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During the month of November, along with praying for the souls of the faithful departed, we also honor all of the saints, universally on November 1, and then grouped by order (Dominican, Franciscan, etc.) on different days throughout the month. This remembrance reminds us of the hope that we have in Jesus Christ and what we should all be aspiring to and praying for the faithful departed to receive. The sadness that we feel at the death of our loved ones should not come without hope and the reminder that our true home is in heaven and the true life we are meant to live is the life now lived by all the saints, beholding God face to face forever.
When we look at the saints, and where they are now, we should be encouraged by the unending joy and happiness they experience being with the One they loved so much while they were on earth. We can know that that can also be the reality for our loved ones and others in Purgatory as long as we keep praying for them and making sacrifices for them. Honoring the saints alongside the holy souls also gives us an opportunity to ask their intercession for the holy souls. They intercede for us because they want the happiness that they are currently experiencing to be experienced by the rest of the Church, the faithful here on earth and in Purgatory. And in November especially, we can ask for their help in getting our loved ones who are in Purgatory out of their current state so that they can also experience this joy forever.
Make no mistake, as I have said before, we still need to pray for those who have died. Hope does not equal a guarantee. Hell still exists and people do go there, as many of the saints have attested to. But being able to look at the saints who have achieved the goal of their salvation gives us a reason to be hopeful and continue praying for the faithful departed. Honoring the saints and the souls of the faithful departed together reminds us that there is a goal to be achieved and that God wants every soul who has died to achieve this goal. We can help by praying for them and asking the saints for their intercession, especially during the month of November.
Emily Berns has been a Catholic writer and blogger for the past few years. She has a B.A. in Communications from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. Her blog, Lumen Fidei Ministries, can be found at http://www.lumenfideiministries.com.
