All Souls' Day -Year A - 2 November 2026
Readings for All Souls Day- Year A
FIRST READING: Isaiah 25:6-9
Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14. "The Lord is my light and my salvation"
SECOND READING: Romans 5:5-11
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 6:39). Alleluia, Alleluia! This is the will of my Father, says the Lord, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me, and that I should raise it up on the last day.
GOSPEL: Matthew 11:25-30
https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/iSrEdUTcO8K3I9541Ra3/all-souls-day-solemnity-christ-has-saved-us-by-his-holy-cross-people-holding-candles-stand-all-aroun?ru=Paul-Evangelion
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Please listen to the audio recordings of the Mass (Readings, prayers and homily) for All Souls Day, Year A - 2 November 2026 - by clicking this link here: https://on.soundcloud.com/dVEyDDCirJ6J0DFKV5
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Faith, Hope and Love, the commemoration of all the faithful departed,
[All Souls' Day].
This day of commemoration began early in the Middle Ages, with annual prayers for the dead in monastic communities. Fixed on this day, it spread more widely after the 10th century and now ranks with the principal feast days in the liturgical calendar.
Commonly known as All Souls, it expresses Christian faith in the communion of saints and the real need and effectiveness of praying for one another in the church, including for souls in purgatory who have been buried in their human imperfection.
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I could not think of a better person to commend our dear departed loved ones to, friends and colleagues, to the eternal care of, than the one who formed them with love, and walked with them every step of their life's journey, and loved them as a doting parent, that is, our God, God who is love. God created everything from the dust.
And we're told in the Scriptures that God never hates anything he created because he made it, and with love beyond all telling. We commend our departed loved ones, and all souls, to God, who understands us better than we even understand ourselves. God knows every situation, every circumstance, every hardship, every context behind our actions and decisions, and every blessing and grace in each person's life.
God sees and knows everything that made us free to make the decisions we made in our lives, and God also saw all the restrictions on our freedom to think and act. Amazingly, we often don't see those factors clearly in our lives, even in our own events, because we're mortals. We act imperfectly, with imperfect vision and knowledge.
But God knows and sees it all and allows all these factors. God has the whole picture and sees us with clear but loving eyes. God is all-compassionate, merciful, kind, loving, and faithful.
In his earthly ministry, Jesus physically raised from the dead only a few people. And naturally, this astounding miracle, this exceptional miracle, was met with incredible wonder, awe, fear and amazement. But we know that the people he raised back to life, with compassion deep in his heart, would eventually go the way of all humans and die again, hopefully this time after a long and happy life.
These rare incidents of Christ raising the dead in his earthly ministry show us God's heart toward all of us who mourn. This heart is filled with unfathomable love and compassion. Our Lord himself knew what it was like to mourn the loss of loved ones.
His stepfather Joseph, whom he loved deeply, passed away at some time in his young life. It must have been a deep loss and sadness. He must have been tempted to raise him back up straight away.
But he did not!
Instead, he entrusted him to his Heavenly Father, who is always faithful. He also wept at the death of Lazarus, even though he believed and knew in heaven and the ultimate resurrection of all the dead.
But he still keenly felt grief and loss, just like we all do. Our Lord knows what it's like to grieve deeply. Jesus says to each of us, I will raise you up anew to eternal life, to the fullness of life in heaven.
He promises this. He will not break this promise. Those few examples of physical resurrection, of which Christ himself is the absolute fullness, are a promise and a foretaste.
This poor widow who lost her only son. This son was raised up out of compassion, to remind everyone that God promises to raise up our bodies in the fullness of time. It also shows Christ's faithfulness, love and care for all who are bowed down by grief and loss.
God promises to fulfil his words to us. We too can join with those in the first reading who are claimed: see, this is the one in whom we trusted. It is God in whom we hoped.
And we were right to do so, for see, he has saved us. In life, and in the life of each one of us, we come across sadness, tragedies, loss and disaster, more times than we care to count. Some disasters are naturally occurring, freak incidents or accidents, or inexplicable developments.
Other disasters are tragically due to human action: mistakes, sins, negligence, or malice. These are even harder to bear. Today's Feast of All Souls is a reminder that God is our faithful shepherd, a good and loving shepherd and parent who is never just content with saving the ninety-nine of the flock, but who will not rest and who keeps searching until the very last sheep is recovered and carried back on his shoulders to be reunited with everyone else.
Jesus shows us that it is right and good to keep trusting and hoping and praying, for God is truly faithful. God is gentle, kind, and compassionate, and understands our needs. Today we pray for all holy souls.
We're consoled and at peace in knowing that we are praying and entrusting all these precious souls into the hands of the One who has the final loving say over everything.
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References:
Homily: Fr. Paul W. Kelly
Image Credit: https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/iSrEdUTcO8K3I9541Ra3/all-souls-day-solemnity-christ-has-saved-us-by-his-holy-cross-people-holding-candles-stand-all-aroun?ru=Paul-Evangelion
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Prayers of intercession:
Gentle shepherd and eternal Lord, we trust in your loving compassion and mercy as we pray for our faithful departed.
That all who have died in faith may come one day to the glory of eternal life. We pray to the Lord.
That those who grieve may find understanding support in their time of need.
We pray to the Lord.
That those who do not believe in God may come to know the hope the Lord brings. We pray to the Lord.
That those who suffer depression or anxiety may experience the Lord's merciful comfort and receive the help they need. We pray to the Lord.
That those who are lonely may hope for a new life. We pray to the Lord.
Loving God, with confidence in your unconditional love, faithfulness and mercy, we make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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