On All Souls’ Day, I pray for people I can no longer visit, call, or help with the things that once filled their days. I can remember them by name. And I can ask God to receive them into His loving embrace.
I used to wonder why we pray for the dead. If God loves them, what could my prayer add? I still cannot explain exactly what happens after death. But the Church has taught me to pray for those who have died, trusting that God hears us. Prayer gives me something to do with my love for them. It asks me to place that love in God’s hands.
There is grace in prayer. I cannot finish anyone’s story or decide what their last moments meant. I do not understand the burdens they carried, their good acts, or where they needed healing. Even with people I knew well, there was more to them than I could see. God knows all. So I pray for them instead of trying to speak with certainty about where they are.
When I pray with my daughters, I might have to help them know about the person I am naming. I want them to remember the people who came before us, including those they never met. We can thank God for them and ask him to care for them. A child’s prayer can be very direct. Mine often gets too complicated, but I can say the name and go from there.
All Souls’ Day also reminds me to pray for those whose names I do not know. Some died with family around them; others may have had no one to mourn them. At Mass, the Church prays for all the faithful departed. It is good to join in that prayer. My memory has limits. God knows them all.
Lord, remember all who have died. Receive those I love and those whose names I have never known. Heal what was wounded in them, forgive their sins, and bring them into the joy of your presence. Teach me to trust them to your mercy. Amen.
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