All Souls Day 2025
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: November 2, 2025
I was baptized as a baby and have been Catholic all my life. I was ordained a priest in 1990, so I have been a Catholic priest for 35 years. My entire life has been immersed in the Catholic faith. This is a great gift, but it comes with a danger. Familiarity can sometimes lead to taking things for granted.
For those of us who have always been Catholic, it is easy to overlook some of the rich blessings of our faith. Recently, I have been reflecting on one particular area we might take for granted: our Catholic Funeral Rites. They are a profound and beautiful gift.
All Souls Day and the Christian View of Death
This year, November 2 falls on a Sunday, so the Feast of All Souls is celebrated at our Sunday Masses. It is a moment to reflect on death, life after death, and the promise of resurrection. We remember and pray for our loved ones who have died and reflect on the hope we have in Christ.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
In the Catholic tradition, there is a phrase in Latin: “Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi.” It means, “The law of prayer is the law of belief.”
In other words, the way we pray reveals what we believe. By simply participating in Mass, we absorb the Catholic faith. So if we want to understand what we believe about death and eternal life, we look at how we pray in our funeral liturgies.
Beyond “Celebration of Life”
Many Christian communities, and certainly secular society, do not have rich rituals around death. Often there is only a celebration of life or eulogies that speak about a person’s past. While meaningful, these moments often stop at memory. There may be no proclamation of hope, no language of eternal life, and no encounter with the God who conquers death.
Catholic Funeral Rites, by contrast, satisfy the deepest longing of the human heart: the desire for meaning, mercy, and hope in the face of death.
The Funeral Liturgy: Signs of Christian Hope
At a Catholic Funeral Mass, you will see the Easter Candle beside the casket or urn, reminding us of baptism and the light of Christ that no darkness can overcome.
When a casket arrives at the church entrance, it is covered with a white pall, symbolizing the baptismal garment. As the pall is placed, the priest proclaims:
“On the day of his Baptism, N. was welcomed into the Church, given new life in Christ, and clothed with the garment of salvation. Today we commend our brother to the mercy of God and pray that the promise made to him in Baptism will be fulfilled.”
In this moment we remember that baptism begins our journey toward eternal life, and death is not its end, but its completion.
Listening to the Word of God
At every funeral Mass, we celebrate the Liturgy of the Word, just as we do at every sacrament. We listen to Scripture chosen to comfort, guide, and anchor us in faith. These readings proclaim the promise of Christ and remind us where our true hope lies.
Life Is Changed, Not Ended
During the Eucharistic Prayer, listen carefully to the prayers offered for the deceased. One of the Prefaces for funerals beautifully expresses our belief:
“For your faithful, Lord, life is changed, not ended. An eternal dwelling is made ready for them in heaven.”
The Eucharist nourishes us on our journey to eternal life, and at a funeral Mass, that meaning becomes especially clear.
Final Commendation and Committal
After Communion, we pray the Final Commendation. The body or ashes are sprinkled with holy water and honored with incense. These gestures express our deep reverence for the dignity of the person who has died.
The last prayer before burial expresses our hope:
Priest: “Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord.”
People: “And let perpetual light shine upon her.”
Compassion and Resurrection
In our Gospel today, Jesus meets a grieving widow whose only son has died. Scripture tells us Jesus had compassion on her and said, “Do not weep.” Then he called to her son, “Rise.”
Every Catholic funeral echoes that same promise. Christ looks upon the grieving with compassion, and to the one who has died he speaks, “Rise.”
We Mourn With Hope
As Catholics, we mourn, but not like those who have no hope. In our funeral rites, we proclaim that death is not the end. We entrust our loved ones to God’s mercy and light, confident in the promise of eternal life.
Death is real, yet so is resurrection.
Our Catholic Funeral Rites remind us, with gentle strength and deep faith:
Life is changed, not ended.
