By Ladislaus Louis D’Souza

Mumbai, Nov 1, 2021: Sacred Scripture says, “It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins” (2 Mac 12:46). It is therefore fitting that the Church draws our attention to the value intrinsic in recalling our dear departed, indeed, all the departed in Purgatory, and praying for the repose of their souls.

That she chooses for this purpose a day immediately follow the Solemnity of All Saints has its own significance. Having honored the Church Triumphant in Heaven on November 1, the Church Militant on Earth, with due concern, poignantly turns her gaze to the members of the Church Suffering in Purgatory. In so doing, she demonstrates in no uncertain terms the supernatural bond of the ‘Communion of Saints’.

Origins – All Souls Day owes its origin to the feast established in 998 by Saint Odilo, fifth Abbot of Cluny, to enable his monks to offer special prayers for the souls of the departed. This Cluniac custom gradually gained popularity and spread to parts of Europe and Latin America. The Council of Trent formally declared that the souls in Purgatory need and benefit from the prayers and works of charity of all believers. Notably, the Church has enriched with a Plenary Indulgence the custom of visiting the cemetery to pray for the deceased during the Octave 01-08 November, and a Partial Indulgence on other days. Besides, on 02 November, one Plenary Indulgence applicable to the dead can be gained under the usual conditions—visiting a Church/Cemetery, receiving the sacraments, and praying for the Pope’s intentions. This year, as decreed by Rome, that benefit has been extended to the entire month of November 2021.

Triple Mass factor – The custom of celebrating/attending three Masses on All Souls’ Day probably originated among the Spanish Dominicans in the 15th century. But it was Pope Benedict XV who, mindful of the non-feasibility of the offering of individual Masses for the numerous victims of World War I, decreed to all priests [10 August 1915] the privilege of celebrating three Masses on this day: one for their own intentions, another for all the faithful departed and a third one for the intentions of the Holy Father. For the faithful in general, this practice comes as a bonanza of sorts for, on this day, many indeed make it a point to attend three masses for the souls of their dear departed. A day of hope for the entire Church, All Souls day focuses on the fullness of the Paschal Mystery enveloping every believer in its redeeming embrace. Proof of this hope is clearly in evidence on the nights of 01 and 02 November when entire cemeteries are bedecked with flowers of every hue and delightfully aglow with the flickering flames of candles and oil lamps. The little lights signify our hearts’ prayer, the flowers implicit of hope that the Lord will be merciful on Judgement Day both to those gone before us marked with the sign of Faith and to those of us yet to be called to our destiny. Appropriately, no more is the emphasis on a rushed celebration of a string of Masses at one go. Rather, a meaningful celebration of the “source and summit of Christian worship” that the Eucharist is, with appropriate congregational participation.

Universality of the commemoration – While we may each remember our own dear departed at least on certain significant dates through the year, there are innumerable souls in Purgatory who have no one on Earth to pray for them. It is these that the Church would obviously want us, her children, to lift up to the Almighty in fervent prayer. Could we, as conscientious believers, give due consideration to this important aspect of All Souls Day?

Also of vital importance here is the issue concerning the disposal of the mortal remains of the deceased. Given the scarcity of burial space, the Church fully accepts and duly encourages ‘cremation’ as a viable alternative. Indeed, there being not enough space to stay alive, where is the space to lie dead, the space permanently occupied by embalmed remains exacerbating the issue! Factually, the absence of a ‘Cremation Rite’ vis-à-vis the prevalent ‘burial rite’—an issue that the Church has thus far failed to address—remains a deterrent. Would that the Church in India tackled this issue on a war footing, thus spelling out more clearly the Passion-Death-Resurrection mystery in its correct perspective. This alone will enable every Catholic to appreciate better the implications of both ALL SAINTS and ALL SOULS days and thus join Bruce Springsteen in singing:
“When the Saints go marching in
O! When the Saints go marching in
I wanna be in that number
O when the Saints go marching in!”