The essence of celebrating the solemnities of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in the Catholic Church is faith in eternal life, which we profess in the Credo, said Bishop Janusz Ostrowski in an interview with PAP.
In the Catholic Church, November 1 marks the solemnity of All Saints – that is, all those who have already entered the glory of heaven and are in eternity with God, pointing the way to holiness for those still living in the temporal world. Meanwhile, on November 2, on All Souls’ Day, we remember and pray for the deceased who, in purgatory, undergo penance and purification from their sins. In Polish tradition, these are days of reflection, prayer, and visiting the graves of loved ones.
“As we go to the cemetery, it is worth asking ourselves: why am I doing this? Do I just want to follow a tradition, fulfill some social or national obligation, meet with family, reminisce about those who have passed from this world – or truly help them? Flowers and candles, though beautiful symbols in themselves, without prayer as an expression of love will not help our departed loved ones,” said Bishop Ostrowski, Doctor of Canon Law, speaking to PAP.
He admitted that “visiting cemeteries is also a question of whether we believe in eternal life, or whether we think that everything ends at the moment of death.”
“The essence of celebrating the solemnities of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in the Catholic Church is faith in eternal life, in the resurrection. It is one of the fundamental truths of the Christian faith, which we profess in the Credo,” said the bishop.
He explained that “death, in the light of Divine Revelation, is not the annihilation of human existence, but the conclusion of a certain stage of life.” He emphasized that “for Christians, the Resurrection of Christ is the most important and final proof of eternal life.”
“Since we read in the Bible that man was created in the image and likeness of God, endowed with reason and free will, and the Creator is eternal, the human person is therefore also called to immortality. If a person fails to discover this, everything related to death will remain incomprehensible to them,” said the cleric.