RE News

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION

‘Indeed, I promise you: today you will be with me in Paradise.’

Today, many of us will visit the grave or plinth of a beloved member of the family or a friend. If you are like me, you will first tidy the area, prune any dead heads off the rose bush, place some fresh flowers and then pray.

The beautiful Catholic custom is that on this day especially – All Souls’ Day – we pray for those who have died. We prayed for them when they were with us on earth. Death is no barrier to continuing that prayer. We pray for them and for ourselves that one day, when every tear is wiped away, we may join them in heavenly bliss.

What grounds our hope? Nothing more, nothing less, than the victory of Jesus Christ over death. We pray that those we love even now are sharing in the benefits of that triumph.

God prays for all of us to be our best selves in both life and death. Our praying for the dead is simply our participation in this prayer of God,  which we share in. Even those not intentionally sharing our faith often say R.I.P., rest in peace, and that is a prayer!

And so we pray with confident Christian hope:

‘Endless light shine on those we love, O Lord. May their souls and the souls of all those who have died, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.’

by Fr Michael Tate (edited by Jonathan Rooney)