Dear Family,
Memento mori … Remember you must die. All Souls’ Day is our Memento mori. Death of a loved one or even the news of the death of some random person is a reminder of the certainty of death and the frailty of all human life. But All Souls doesn’t just remind us of death but also of life. This life is truly celebrated from conception to natural death and points to eternal life which is the will of God.
Year by year persons ask for their departed loved ones to be remembered at the three Masses offered at our Shrine Basilica. Clearly if you “were not expecting the[dead] to rise again it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if [we do] this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who [have] gone to rest in godliness, it [is] a holy and pious thought.”- 2 Maccabees 12:43-46.
It is this holy and pious thought that we are demonstrating in our three Masses. We are celebrating Christ’s paschal mystery. Through baptism we are united with Christ in his death and with him pass from death into life. At every Mass we affirm our hope for eternal life.
But noy only do we celebrate All Souls’ Day, but we use the entire month of November to honor the dead. Their names will be placed in the Basilica’s Book of the Dead and placed at the entrance of the Church with the Paschal Candle burning by it. There persons - family members, friends and even strangers will be encouraged to pray for the souls of the faithful departed that through the mercy of God they may rest in peace.
We invite you to be a part of this Mary Queen Tradition.
Yours in Jesus and Mary,
Very Reverend Anthony Aarons, Missionary of Mercy
RECTOR
