A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (# 49)
All Souls’ Day – November 2, 2003
“I Am the Resurrection and the Life”
Many years ago, I saw a remarkable movie based on James Hilton’s novel, “Lost Horizon”. It was about a fascinating, hidden paradise here on earth, named Shangri-la. When the ruler of Shangri-la died, the subjects gathered together in the night for a funeral ritual. Each of the subjects carried a burning torch and extinguished its light by dipping it into an enormous vessel of water. The resulting darkness was eerie and morbid. This ritual is in sharp contrast to what the firemen did when they brought the lifeless body of the Franciscan firefighter chaplain, Fr. Mychal Judge, a 9/11 victim, from Ground Zero to the nearby St. Peter’s Catholic Church. After laying out the victim on the marble floor before the altar, the firemen pulled forward the two large candles that stood on either side of the altar so that one stood on either side of Fr. Judge’s lifeless body during the hour or two that it was reposed there.
What is the symbolism of lighting candles for the dead? It evinces our hope and trust in the power of the Risen Lord who vanquishes the shadows of darkness and the sting of death. It is a profession of faith in him who declared to the bereaved Martha of Bethany: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and he who lives and believes in me will never die” (Jn 11:26). Indeed, Jesus is the resurrection and the life for all who, like Martha, believe that he is “the Christ, the Son of God” (Jn 11:27). Physical death is the common lot of mankind but faith in the Risen Lord, who wields power over death, will enable the believer to share in eternal light and in the joys and blessings of the life to come.
The image of Christian death is very heartening and consoling. It is marked by the compassionate acts of God who offered his Son, Jesus Christ, to save us. According to St. Paul, “With God on our side, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). For us Christians, death is not eternal darkness, nor futility. Death is a spiritual journey of return to our Creator God, the source of life and light. Death is a homecoming, an experience of deep communion with God, through Christ, the resurrection and the life, in the power of the life-giving Spirit.
In the light of the saving event centered on Christ, we see physical death as a supreme participation in Christ’s paschal mystery that leads to eternal life and glory. The ongoing “transitus” of those who have died is finally complete. The life that they lived in self-giving and sacrifice while on this earth was radicalized in the hour of their death as Christians. Indeed, to die with Christ is to live a new existence beyond the bounds of temporality and the material order. The death of a Christian is filled with hope in Christ’s resurrection and in our own resurrection.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 655: “Christ’s resurrection - and the risen Christ himself – is the principle and source of our future resurrection … The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his faithful while they await that fulfillment. In Christ, Christians have tasted the powers of the age to come and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”
On November 2 we commemorate the souls of our faithful departed. According to Celia Sirois: “When we remember the faithful departed, it is not with the grief of those who have no hope. Rather, our remembering is rejoicing in the victory which is theirs through our Lord Jesus Christ. But more, it is recognizing that whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
Our consideration of the mystery of blessed communion with God and today’s commemoration of the faithful departed entail a deeper reflection on the Church’s teaching on purgatory. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1030-1031 asserts: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven … From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead.”
Together with the Church triumphant in heaven and the Church still in pilgrimage on this earth, let us offer our prayers, acts of charity and sacrifices in suffrage for our beloved dead. On this Feast of All Souls let us remember the exhortation of St. John Chrysostom: “Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.”
How do we understand the words Christ spoke to his beloved, grieving friend, Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and he who lives and believes in me will never die” (Jn 11:26)?
How do we prepare ourselves for the supreme moment of contact with Christ’s paschal mystery at the hour of our death?
Do we offer prayers, acts of charity and sacrifices in suffrage for our beloved dead? How can we celebrate the Feast of All Souls more meaningfully?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: “I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live forever.” (Jn 11:26)
Assembly: You are our life and resurrection. We believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are the way, the truth and the life. We are waiting for you, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. You will transfigure our lowly bodies into copies of your own glorious body.
Leader: You redeemed us by dying and rising to life again. Bring our departed brothers and sisters to the glory of your resurrection.
Assembly: May eternal light shine on them, O Lord, with all your saints forever, for you are rich in mercy. Give them eternal rest, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine on them forever, for you are rich in mercy.
Leader: Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?
Assembly: We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. With Christ, we walk in newness of life.
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and he who lives and believes in me will never die” (Jn 11:26).
ACTION PLAN: List the names of 10 deceased persons whom you would like to remember in a special way on this Feast of All Souls. As you pray for them, mentally envision them transfigured and enveloped in the kindly light of the Risen Lord.
ACTION PLAN: Whatever difficulty, sadness and inconvenience you will experience in this month of November, offer them in suffrage for the poor souls in purgatory.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM