The Month of All Souls and the Altar of Remembrance
By Lori Fontana
The Feast of All Saints (the feast day for ALL of us) and the Feast of All Souls—remembering our loved ones who have gone before us. Two great feast days of our church which provide the occasion to grieve and remember, to celebrate and honor. Every November, we set up an “All Saints / All Souls” altar in our home.
We gather photos of our family members and friends who have died, both recently and long ago. We display the photos on a tabletop with a nice cloth covering, candles, flowers, and other momentos which remind us of our loved ones. Through our faith, we believe that loved ones who have died are still close to us, in the communion of saints. Our November altar brings them near, reminds us to pray for them, prompts us to honor them, helps us to grieve and let go. Perhaps you can create your own home altar for this prayerful month.
HOPE IN THE RESURRECTION
Wisdom 3:1-6 The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if to others, indeed, they seem punished yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep. Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,* will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together* with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words.
