“The souls of the just are in the hand of God…they are in peace.” These comforting words come from the 1st reading from the Book of Wisdom. Today we remember in a special way all of those who have died, especially our loved ones. Death is a great mystery that leaves us shaken, grieving, and searching. God speaks to us in these times of searching. God speaks to us through our prayers and readings on this solemn day. He tells us our loved ones are with him as he tells us that he remembers them. It no up to any of us to judge but God alone. He alone knows what is in the human heart as we hear in the words of the Eucharistic Prayer for Various Needs IV:
“Remember also those who have died in the peace of your Christ and all the dead, whose faith you alone have known.”
This prayer tells us that our life on earth is a pilgrimage:
“Grant also to us, when our earthly pilgrimage is done, that we may come to an eternal dwelling place and live with you forever…”
God tells us in this Eucharistic Prayer that he is always with us on this journey through life to a new and eternal life:
“You are indeed Holy and to be glorified, O God, who love the human race and who always walk with us on the journey of life.”
Today as we remember our loved ones who have died there is both joy and sadness and God both rejoices with us as we celebrate their life and consoles us as we mourn their death.
Let us take comfort in God’s healing word:
“The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace.”
Let us pray: “May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”
Image: “God’s Open Hand” generated by Google AI on 11/01/26.