They Are Waiting for Our Prayers” — A Heartfelt Homily for All Souls’ Day. (2-11-25)
Praise be to Jesus Christ
In the evening of the commemoration of all souls, a grandmother took her little granddaughter for a walk to the village cemetery. The sun had almost disappeared, and the last bit of light spread softly across the sky. The child was so surprised. She was looking around at the small graves, the flowers, and the candles that flickered in the cool air. She held the hand of her grandmother tightly and asked in a quiet voice, “Grandma, are all these people sleeping here?”
The old woman enjoyed the doubt of her granddaughter. She looked at the little angel for a moment, then said softly, “Yes, my dear darling. They are sleeping, but they are also waiting.” The girl looked up, confused. “Waiting? Waiting for what, Grandma?” The grandmother’s eyes grew tender. “They are waiting for our prayers,” she said. “Our prayers are the way we show our love even after someone has gone from this world. When we pray for them, we help them come closer to God’s light. That is why we come here today, and not just today, but every day we remember them and pray for them. Love never ends, and praying for them is our way of saying we still love them.”
The little girl was silent for a moment. She looked again at the graves. She looked peaceful, as if resting in God’s hands. She pressed her grandmother’s hand and whispered, “Then we must keep praying, Grandma.” The grandmother kissed her with great affection, her eyes wet with love. “Yes, my dear,” she said softly, “we must never stop praying for them. It is the most beautiful gift we can give our dear departed and when we pray we are united with them in love.”
That simple conversation is the heart of today’s Gospel. Jesus says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never reject.” The key word here is “come.” Even after death, souls long to come fully into the presence of God. But some, still burdened by the dust of sin, pass through the fire of purification which we call purgatory. And what helps them most in that journey are our prayers.
The Church always teaches us that love does not end at the grave. Our bond with those who have gone before us continues in prayer. That is why today’s commemoration is not just a ritual for one day. It is a reminder of our daily duty of love, to remember and pray for the departed every day.
In the life of Saint Padre Pio, there are many stories of souls who came to him asking for prayers. One evening, as he was praying alone in the friary, he saw a man standing near the fireplace. Thinking it was one of the brothers, Padre Pio asked what he was doing there. The man replied, “I am a soul from purgatory. I died in this place many years ago and I am still waiting for the Masses that were promised for me.” Padre Pio prayed for him, and later the man appeared again, radiant with peace, thanking him as he rose toward heaven. Such stories remind us that purgatory is not a punishment of anger, but of love, a place where the soul is purified to meet God’s holiness face to face. However, our prayers and sacrifices are the fuel by which they fly to heaven.
In the Old Testament, Judas Maccabeus collected money to offer sacrifice for the dead, saying, “It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins.” (2 Maccabees 12:46). This faith in the mercy of God continued through the centuries and shines again in today’s Gospel. Jesus came so that “nothing of what the Father has given may be lost.” Our prayers become the means by which that promise is fulfilled.
It is good to remember that every time when we pray for the souls in purgatory, we participate in the merciful work of Christ. Our rosaries, our little sacrifices, our daily Mass intentions, all these are like ladders of light reaching into that place of waiting. The souls cannot pray for themselves; they depend on our love, our prayers, our sacrifices. And when we help them, they in turn help us by praying for our salvation. It is a bond of charity that crosses even the walls of death.
In our families, let us teach our children to remember the dead. A candle lit for a departed parent, a simple prayer before meals, or visiting the cemetery on any free day or after Sunday mass are not small things. They are acts of living faith and an expression of love to our dear departed. The grandmother’s words to her little one are true for us all: “They are waiting for our prayers.”
Let this commemoration be not just for today, but a way of life. Every day, let a prayer rise from our hearts for the forgotten souls. In doing so, we become the living hands of Jesus, who promised, “I will never reject anyone who comes to me.”
Lord Jesus, give eternal rest to all the departed. Amen
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