In marking All Souls Day on Nov. 2, the faithful throughout The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington attended Masses, offered prayers and performed other acts of remembrance for their departed loved ones.
Washington Cardinal Gregory, who recently returned to this archdiocese after attending the monthlong Synod of Bishops in Rome, celebrated a midday Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. At the Catholic Student Center at the University of Maryland in College Park, students gathered in the evening to pray for their deceased loved ones and to display luminarias in memory of the dead.
During his Mass at the cathedral, Cardinal Gregory said All Souls Day – known liturgically as the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed – is a time to “remember in prayer the many wonderful people who have filled our lives … who have fallen asleep in the Lord. We ask Christ to beg His Father to forgive their sins, and we ask Him to forgive us.”
The cardinal noted that the love God has for Jesus “knows no bounds,” and said that same love can be seen in parents who love their children and worry about their children.
“What parent does not worry about their children when they are not home? We never outgrow our parents’ love and desire to see us safely at home with them,” the cardinal said. “Because of that limitless love of that perfect Father, we are all ultimately destined to be at home with our Father.”
The cardinal called the annual commemoration “a celebration and special prayer that all those we have loved in this life are indeed safe in the Father’s house.”
He added that the entire month of November is “a holy season to pause in faith with sincere gratitude for the blessings that we have received through the lives of our loved ones – husbands and wives, children and grandchildren, brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends – who have touched our lives deeply with their love.”
During the Mass – which was livestreamed and followed on social media by people from as far away as India – the cardinal also prayed to God that “may our hope of the resurrection for your departed servants find new strength.”
Following the Mass, Cardinal Gregory proceeded to a chapel at the cathedral to offer prayers where three deceased former cardinal archbishops of Washington are buried: Cardinal Patrick O’Boyle, the archbishop of Washington from 1948 until 1973 who died in 1987; Cardinal William Baum, the archbishop of Washington from 1973 until 1980 who died in 2015; and Cardinal James Hickey, the archbishop of Washington from 1980 until 2000 who died in 2004.
A Mass was offered that same evening at the Catholic Student Center at the University of Maryland in College Park. The nearly 100 students and others who gathered for the Mass were reminded by Father Conrad Murphy, the Catholic chaplain at the university, that their deceased loved ones are “in the hands of a loving Father who loves them even more than you do.”
During the Mass, the names of students, family and friends and community members who have died in the past year were read aloud and prayers were offered. Father Murphy prayed to God that those who have died “may gaze on you eternally, their redeemer.”
Father Murphy acknowledged that while “death is a scary thing – it brings a lot of fear to our hearts and uncertainty,” the faithful can find “comfort and the love that dries up tears by placing ourselves in the arms of our loving Father who guides us and directs and who is calling us home.”
For the third year, candle-lit luminarias with the names of deceased loved ones were placed throughout the Catholic Student Center property.
The University of Maryland students walked among 600 luminarias inscribed with the names of deceased Catholics and non-Catholics for whom prayers were requested.
“It is beautiful and simple, and the students can encounter Christ in a tangible way,” Father Murphy said of the display. “They can walk up and down the rows in silence and in prayer.”
This year, the All Souls commemoration took on a more personal meaning and is “all the more poignant,” the priest explained, because a University of Maryland student committed suicide on campus last week that was witnessed by several students.
“Death is on their (students’) minds, but they trust in God,” Father Murphy said. “The beauty is we can be here together to support one another.”
Prior to the Mass, sophomore Rafael Birado was among several students lighting the luminarias. He said he chose to do so because “members of my own family have passed away, and other people here remember their loved ones, and so I’m helping them to remember.”
Senior Danielle Haley said that as she was lighting the luminarias, she was “remembering all the souls who have passed – especially my grandparents.”
“My grandparents passed the faith on to my parents who passed the faith on to me,” she said. “I will pass on the faith, and one day I hope to have grandchildren who will be praying for the repose of my soul.”
After the Mass, the faithful made a slow and solemn procession through the luminarias. Father Murphy offered prayers for the dead and asked participants to ponder the striking scene and “let the stirring of your hearts translate into prayer.”
