All soul’s day: a call to worship
For Catholics, Nov 2 is a day to remember those beloved friends and family members who have since passed on.
Unlike All Hallow’s Eve on Oct 31 or All Saint’s Day on Nov 1, which are days of solemnity to honor to saints enjoying the blessings of heaven, All Soul’s Day is not so much a day of reverence, but rather a day of commemoration. Catholics on this day are not obliged to attend mass as they are on Nov 1, but instead are encouraged to attend remembrance or prayer services held by their parish.
Sister Marilyn Mark of St. Jerome’s Catholic Newman Center said, “Prayer for our beloved dead has been a treasure custom from the earliest days of the Church. We believe that our prayers can be of assistance to the dead. We say it in the Nicene Creed each Sunday, ‘I look forward to the resurrection of the dead/and the life of the world to come.’ In fact, November is designated as the Month of All Souls.”
At St. Jerome’s evening prayer Nov 2, Catholic students gathered together for a remembrance of their dead, beginning with a song or “call to worship.” Each student then had the opportunity to approach the altar, light a candle and say the name of their departed to whom they wished to dedicate their evening prayer.
Psalm 116 was read in unison, each stanza alternately read by the congregation or Sister Marilyn. Finally, the evening was brought to a close with a reading from the New Testament prophet Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians:
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?: I Corinthians 15:51-55
Incense burned at the front of the chapel, filling the room with its sweet aroma. Students and other members of the congregation offered a moment of silence after each reading or prayer, and looked up at the soft billows of smoke traveling up into the rafters. The smoky clouds seemed to be traveling home — almost a metaphor for the sweet spirits of loved ones whose pictures hung above the altar of candles.
@viviangates29