Today we pray for all of those who have gone ahead of us in death,

is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by Christians on 2 November.

It is because love keeps our connection with each other alive.

Death is but a passage to life, to the real life where all of us are destined to reach.

that through God’s mercy they will receive the reward of eternal life with him.

We pray for ourselves too that when our time comes, we will share in the same reward.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 

The souls of the just are

In the hands of God and no torment shall touch them. In the eyes of the unwise they appear to be dead. Their going is held as a disaster; it seems that they lose everything by departing from us, but they are in peace. Though seemingly they have been punished, immortality was the soul of their hope.

 

After slight affliction will come great blessings, for God has tried them and found them worthy to be with him; after testing them as gold in the furnace, he has accepted them as a holocaust. At the time of his coming they will shine like sparks that run in the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will be their king forever. Those who trust in him will penetrate the truth, those who are faithful will live with him in love, for his grace and mercy are for his chosen ones.

 

Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6 The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Rom 6:3-9

 

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 25:31-46

When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be brought before him; and, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so will he do with them, placing the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.

 

The king will say to those on his right, 'Come, blessed of my Father! Take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me into your home. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to see me.

 

Then the righteous will ask him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and give you food; thirsty, and give you something to drink; or a stranger, and welcome you; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and go to see you?'

The king will answer, Truly I say to you: just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it to me.'

 

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Go, cursed people, out of my sight, into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you did not give me anything to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me into your house; I was naked, and you did not clothe me; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.'

 

They, too, will ask, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, naked or a stranger, sick or in prison, and did not help you?' The king will answer them, Truly I say to you: just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.' And these will go into eternal punishment; but the just, to eternal life."

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"The eternal life."

Today, we remember and pray for our departed loved ones. We go to cemeteries for the purpose of lighting candles, offering flowers in front of the graves of our departed loved ones while praying for them with the strong faith and hope that they are now resting in God's eternal peace. We express, over and again, our deep love for them even if they are no longer with us physically.

 

In the Creed, we profess that we believe in the resurrection of the dead. Hence, we keep this faith and hope while keeping our ties with them through our loving prayers. Furthermore, today is also a time for self-examination. The reality of the afterlife impels us to check on the network of relationships we have in this present life. How do we treat other people?

 

Do we treat them with care, compassion and love or are we indifferent to their needs? Today's Gospel passage is taken from Matthew's eschatological discourse (cf. Mt 24-25). It tells of the familiar parable about the separation of the sheep and goats in the end of times. Those who have treated others well, like the sheep, will enter the heavenly kingdom.