Memory of all those who have fallen asleep in the Lord

All Souls' Day
Memorial of all those who have fallen asleep in the Lord. In a particular way, we remember those deceased whom no one remembers and all those who are dear to our heart.

First Reading

Isaiah 25,6.7-9

On this mountain, for all peoples, Yahweh Sabaoth is preparing a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of succulent food, of well-strained wines. On this mountain, he has destroyed the veil which used to veil all peoples, the pall enveloping all nations; he has destroyed death for ever. Lord Yahweh has wiped away the tears from every cheek; he has taken his people's shame away everywhere on earth, for Yahweh has spoken. And on that day, it will be said, 'Look, this is our God, in him we put our hope that he should save us, this is Yahweh, we put our hope in him. Let us exult and rejoice since he has saved us.'

Psalmody

Psalm 23

Antiphon

Lord you are the king of glory.

The Lord is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.

It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?

The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things
who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbour,

He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves him.

Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.

O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!

Who is the king of glory?
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant,
the Lord, the valiant in war.

O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!

Who is he the king of glory?
He, the Lord of armies, he is the king of glory.

Second Reading

Romans 8,14-23

All who are guided by the Spirit of God are sons of God; for what you received was not the spirit of slavery to bring you back into fear; you received the Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, 'Abba, Father!' The Spirit himself joins with our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God. And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, provided that we share his suffering, so as to share his glory. In my estimation, all that we suffer in the present time is nothing in comparison with the glory which is destined to be disclosed for us, for the whole creation is waiting with eagerness for the children of God to be revealed. It was not for its own purposes that creation had frustration imposed on it, but for the purposes of him who imposed it- with the intention that the whole creation itself might be freed from its slavery to corruption and brought into the same glorious freedom as the children of God. We are well aware that the whole creation, until this time, has been groaning in labour pains. And not only that: we too, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we are groaning inside ourselves, waiting with eagerness for our bodies to be set free.

Reading of the Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Matthew 25,31-46

'When the Son of man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All nations will be assembled before him and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right hand, "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me." Then the upright will say to him in reply, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you? When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?" And the King will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me." Then he will say to those on his left hand, "Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food, I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink, I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, lacking clothes and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me." Then it will be their turn to ask, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or lacking clothes, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?" Then he will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me." And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the upright to eternal life.'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Homily

The apostle Paul invites us to look at the future that is reserved for the children of God: "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. ... and if children, then heirs," he writes to the Romans and he adds "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us." Today's memorial gives us a glimpse of "the glory about to be revealed to us." For us who are still on earth, this glory is to come; for those who passed away and believed in the Lord this glory is already revealed. They live on the mountain where the Lord has prepared a banquet for all people. And on that mountain, the veil 'that covers the face', that is, the indifference that makes us turn in on ourselves, has been torn for them: their eyes contemplate the face of God. None of them shed tears of sadness any longer, as Revelation writes. And if there were tears in heaven, they would be those of sweet and tender emotion without end. Today, with the eyes of our hearts, we think of our loved ones in the very heart of God, the "place" that we already inhabit but that will open up in its unimaginable fullness when we see God "face to face."
Certainly, we are separated from them, but there is also a strong union. Even if it is not visible to the eyes of the body, it not less real. The communion with our departed ones is revealed in the unfathomable mystery of God's love which gathers all and sustains all. This love from God is the substance of life. Everything passes, even faith and hope. Only love remains.
This is what the Lord Jesus is telling us in today's Gospel passage. Yes, the only thing that counts in life is love; the only thing that remains of all that we have done and said, thought and planned, is love. And love is always great, even if it shows itself in small gestures like a glass of water, a piece of bread, a visit, a word of comfort, a hand which holds another. Blessed are we if we follow the words of the Gospel we have heard. We will hear at the end of our days: "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;" and our joy will be complete.