All Souls Day

Today is All Souls, the final day of the Fall triduum that only begins with Halloween. Today we remember everyone who has died. We pray for them, seeking to help them on their way to the fullness of God's presence. In reality, All Souls is Catholic Memorial Day. In culturally Catholic countries, it is observed as Memorial Day.

While not a holy day of obligation, like All Saints, All Souls is an important feast. But like a lot of formerly "big" feasts, its significance is currently waning. It is a very complex set of factors that contribute to the lack of observance. It seems to me that one factor has to do with the rejection of any idea of ultimate judgment. Strangely, this does not flow from people being less judgmental. At least in the United States and other advanced countries, there has never been more judgment going on than there is now; this is not all bad just as it is not all good.

Divine judgment is not like human judgment. Unlike human judgment, divine judgment is not retributive. God doesn't seek to get revenge or to get even. God's judgment and whatever punishments might flow from it are corrective and purgative. I think perhaps the most painful part of divine judgment for many people will be submitting to Jesus as Lord. Submitting to Jesus's lordship means no longer being your own master. This dethroning is going to hurt. Was not original sin seeking to dethrone God and putting ourselves in God's place?

Someone suggested a few years back that rather than religion being the opiate of the masses the idea that life has no intrinsic meaning or purpose and that nobody will face any sort of judgment is the new drug. Perhaps the central idea of what might be called a Christian cosmology is the belief that how you live your life matters. Another key aspect is that you will always exist as yourself, a self-conscious being. This means how you live has consequences, not only for yourself but in the big scheme of things.

It seems fitting to mention indulgences on All Souls Day. Not many Catholics seek to obtain indulgences. Indulgences remain very much part of the Catholic faith. In essence, indulgences are obtained by intentionally engaging in good acts. This is done in the conviction that rather than further alienating the world from God, you seek to cooperate in bringing the world back that state of communion God intends for it. You can obtain indulgences on behalf of someone who has died.

If nothing else, take some time today and call to mind the people you know and love who have died. Once you have them in mind, say a prayer for them. Because it's an act of memory, I personally think it's important to say their names. Even if you don't go to Mass today, stop by a church, pay a few bucks, light some candles and say some prayers for the people you know who have died. Maybe consider doing this with some regularity, like one Friday a month. After all, one of the ways you can observe Friday as a day of penance is by performing an act of charity. I have taken to defining this to mean doing something kind for someone at some cost and/or inconvenience to yourself. Stopping by a church, paying for and lighting some votive candles and saying some prayers certainly fits that bill.

Christians have prayed for the dead from the beginning of the Church. Hence, praying for the dead is one of the most Christian things you can do. I certainly hope there is someone here praying for me when I am dead.