Faith and Mission

The Feast of All Saints Day and All Souls Day

Over the past few weeks, I was reading a number of commentaries about the feasts of All Saints and All Souls Day, when I came across two beautiful reflections.

The first commentary is from the Brigidine Sisters of Kildare Ministries in Albert Park, Victoria. 

All Saints & All Souls Days

These two special days are ‘days of hope’ for all. On these days we honour all the saints, not because they were perfect but because they loved God, lived the Beatitudes and allowed their hope and faith to transform their own lives and that of others. We give thanks too for the saints of God who still walk alongside us each day.

Which saints inspire you in your living of the Gospel? What of the spirit of our Patroness, St Brigid of Kildare inspires you: her hospitality, care of the poor, commitment to peace and justice or something  else? https://brigidine.org.au/about-us/our-patroness/

We believe that all who have gone before us live on in the love of God. May our trust in God’s eternal goodness comfort us and nurture our hope in these challenging times.

On All Souls Day we remember in particular our Sisters, family members, associates, partners in ministry and friends who have died during the past year? Let us also remember those who died alone or far from home and loved ones.

God of all people, inspire us to follow the radical example of the saints who worked for justice, peace and love. We remember and give thanks for all our much loved Sisters, family members and friends and for the ways in which their lives enriched others and brought hope to the world. May their memory live on and inspire us to “Go and do likewise!” (Luke 10:37)

The Brigidine Sisters: All Saints & All Souls Days | Brigidine Sisters

The Feast of All Saints Day and All Souls Day

The second commentary is from Josephite Sister, Monica Barlow, who is the Sacramental and Liturgy Coordinator in the Archdiocese of Wollongong. After speaking with Monica, she welcomed me in sharing her commentary with our Marian Community, and I hope, like me, you gain some spiritual insight into these significant feasts of the Church. 

The feasts of All Saints and All Souls, which are celebrated one day apart in November, 1 & 2, are the two sides of the same coin. This precious coin is the incredible and all-encompassing love that God our Creator has for all of creation and therefore for each one of us. That unconditional love of the God who is Love carries us from the moment of our conception to our final home with God. As Christians we believe that, like Jesus, we will pass through the gateway of death to that new life in God that is our destiny.

In the earliest Christian scriptures, St Paul, writing to the Romans explicates this belief:

We do not live for ourselves and we do not die for ourselves. If we live, we live for the Lord and if we die, we die for the Lord; and so, alive or dead we belong to the Lord. It was for this purpose that Christ both died and came to life again: so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Romans 14:7-9:  

Jesus, too, says: “Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to God everyone is alive.” Luke 20:38:  

There has long been a tradition in our Church of praying for our dead. At each Mass in the Eucharistic Prayer we pray for them: “Remember our brothers and sisters who have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. Bring them into the light of your presence”. 

Mary MacKillop too reminded the Sisters, “Let us not forget our loved ones in our prayers.”

Over the ages the mystery of our journey through death to life has taken many forms in our attempt to understand what we cannot know, of what we have no experience. We can only use our imperfect images to try to describe the unknown. St Paul alludes to this when he says:

We are utterly blessed to be fully known by our God and so all our life – our joys, our difficulties, our sufferings and our weakness are surely gathered into the immense love of our God who draws us ever more and more into that love until we come to know fully.

The Opening Prayer of the Mass for 2 November brings together our understanding and our celebration, in Jesus, of the mystery of the life and death of our loved ones and of all our faithful departed.

God, our Creator and Redeemer, 

You are the glory of believers 

And the life of the just. 

Your Son redeemed us 

By dying and rising to life again.

Since our departed brothers and sisters believed in the mystery or our resurrection, 

Let them share the joys and blessings of the life to come.

This is the basis of our hope and why the Feast of All Souls is such a joyful one.

Monica Barlow rsj

To read the full commentary, please refer to this website:

All Souls Day - Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart

To read about the Origins of All Saints and All Souls Day, please refer to the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne website: 

Celebrating All Saints' Day and All Souls’ Day | Melbourne Catholic

Year 12 Graduation Mass, Ceremony and Celebration

Congratulations to our Year 12 Class of 2024! The end of classes was celebrated on Friday 18 October with their traditional Year 12 Breakfast and Assembly. Then in the evening at St Leopold’s Catholic Church, the Yr 12 graduates, their  families and friends, Marian staff and special guests Executive Officer of Kildare Education Ministries Peter Houlahan, and members of the Marian Stewardship Council Marguerite Buckley and Anne Hubbard gathered together to celebrate the the Liturgy of the Eucharist with Fr Jude Pirotta.

Fr Jude’s beautiful words reflected on remembering their 13 years of school, a time of learning and growth. Remembering the lessons they learned about God's presence being a constant companion in their lives. Acknowledging the support and love they received from family, friends and teachers, which are a testament to God's grace. As they journey through life, they were reminded to carry the assurance of God's presence with them, wherever their path takes them. Remembering that God is always near, guiding and protecting them, though the people in their lives. Fr Jude’s final message encouraged our Year 12 cohort to live their lives with faith, hope and trust, knowing that God's love surrounds them.