All Souls Day

On Monday 2nd November at 2:30pm we will have a liturgy of commemoration for all of the faithfully departed. We would like to invite all whanau who have recently lost a loved one to hand in a photograph which we will display at this service and then keep on display for all of November. We will finish this liturgy with a decade of the Rosary. As in previous years this will be outside (weather dependent) at the cemetery on our school grounds at behind the library.   

You can also email the photograph to pamela@sjr.nz.

All Souls’ Day is a day to remember the souls of all who have died, but especially those who have not yet attained Heaven. This feast should serve as a valuable reminder of who we are and what we are made for. It should also be a special day to fondly remember loved ones who are no longer with us.

Here is a prayer we can say all year round to pray for those we know who have died:

Eternal Rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen

In Chapter 2 of Fratelli tutti , Pope Francis offers an extended reflection on Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan as a “ray of light in the midst of what we are experiencing” (56). The Holy Father sees in the parable a reminder that the natural love we experience for family members should be consciously extended to those who are strangers to us. This call to care for strangers in need has its roots in Judaism, and Pope Francis highlights that this care must be expressed both personally, case by case, and communally, united as a family. Each new day should be seen as an opportunity to “include, integrate, and lift up the fallen” rather than “an arena for [our] own power plays” (77).