There are seventeen Solemnities throughout the Church year marking liturgical celebrations world-wide. In addition, individual countries and certain religious orders celebrate Solemnities for events and saints with a particular local significance. A Solemnity is a feast day of the highest rank celebrating:
• a mystery of faith, such as the Trinity
• an event in the life of Jesus, such as the Annunciation of his birth, his Resurrection, his Ascension into heaven
• significant events in the life of Mary, the Mother of Jesus
• the life of a significant saint.
All Saints’ Day, always celebrated on November 1, falls on this Sunday. Almost always, when a Solemnity falls on a Sunday, it takes precedent over the regular weekend calendar. The readings and theme of the Mass are focused on the Solemnity, and so we will do so this Sunday.
All Saints Day is always an opportunity to highlight, or reflect on, a particular saint that we find inspiring or interesting, but it also invites us to consider the union, or communion, or holy union not only of the canonized saints (those formally recognized by the Church), but also the Holy Communion that our deceased loved ones are sharing with them now.
The Feast of All Souls’ follows the next day, November 2, in the calendar. All Souls is not a Solemnity, but the fact that it follows All Saints’ Day so immediately, it is easy to make the connection and expand what we believe to be “The Communion of Saints.” This spiritual exercise can be ongoing as we take All Souls’ Day to continually commend our deceased loved ones to God and trust in their communion with the saints.
We will have a special celebration of All Souls’ this coming Monday, November 2, at 7:00 pm via livestream. Unfortunately, we will not be able to have people gather in church, but we will celebrate a special Mass that memorializes any of our deceased loved ones or friends, and particularly those who have died in the past year as well as a special prayerful mention of those whose funerals have been celebrated here at Holy Family. In addition, this year we will also be remembering the 1.16 million people who have died world-wide with some complication of Covid-19 contributing to their death.
Please participate in this Mass. Access the All Souls’ Mass by going to our website and pray along. We encourage you to place a photo of your deceased loved one close to you accompanied by a candle near the photo. This could be a very prayerful remembrance of them, and be yet another way of commending them to the Communion of Saints with God.
This time of remembering can be tender and emotional. The prayer we share may surface emotions and grief that are quite strong and, hopefully, some gratitude for the blessings that your deceased loved one brought to your life.
A poem written by Sr. Roberto Allen, an Ursuline nun and the aunt of our parishioner Marianne Hogan, gives another perspective on the dying and rising cycle, particularly at this time of year.
A maple tree against the sky,
a flaming breath of God most high.
It tells the world that life must change,
but beauty comes despite life’s pain.
And then one morn the flame was gone,
but thru truth I knew – life goes on.
A naked tree arms lifted high,
cries out to me, “Life does not die.”
For in the spring the buds will come,
and Resurrection, like His Son.
Ah, sad for those who only see,
the flaming autumn in the tree.
May all of our departed loved ones rest in the peace of our eternal God. May the families of those who have died with some complication of Covid-19 know of our prayers for them.