The Souls of the Just are in The Hands of God

11-02-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Manasseh lorchir, VC

The membership of the universal assembly of the people of God transcends the Church militant which is the collective of all living believers who battle against sin as we journey towards heaven, our ultimate goal. Included in the Body of Christ are our brothers and sisters who passed this road of earthly pilgrimage, genuinely seeking to know God, to love Him, to serve Him and to be happy with Him in this world and in the life to come.

These brethren of ours, through grace and sincere effort, were able to triumph over sin and now enjoy the glory of heaven with God in the final fulfilment of His kingdom. The Book of Revelations calls them “the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.” (Revelations 7:14). They are the saints, ordinary people who lived ordinary lives, doing ordinary things extraordinarily (Saint Josemaria Escriva). They leave us the lesson that sainthood is attainable through serving God in our daily secular activities like work, family life and home responsibilities. Membership of the communion of saints is drawn from all works and stages of life. There are children saints, young saints like Carlo Acutis, saints who were young at heart, saints who were parents, saints who married, saints who were members of the consecrated life, saints who were Deacons, Priests and Bishops, saints who did not begin well but ended their life journey at peace with God, saints who suffered and saints who were always joyful. There are saints from all parts of the world including saints who were citizens of the United States of America. The Book of Revelations tells us that this portion of the Church constitutes “a great multitude, too numerous to count.” (Revelations 7:9). Because we can neither count nor name them all, the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints on the first day of November each year in their honor.

Directly following the celebration of the Solemnity of All Saints is the commemoration of all the faithful departed. The Church recognizes those who lived in this world of pilgrimage trying to know, love and serve God but were unable to enjoy an immediate admittance into heaven on account of the consequence of residue of sin on their souls. People who temporarily endure the torments of purgatory where they are purged of the consequences of sin so they could behold the face of God. We call them the Church suffering and on this day, and throughout the month of November, we shall be praying for God’s mercy to be extended to them speedily so they may be with Him. The belief of purgatory, like the belief in the resurrection, is foolishness to the unbeliever, but to the rest of us is a window of hope and faith in the enduring mercy of God with whom all things are possible.

As the Church remembers and prays for her children, the faithful departed, let us extend our charity towards our deceased brothers and sisters by praying that Jesus, whose compassion for the widow of Nain prompted Him to return her son to life, may in His mercy say those same life giving words to our deceased loved ones who endure temporary suffering in purgatory so that purged of the stain of sin by the merits of Christ’s passion, they may rejoice to hear Christ say to them “I tell you, arise!” Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC