At the funeral of a loved one or dear friend, we experience two emotions—sorrow that the person will no longer be a part of our lives as they were before, and joy that they will experience the promises Jesus has made for all who believe in him and are faithful to him. Later, when we visit their graves, peace comes with remembering how they influenced our lives with their love for us.     

My parents are buried in a family cemetery in the tiny southeast Missouri community of Hermondale, near the Arkansas border. I presided at my mother’s burial there two years ago this November. Praying for her and my father during their funeral Masses and at our family cemetery each time I visit their graves, gives me a sense of deep peace, hope, and even joy.     

I also felt a spiritual closeness to other Frazer family members interred on those grounds. How much life and love flowed down to me from my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.     

Thinking of deceased relatives and friends who have shaped our lives is especially meaningful on November 2 when the Catholic Church observes All Souls Day. While we hope that all of them are already in heaven with Our Lord, on November 2, we also pray as a Church for those who may be in purgatory.     

I invite you to join in our appeal for all souls during our feast day Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal here in Perryville, Missouri.   

Send the names of those you would like to be remembered in prayer on the “Remembrance List.” The names you share will be placed at the foot of Mary’s Shrine Altar during our All Souls Day Liturgy. Your loved ones will also be remembered in the daily Mass and prayers at Our Lady’s Shrine throughout the month of November, and during the anniversary month of their passing.     

What more could your loved ones ask for than your spiritual aid as they look forward to fully entering into God’s presence?     

You may also request a Votive Light for your departed loved ones as a symbol of your prayerful desire to “light their way” home or to celebrate their union with Our Lord in heaven. Check the Votive Light box on your “Remembrance List” option and kindly return the suggested offering by mail.     

Feel free to include any other special intentions you would like remembered in the daily Mass and prayers at the Shrine throughout the month of November.     

We will use your All Souls Day offering to bring Jesus to the world by inspiriting devotion to Mary. Your gift will also support the apostolic mission and charitable works of our Vincentian priests and brothers.     

Let us unite ourselves in the sentiment Pope Francis offered on All Souls Day last year: “We pray to the Lord for our dead, that [God] will receive them all. And we pray also that the Lord will have mercy on us and give us hope: hope that we can go forward and … find them all together with him when he calls us.”     
May God continue to bless your efforts to serve him, and may he draw all of us ever closer to himself.                                                            
In Jesus’ everlasting love and mercy,

Fr. Clayton Kilburn, C.M.                                                            
Spiritual Director

P.S.  May God’s grace and mercy be with those who have gone before us. I, along with my fellow Vincentian priests and brothers, will pray for your deceased loved ones on All Souls Day and throughout the month of November.