Every year at the beginning of November, the Church gives us All Saints Day and All Souls Day to remind us that the Church is far greater than our Parish of St Mary’s and even the entire Catholic Church in England and Wales! They remind us that we belong to a family that stretches from Heaven to Earth, and even to Purgatory. It’s what we call the “Communion of Saints” – a marvellous reality which means the Church is not divided by death. The Church Triumphant consists of all those in Heaven; the Church Suffering are the Souls in Purgatory; and the Church Militant are us here on earth battling through life. It is wonderful to know we are never alone: those in Heaven are cheering us on, those in Purgatory are pleading for our prayers, and we on earth are striving to join the souls in Heaven.

Today, the Solemnity of All Saints, we rejoice with the countless men and women who have won the battle and reached their heavenly home. Some of them we know well: St Peter and St Paul, St Joseph, St John Bosco, St Bernadette, St Therese of Lisieux, St Padre Pio to name but a few. But there are countless unknown souls, many of our relatives among them, who cooperated with God’s grace in this life, and now also share in His glory and are saints. They’re members of our family and they want us to be there with them.

Tomorrow (Monday) is All Souls Day when the Church turns her gaze towards the Souls in Purgatory. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ, who died in a state of grace and are saved, but are not yet perfect enough to enter Heaven. Purgatory is God’s mercy in action, where souls are purified of every attachment to sin and every imperfection. But they can’t help themselves. They rely on our prayers, our sacrifices, on the Masses we have offered for them, and the Indulgences gained on their behalf. When we pray for them, we are doing one of the greatest acts of mercy possible. St Padre Pio (1887-1968) said that if we only knew of the power of our prayers for the Souls in Purgatory, we would pray for them continuously.

Even the most modern saints understood this. St Carlo Acutis (1991-2006), the fifteen year old Italian who died of leukaemia, and canonised by the Holy Father on 7^th September this year, saw a vision of his grandfather in Purgatory who had died unexpectedly at the age of 57. Carlo, who was only five at the time, told his mother, “I saw Grandpa. He’s in Purgatory and he needs prayers to be freed.” His mother, who had fallen away from the Faith, was deeply shaken, but she knew her son could never have heard of Purgatory. The details he gave were so precise, it caused her to think deeply about the afterlife and she began praying in earnest for her father, and eventually she returned to the Faith. Her young son became her teacher in things divine. Carlo himself turned this vision into a daily mission, and offered many prayers, every sacrifice and act of self-denial for the Holy Souls. At just five years old, Carlo was living out one of the Church’s most ancient teachings, “pray[ing] for the dead that they may be loosed from sins” (2 Maccabees 12:46). He was putting into practice the doctrine of the Communion of Saints – that the Church is not divided between Heaven, Earth and Purgatory, but is one single body united in charity. He regarded praying for the Holy Souls as one of the best investments he could ever make. He would explain to his friends how helping the Holy Souls enter Heaven would gain you powerful intercessors, because once they’re in Heaven, they will never forget those who helped them arrive there.

So let’s make this November a time of spiritual renewal. Make an effort to go to Mass in the week for the Holy Souls. Pray the Rosary for them. Gain Indulgences for them. Visit a cemetery and pray there for all the dead (see back page). One day you and I will need those prayers, and when we stand before God, how grateful we will be for every act of mercy someone offers us.

Fr Paul Gillham, IC