November can feel like a very “American” month. Election Day (4—not as big a deal as last year) is followed by Veterans Day (11), Thanksgiving (27), and Native American Heritage Day (28).

Today’s reading for All Soul’s Day cuts to the core of our faith with a very reassuring message. No one who is given to Jesus will be lost.

Most European Americans approach All Souls' Day in a spirit of sober reverence. This is a day to remember our dead, and so it has the feel of a collective funeral about it.

Saints. Given the church’s Feast of All Saints, what do we know about them? Some of us carry a saint’s name as our given name.

When I was a kid I was forever losing my belongings. I’d lose my mittens, my boots, my textbooks, and my homework (honest!).

We pray to be with God now and at the hour of our death. My brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins.

Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and then suddenly you are doing the impossible. 

Browse our library for additional Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day) material.