Hearing The Word

A weekly newsletter delivering context and insight into the Sunday Gospels.

November 2, 2025

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

John 6:37-40

Jesus said to the crowds:

“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,

and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,

because I came down from heaven not to do my own will

but the will of the one who sent me.

And this is the will of the one who sent me,

that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,

but that I should raise it on the last day.

For this is the will of my Father,

that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him

may have eternal life,

and I shall raise him on the last day.”

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Christ's Promise of Closeness for the Faithful Departed

~Rev. Thomas Whittingham

Pastor, Saint Laurence Catholic Church + Upper Darby, Pa.

John 6:37–40 forms part of the Bread of Life discourse and is rich in theological reassurance, particularly fitting for the liturgy of All Souls’ Day. This solemn commemoration, devoted to prayer for the dead, finds in these verses a clear expression of Christ’s salvific mission and the enduring hope of resurrection.

The passage begins with Christ’s declaration: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” This statement reveals both divine initiative and Christ’s constant receptivity. The Father's act of giving precedes the soul’s movement toward Christ, emphasizing the mystery of grace at work in every human heart. The response from Jesus – “I will not reject” – is particularly striking in the original Greek: ou mē ekbalō exō. This construction, using the double negative ou mē with the aorist subjunctive ekbalō (from ekballō, "to cast out") followed by exō ("outside"), expresses an emphatic and irrevocable refusal. It is one of the strongest ways in Koine Greek to indicate a promise that cannot be broken. A more literal translation might be, “I will certainly never cast out.”

This linguistic force adds weight to the theological meaning. Christ’s welcome of the soul is not provisional or conditional. It is absolute. The Church, therefore, holds with confidence that the faithful departed, who have come to Christ in life or in death, remain under His protection. They are not forgotten; they are not lost.

Jesus then continues by aligning His mission with the will of the Father. That divine will is explicitly stated: that nothing be lost of what the Father has entrusted to the Son, and that it be raised up on the last day. The image here is not passive preservation, but active fidelity. The resurrection is not simply an act of divine power; it is a fulfillment of divine will, grounded in love and sustained by the Son’s obedience.



Finally, Jesus underscores that this promise is extended to “everyone who sees the Son and believes in him.” In the Gospel of John, to “see” means to perceive with spiritual insight, and to “believe” is to entrust oneself entirely to Christ. Eternal life is not only future and eschatological but is already present in the communion of those who belong to God.

Homeward Bound:

The Promise that None are Lost

~Linda Davis

Sacred Heart Church + Oxford, Pa.



All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out."



On All Souls’ Day, our hearts turn toward those who have gone before us into the arms of the Father—parents, grandparents, children, friends—souls who have shaped our lives. We hold expectant hope that they now rest in God’s mercy. In this Gospel, Jesus’ words bring immense comfort: no one entrusted to Him will be lost. He promises that every soul who comes to Him will be welcomed and not rejected. 

As a mother, I understand the deep ache of longing for the ones we love to be safe and cared for. Jesus reveals that the Fathers love is even greater than ours - as incomprehensible as that may be. It is a love that refuses to let a single soul slip away unnoticed. Every tear, every prayer, every act of reparation we offer for the departed becomes part of that heavenly hope. "And I will raise them on the last day."

This passage also invites us to trust. In moments of grief or uncertainty about someone's death, Jesus reminds us that our resurrection is not a distant hope but a promised reality. He came to ensure that none entrusted to Him would be lost, but that all would be raised on the final day.

Today, as we pray for the souls in purgatory, we rest in the hope that love is stronger than death and that Christ’s mercy draws every soul home.