keep this shelf up like this all the time. I pass it often and when I do, the pictures of my grandparents always pricks my heart just a little.
The loss of a loved one in your life is so bittersweet. Bitter in that the pain hurts and their presence is gone. Sweet in that the love you have for them is beautiful.
It is in my nature to be incredibly interested in my ancestors. I think often about the ones I didn’t know and wonder at who they were and what they were like.
I am so grateful for the hope I have in Heaven and the gift of Faith.
As St. Paul tells the Romans, “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
We have the hope, Catholic Pilgrims, of eternal life not only for us, but for our loved ones who we hope to meet again.
For, “they seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of Himself.” Wisdom 3:1-5
Let us be grateful for the opportunity God gives us to be purified after death, Catholic Pilgrims, if we have been found in a state of grace.
And let us assist those enduring their purification because we “have a serious responsibility in charity to pray for those that have died but must yet complete the purification any human being needs to be able to enjoy the vision of God.”
May you have a blessed All Souls’ Day.
