Reflection From

Fr. John

November 2, 2025

This past Saturday we celebrated All Saints Day, and on Sunday we celebrate All Souls Day. The celebration of All Saints Day and All Souls Day is deeply rooted in Catholic theology and the tradition of the Church.

All Saints Day recognizes the saints in Heaven, all those who through the grace of God gaze upon the face of God forever. The saints in Heaven include those who have been formally canonized by the Church and those who are in Heaven but have not been formally declared saints. The saints in heaven who have formally been declared saints by the Church have lived lives of heroic virtue that are worthy of our imitation. When the Church declares someone to be a saint, after much review, they declare that the person is in Heaven and can be venerated, meaning we can ask for their intercession. Being so close to God, the saints are able to intercede in powerful ways on our behalf.

Since the start of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV has formally recognized nine new saints in the Catholic Church. These saints include: St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. Carlo Acutis, St. Maria Troncatti, St. Vincenza Maria Poloni, St. Bartolo Longo, St. Jose Gregorio Hernandez, St. Carmen Elena Rendiles Martinez, St. Shukralla Maloyan and St. Peter To Rot. Among these recently canonized saints are men and women from around the world, including Africa, South America and Papua New Guinea. They have lived lives of heroic virtue and given witness to their faith in Christ. St. Gregorio Hernandez, known as the “doctor of the poor” was the first Venezuelan saint to be canonized this past October 19th.

Following All Saints Day, the celebration of All Souls Day is linked to the early Church practice of praying for the dead. Praying for the souls of those who have passed and who are in the process of purification was an early Church tradition. One of the earliest records of the practice of praying for the dead in the early Church was Tertullian’s letter to a widow around AD 200. He mentions, “Indeed, she prays for his [her dead husband’s] soul, and requests refreshment for him meanwhile, and fellowship (with him) in the first resurrection; and she offers (her sacrifice) on the anniversaries of his falling asleep.” In addition, St. Cyprian of Carthage in AD 253 wrote, “Let us remember one another in concord and unanimity. Let us on both sides [of death] always pray for one another.” These early Church fathers, leaders in the Church, through their writings show that the practice of praying for the dead has been a part of the Church from the very beginning. In St. Paul’s Second letter to Timothy, he mentions praying for Onesiphorus, a man who had helped him while he was in prison and who died before the writing of St. Paul’s letter. St. Paul mentions praying for the family of Onesiphorus, “May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus because he often gave me new heart and was not ashamed of my chains.” (2 Tim 1:16) St. Paul then goes on to mention, “May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you know very well the services he rendered in Ephesus.” (2 Tim 1:18)

Through imitating the lives of the saints who we venerate on All Saints Day and by asking for their intercession, we grow in the practice of virtue and are assisted in our journey of faith. In our prayers for the dead on All Souls Day, we continue a long held practice in the Church of remembering the dead. In addition, we are reminded of our own mortality. Most importantly, our prayers for the dead help the souls of those who have gone before us to be purified of their sins and enter fully into the presence of God.

Father John

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