November 2, commemoration of all the faithful departed

Saint of the day for November 2

The story of the commemoration of all the faithful departed

The Church has encouraged prayer for the dead since ancient times as an act of Christian charity. "If we did not care for the dead", Augustine observed, "we would not have the habit of praying for them". Yet pre-Christian rites for the dead held such a strong hold on the superstitious imagination that a liturgical commemoration was not observed until the early Middle Ages, when monastic communities began celebrating an annual day of prayer for deceased members.

In the mid-2th century, Saint Odilus, Abbot of Cluny, France, decreed that all Cluniac monasteries offer special prayers and sing the Office for the Dead on November XNUMX, the day after All Saints' Day. The custom spread from Cluny and was finally adopted throughout the Roman Church.

The theological foundation of the feast is the recognition of human frailty. Since few people reach perfection in this life but, rather, go to the grave still marked with traces of sinfulness, a period of purification seems necessary before a soul comes face to face with God. The Council of Trent affirmed this state. of purgatory and insisted that the prayers of the living can speed up the purification process.

Superstition easily clung to observance. Medieval popular belief held that souls in purgatory could appear on this day in the form of witches, toads, or wisps. The food offerings on the grave allegedly relieved the rest of the dead.

Observances of a more religious nature have survived. These include public processions or private visits to cemeteries and decorations of tombs with flowers and lights. This holiday is observed with great fervor in Mexico.

Reflection

Whether or not we should pray for the dead is one of the great issues that divide Christians. Horrified by the abuse of indulgences in the Church of his time, Martin Luther rejected the concept of purgatory. Yet prayer for a loved one is, for the believer, a way to erase all distance, even death. In prayer we are in the presence of God in the company of someone we love, even if that person met death before us.