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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
On Monday, November 2nd, we gathered for our All Souls’ Day Mass to remember and pray for those we love who have gone before us. Candles representing our beloved departed shone brightly, each one a sign of a life that mattered to us and is held forever in God’s care. As the Schola sang and prayed, “Let perpetual light shine upon them,” we could see our prayers rise up to heaven in the incense.
Our prayer was made all the more beautiful by the offering of Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem. Rooted in the ancient Gregorian chants of the Mass for the Dead, this sublime work moves gently between sorrow and peace. It gives voice to our grief, and it leads us toward the promise of paradise.
We offer our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Joung-A Yum, our Director of Music, whose gifted leadership and dedication brought this offering to life. Thank you to the Schola Cantorum and The Ensemble for the hours of preparation and for the grace and reverence of their singing. Thank you also to James Casey, our organist, whose artistry sustained and deepened our prayer throughout the Mass. Their ministry was a true gift to all who mourn and to our entire parish community.
As we continue through this month of November, let us keep our beloved departed close in our hearts and prayers. May the light of those candles remain with us as a reminder that, in Christ, love is stronger than death.
Here's a short reflection on All Souls' Day by Paulist Father Mark-David Janus, which helps capture our prayer:
Time is limited; eternity is forever.
God’s love, never wasted,
calls us to life now and beyond death.
Thus, on the Feast of All Souls,
We pierce time’s limitations
And pray for those who have died
Even as they pray for us.
Our love too, is not wasted.
Praying for the departed,
we say: “I love you” one more time
to those we love, and to those
we have not loved enough.
On All Souls Day, those who have died
Without loving us enough, ask God’s mercy
to make up for what they could not do,
or did not do, when with us.
Today, we let go of resentments
to which we have clung;
Repent of selfishness
that did not love others enough
When we had the chance.
We pray for those who died alone
Unremembered and unloved.
This day of All Souls,
spend a few moments in silence,
Calling to mind and heart all those who have died,
beloved and strangers alike.
Lift up all those to whom you need to say:
I love you, one more time.
Humbly ask those you want to love you,
to pray for you now, and until you meet
beyond space and time, where God’s love is everything.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.
Peace and blessings,
Father Gil
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