The reason why we Christians have a lively devotion to the Souls is because it was instilled in us from the time we were children. The belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was handed on to us by many of those very people we pray for today - parents, grandparents, siblings, spouses, friends.
All year around people come to our Friary Office to have prayers and Masses offered for the souls of loved ones. In Ireland, we always had a great respect for the dead and the souls of the faithful departed. Again, it was instilled in us by our people and its part of our story.
Humanly speaking, our death is a scary prospect and we don't like to think about it. It is a consolation that we know because of the promises of Jesus Christ that "I am going now to prepare a place for you and after I have prepared you a place, I will return to take you with me..." (John 14:3)
I believe that the distance between this world and the next world is a short one. The next world exists in the now. The souls of our loved ones are there now and there is two way traffic between both places - the souls pray and we pray. Jesus Christ is the bridge between this world and the next and in Him we can connect to them. In Him the souls of our loved ones can pray too.
This faith in the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, lightens the darkness of November and helps us to focus that death is the vehicle by which we all travel the short distance to the presence of Jesus Christ who lives in the here and now.
'May their sous, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God. Rest in Peace. Amen. '
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