Amid Our Sadness, Bishop Robert Deeley Says All Souls' Day Brings a Sense of Hope

Bishop Robert Deeley commemorated All Souls' Day with a Mass of Remembrance celebrated at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland on the evening of Wednesday, November 2.  On All Souls’ Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, we pray for our deceased loved ones and all the souls who are in purgatory, waiting to see the face of God.

“Strengthened in the hope God gives us in the promise of eternal life, we are grateful that we can do our departed loved ones this service of prayer in gratitude for the many they have done for us. We can commend them to God’s merciful care, praying that each of them will be raised up and will be in heaven, where death will be no more,” Bishop Deeley said.  “Since we speak of entrusting our dear loved ones to the mercy of God, we need also to be aware that our gathering, though touched by sadness because of feelings of loss for those who are not here, is also a time for hope. God does not leave us alone. In our faith in him, he gives us hope.”

The bishop said there is always reason to hope, pointing to the words of St. Paul: "Hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts."

The bishop called Paul’s words “a powerful reminder of the gift of our faith.”

“Even when our lives seem empty, and we are burdened with anxiety because of the loss of a loved one, his words call us back to the most central teaching of the New Testament: God loves us more than our hope could dare for,” the bishop said.

During the Mass at the cathedral, members of the Consoling Hearts Ministry read the names of all the individuals who have had funeral Masses at one of the five Portland Peninsula & Island Parishes during the past year. Parishioners were also invited to write the names of deceased loved ones in a Book of Remembrance, and prayers were also offered for them during the Mass.

In addition to remembering and offering prayers for those who have died, All Souls’ Day also provides an opportunity to gather in support of those who have suffered the loss of a loved one. Bishop Deeley noted that this year, he is among them. His oldest brother Tom passed away in January.

“This evening, then, I am preaching to myself as well to all of you. I am seeking the solace of this Mass, the promise of its readings, and the comfort of our faith as I remember the good my brother brought to my life and that of my family,” the bishop said.

In preparing his remarks, the bishop said he drew inspiration from a quote from St. Augustine, shared with him by a friend whose mother had recently died and who sent the bishop a note of appreciation for his participation in her funeral services.

"Although we know that they have not left us behind forever but only gone ahead of us, still, when death seizes our loved ones, our loving hearts are saddened by death itself. Thus, the apostle Paul does not tell us not to grieve but not to grieve like those who are without hope. Let us grieve, therefore, over the necessity of losing our loved ones in death but with the hope of being reunited with them. If we are afflicted, we still find consolation. Our weakness weighs us down, but faith bears us up. We sorrow over the human condition but find our healing in the divine promise” (Sermon 112).