Pray in Faith for Our Dead

On the feast of All Souls, the thought of the death of a close family member or friend constricts my heart.

As Catholics, we profess the resurrection of the dead and life eternal. But it is something different to live out those words when it comes to seeing people you have loved and lived with die. So many of us have gone through this suffering, and it can be difficult in the midst of tragic loss to imagine and know that their souls are with God, that they have entered eternity with God.

When it comes to facing death, we are facing the unexpected. We don't know how sorrow will rend our hearts, minds, and lives at the loss of our dearly beloved. Neither do we know the time or circumstances of our own death.

In the space of sorrow and loss, faith and hope step in. Faith and hope will not take away the pain of loss, it won't make us easily believe our loved one is instantly with the Lord, but faith and hope do pull us along in praying for the souls of those we love. Death and the experience of loss are part of faith because they are the ultimate experience of things we have not seen and they are an inseparable part of our being with the Lord for eternity.

The words from the reading from Wisdom today can be that glimmer of what to hold onto as we pray in faith today for those who have died: "Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love" (Wisdom 3:9). In trust, we live in faith and hope.

In the space of sorrow and loss, faith and hope step in. // Christy IsingerClick to tweet

listen to today’s devotion