All Saints 2007
October 2007
I grew up with and for very many years my understanding of the feast of All Saints was that it was the day when I prayed to people like Sts. Peter, Paul, James, John, Anthony, Francis etc. who were understood as being in Heaven.
Tomorrow, the feast of All Souls, I prayed for people like my parents, relatives and friends who had died and were understood to need my prayers badly as they were presumed to be suffering in Purgatory to make up for all the sins they had committed during their lives.
This is no longer my attitude. Both today, the feast of All Saints and tomorrow, the feast of All Souls are about the very same people. I think it shows a great disrespect of God my Father and a total misunderstanding of what God is like to think that He would even consider having any of His beloved children in a place like Purgatory.
Of course, I know well that neither my parents, relatives nor friends (whether they be dead or alive) are perfect, and neither were Peter or Paul or John or Patrick. They were all just muddling along as best they could, just as I and you muddle along today as best we can.
So for me, today and tomorrow and the whole of November are a time for rejoicing with all my deceased relatives and friends who are (as the Bible says) 'resting in the bosom of Abraham' where I too will join them shortly.