It’s the Feast of Commemoration of All Souls, 1st Class, with the color of Black. In this episode: today in Church History: “Priests Given Permission to Say Three Masses”, the meditation: “The Existence of Purgatory”, a preview of the Sermon: “Help the Poor Souls in Purgatory”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
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Sources Used Today:
- “The Existence of Purgatory” — From the Assumption to Advent
- “Help the Poor Souls in Purgatory” (SSPX Sermons)
- Spiritual Journey — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
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Yesterday, the Church celebrated the saints in heaven. Today, she asks us to remember those still waiting to enter its fullness. All Souls’ Day carries a very personal invitation: someone you love may still need your prayers.
Christians prayed for the dead long before this commemoration appeared on the calendar. But its familiar November date took shape in the monasteries of medieval France. In 998, Saint Odilo, abbot of Cluny, directed the monasteries under his authority to remember all the faithful departed on the day after All Saints. The observance gradually spread through the Western Church.
The placement makes sense. First, we rejoice with the Church triumphant. Then we help the souls in purgatory, who have died in God’s friendship but still need purification. Their salvation is assured. Their suffering is real. And through prayer, almsgiving, and especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we can help them.
One remarkable development came during the First World War. In 1915, Pope Benedict XV extended to priests throughout the Church the privilege of offering three Masses on All Souls’ Day. Amid so much death, the Church multiplied her greatest prayer for the departed.
Around that prayer grew some memorable local customs.
In England, people went “souling” around All Saints and All Souls. Poor neighbors and children visited houses asking for food, receiving small “soul cakes.” In return, they offered prayers for the household’s departed relatives. Charity reached in both directions: food for the hungry, prayers for the dead.
In Sicily, November second became a day children eagerly anticipated. Families prepared gifts and baskets of sweets, traditionally described as presents from deceased relatives. Among the treats were painted sugar figures and frutta martorana, almond sweets shaped and colored to resemble real fruit. This was family folklore, rather than Church teaching, but it helped keep departed grandparents and other relatives present in children’s memories.
Underneath the cakes, flowers, and family customs lies something wonderfully practical. Love still has work to do after a funeral. We can have Masses offered, visit a cemetery, give alms, or pause over a name and say a prayer.
And the Church remembers beyond our own family circle, asking mercy for all the faithful departed, including those whom nobody else remembers.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
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