ALL SOULS DAY
“We have all been set on a journey. We had no choice about when or where it started. We don’t know when, where or how it will end. We have no map. All we know for sure is that it’s bound to end sometime. All we know is that once started, we must continue everyday, whether we feel like it or not. We start with no possessions, and when we finish we must turn in all we have accumulated.
In the end, say some, we will be rewarded or punished … and that’s for sure!” (Excerpts from The Sower’s Seed by Brian Cavanaugh)
In remembering our dearly departed loved ones this All Souls Day, our Gospel reading account of the Final Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) is a timely reminder of the “gauge” we are to be assessed when we too finally join them in the hereafter. Jesus tells us in clear language that not our words or our profession of faith, but our deeds matter in the final analysis.
The Church is comprised of the faithful living upon the earth and those who have gone before us. The latter includes the Saints in Heaven and the faithful Souls being purified in Purgatory. On November 1st we honor those who are with God; and today, November 2nd Catholics celebrate a Remembrance of All the Faithful Departed. Also known as All Souls Day, on this day we honor them for their faithfulness in life, as well as pray for them, since they are being purified before entering the All Holy Presence of God. As Revelation 21:27 says of the Heavenly Jerusalem, “… nothing unclean shall enter in.”
The spirituality of death does not limit itself to a clean heart with lofty aspirations and deep insights of divine truths. It finds its roots in the good deeds we do for others. Our strong spiritual bond with God must be manifested in our genuine concern for people’s physical needs. This is the reason why Jesus in the gospel symbolically characterized the people as sheep and goats. In purity a sheep’s wool can help withstand the coldness, selfishness and materialism of the world and keep a warm heart, while a goat’s pelt does not. The goats were sent to the left not because they sinned grievously, but because they were busy only with themselves, and did not notice the needs of others.
But as profound as this mandate would seem to be, these acts of kindness required by Christ does not in anyway contain gigantic acts of heroism or service. Even the smallest acts of giving (like sharing of a piece of candy, visiting a sick friend or a giving a smile to a disgruntled officemate) when done in the purity of one’s intention can heal even deepest wounds of the heart. Moreover, a genuine act of sharing comes from a certain spontaneity done without any ulterior motive. These are the acts of charity done without the benefit of gimmicks, propaganda, media mileage and recognition.
And though the Gospel image, which presents to us a very impressive enthronement scene of Jesus as king and judge of all nations; is an apocalyptic vision, every election too is an invitation to exercise responsible judgment most especially in our choice of candidates …it is an invitation to segregate those we consider as sheep and those we consider as goats. In justice, we should decide with finality that our government should never be handed-over to “goats” whose pelts have made them insensitive to the needs of the electorate. The good a candidate does for the needy should not be for the sake of wooing a vote, but because they genuinely love them as persons and compatriots. And, I just hope that all 336,224 (representing 42,028 barangays) newly elected Barangay officials would be a living embodiment of this conviction.
The task of maintaining both a “sheep-like image” and choosing a sheep among goats is arduous and sometimes a painstaking undertaking but it is our belief that our dearly beloved friends and family members, who now share in the company of heavenly Father, will guide and help us in this journey. And, if we do not want to tarnish the democracy our departed loved ones have fought for, then it is only rightful to do our part in making all our electoral exercises truly meaningful. To all of them we pray … “ETERNAL Rest be granted unto their souls O Lord. And, may your perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace, AMEN.”
“We pray to the Lord for our dead, for all, for all: that the Lord will receive them all. And we pray also that the Lord will have mercy on us and give us hope: hope that we can go forward and that we can find them all together with him when he calls us. So be it.” (Pope Francis)
DEDICATION: This reflection is dedicated in memory of my Father (Rex) and my mother (Carmencita) together with my dear friend Ryan Angeles and all our faithfully departed loved ones who made our lives meaningful through their presence in our midst.
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