HOMILY
FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SOULS
Rev.
Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi
Whenever we talk about
the Holy Mother Church, we do not only talk about those living on earth and
practicing their faith. There are three groups that make up the Christian Church:
the Church Militant, the Church Triumphant,
and the Church Penitent. The first consist of Christians on
earth who struggle as soldiers of Christ against sin and the devil. The second
consists of those who have the beatific vision and are now in heaven. The third
(which is our interest for the purpose of today’s solemnity) which can be variously
called the ‘Church suffering’ or the ‘Church expectant’ consists of those who
are in purgatory undergoing purification. They are there to satisfy whatever
portion of the temporal punishment due for their sins that was not satisfied
before death. They are in the process of purging their imperfections before
their eternal beatific vision. The truth is that they all are destined for
heaven; that is, to join the Church triumphant. It is the members of this third
group that we remember today. So, All Souls day commemorates the Holy Souls of Christians
who have died but are yet to enter heaven. It is a day we remember the souls of
all our brothers and sisters who were with us not quite long time ago and now
are no longer with us in this our human struggle. We pray that they rest in
peace. Only in God can we really say that souls have rested in peace. Where they
are now, they are still restless; restless because of their constant desire to
see God face to face.
Hope does not disappoint.
With these words, the second Reading (Rom. 5:5-11) encourages us and at same
time reminds us that Christ has paid the full price of our redemption through
his blood. Hence, inasmuch as these brethren of ours died with Christ in their
baptism, believed in Him and lived according to his precepts, we are sure that
they will be saved. The Christian hope can never be illusive because it is
founded on God. When our hope is in God, it cannot turn to dust and ashes. Our hope
can never disappoint us because God has given us the final proof of his love. Through Jesus, our status with God got
changed. This status that changed is our justification. But not only did our status
change; our state also got changed. This state that changed is our
sanctification. Justification ensures that we are no longer slaves to sin. Our faith
in our Lord Jesus has liberated us from the chains of the evil one. But we need
to work on this justification, but to do this, we still need Jesus. The process
of his intervention to ensure the maintenance of our justification is
sanctification. Was it not Jesus himself who tells us in the Gospel of today
(John 6:37-40) that he will never turn away anyone who comes to him? The will
of God is that none of us should be lost, but be saved. If we believe in Jesus
and do his will, we shall have eternal life.
Sanctification is a
process which starts on earth but does not stop until we behold the beatific
vision. Hence, it is Jesus who continues to ensure that our brethren in
purgatory are sanctified more and more and more until they are fully sanctified
and perfected for heaven. Indeed, the existence of Purgatory is a great
manifestation of God’s love for humans. He does not want us to be damned. He desires
our salvation. The belief in the concept of purgatory is traceable to the third
Century, but the Church did not give it the status of official teaching until
the Second Council of Lyons in the 13th century in 1274. This Council
had the desire to restore unity between the Western and the Eastern Churches;
part of the discussions attempted to reconcile the beliefs of the two Churches
concerning the status of the dead, especially the lot of repentant sinners. This
effort continued at the Council of Flourence (1438-1439); and again the subject
of a post-death process of purification for sinners came up in the discussions.
Even though the effort to reunify the Churches failed, the Council defined
Purgatory as an official teaching of the Catholic Church. It was furthered
defined at the Council of Trent (1563).
To get the Church’s
teaching on purgatory, it is clearly summarized in the Catechism of the
Catholic Church: 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 joys of heaven (CCC, 1030). The
Church gives the name purgatory to this
final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the
punishment of the damned. Simply put, the doctrine of Purgatory has three components:
1)
That purification after death exists
2)
That it involves some kind of pain
3)
That the purification of the dead can be assisted by the prayers and offering
of the living
It is true that no one
can say that there is a commandment in the Bible which states that we must pray
for the faithful departed. We must also know that there is none which tells us
never to pray for them. However, the Bible tells us about the practice of
people who prayed for their dead. In 2 Mac 12:38-42, we are told of the story
of Judas who made a collection of money and sent it to Jerusalem to offer as
expiatory sacrifice for the souls of the soldiers who died during the battle
against Gorgias; and afterwards in 2 Mac. 12:43, we are told that this act of
Judas is a noble and excellent one. In Sirach
7:33, we are admonished to be generous with the living and not to withhold our
kindness from the dead. Therefore, my dear friends, do not forget to pray for
your dear ones who have gone before us to answer the call of faith. May their
souls rest in peace. Amen. God bless you.
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