Nov 02nd - All Souls

We are reminded of all those who have gone before us, recognized in the Canon or not. Here lie the saints and the sinners, those in Heaven and those in Purgatory. We are all part of a communion of saints, a great gathering of all who live and sleep in Christ.
Today is also a good day to tell family stories, especially to the young, of those who have and continue to inspire us by their lives. Let us pray:
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

---

He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection in mind; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin.

-- 2 Macabees 12: 43-46