Gospel John 6:37-40
Jesus said to the crowds: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
Homily
As a little child, I loved the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed yet I was afraid of death. I was fascinated by the cemeteries with the graves all lighted up. In the dark of night it seemed that the cemeteries were covered with stars and that God was somewhere in the midst of all the lights, saving the dead it would seem from all the evil spirits who wanted to capture them. All Souls was the one day that one could walk safely over and among the graves.
I thought of my childhood experience and related it to another experience of All Souls when I suddenly went to the cemetery to clean my mother’s grave, something which I had never done before and which a psychologist explained to me as making peace with my ancestors. Making peace with my ancestors has allowed me to visit the cemetery now without any apprehension and to walk over and among their graves. I can now form community with them, I can call on them in difficult moments knowing that they hear me, that they intercede for me and I would hope protect me. The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed or All Souls strengthens my belief in and my hope that one day I will attain eternal life.
The Gospel Reading chosen for the Eucharist today reminds us of this when it says: “For this is the will of my Father that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
What then is this belief in the Son which will assure me of eternal life? It is the acceptance of the Son, not simply intellectually but with mind and heart. It is becoming one with him, so that like St. Paul, one can say; “It is no longer I, it is Christ who lives in me!” When Christ lives in us we live as Christ lived; we think as He thought; His attitudes become our attitudes, we die with Him, we die to our selfishness each day and with Him we rise each day to new life.
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This is how the saints lived. We think of St. Damian of Molokai and Teresa of Calcutta, looking after those considered to be the refuse of this earth as Christ cured the lepers and ailing people of his time. Their lives show us belief becoming life.
God calls each one of us to be saved just as He called Damian and Teresa. They allowed Christ to live in them and so were saved. We have to let Christ live in us also so that we may be saved also.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, We ask you to be merciful to our dearly departed. We know that they were not perfect but we ask You to look, not at their sins, but at the efforts they made to have Christ live in them. Give to us who are still on the earth the courage to make the effort. So many things militate against making the effort. Strengthen us with your grace. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our mother and your Son Jesus. Amen
