Saint Rita Catholic Church and School in Webster, NY - An Introduction to the Sunday Scripture Readings

“The Souls of the Just are in the Hand of God”

This Sunday is a rare opportunity to celebrate All Souls Day on a Sunday. Normally this would be the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time but because All Souls Day falls on a Sunday, we use these readings in our celebration. Our readings for this commemoration give us consolation for our beloved dead and hope of their resurrection and eternal life.

In our first reading from the Wisdom of Solomon (Solomon 3:1-9), we hear the firm belief in the afterlife and that the just will rest with our God for eternity. “They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead … but they are in peace.” Whatever suffering they had in this life was seen as a testing and purification by God so that they would be found worthy. “… Because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.”

In our Epistle reading (Romans 6:3-9), St. Paul teaches us the importance of Baptism. Paul emphasizes that Baptism is a real and not merely symbolic participation in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Paul writes, “If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” This is not a symbolic resurrection, but a real resurrection to a real eternal life with Christ in paradise, heaven. We are called to believe this reality and put it into practice in our daily lives.

In our Gospel reading (John 6:37-40), we hear an excerpt from Jesus’ “Bread of Life Discourse” which happens immediately after He fed the five thousand with only five fish and two loaves of bread. This passage offers comfort and consolation that both we and our loved ones are the personal concern of Jesus. “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me…”

Today’s celebration is not a feast day or a solemnity but always follows the Solemnity of All Saints on November 1, which is usually a Holy Day of Obligation. All Souls' Day is a solemn observance in the Catholic tradition to pray for the souls of the departed, particularly those in purgatory, who are believed to be in the process of purification before entering heaven. It is a day of remembrance and hope, reflecting on the unity of the Church, both on earth and in heaven, offering prayers and sacrifices to assist the souls of the deceased in their journey towards God's presence, and the promise of resurrection and eternal life with our God.

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110225.cfm