in heart, poor in Spirit – these are the lights that help us not to take the wrong road.”
Praying for the dead is a Christian obligation. In the modern world, when many have come to doubt the Church’s teaching on Purgatory, the need for such prayers has only increased. The Church devotes the month of November to prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
A Prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
Prayer For the Holy Souls in Purgatory given to St. Gertrude from Our Lord, Jesus Christ. He said to her that he would release 1000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extended to living sinners as well.
Eternal Father, I offer you the most precious blood of your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Masses being offered throughout the world this day, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, for those in my home and in my family. Amen
We Remember Them
At the rising and setting of the sun, the chill of winter, the beauty of autumn, the rebirth of spring and in the warmth of summer
We remember them.
At the beginning of the year, and when it ends
We remember them.
For the good they’ve done, and the wisdom they impacted
We remember them.
For the faith and hope they shared, for the stories they told, and the love they poured out We remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength, lost and sick at heart, and when we are full of joy
We remember them.
When we have decisions that are difficult to make and achievements that are based on theirs We remember them.
As long as we live, they too will live for they are now part of us
We remember them.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the Mercy of God, Rest in Peace. Amen