In these November days when we celebrate all the saints and pray for our beloved dead, the Church invites us to ponder the final things: Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and the Last Judgment.
Tag: purgatory
A month to pray for all souls
The following article is the next installment in a series that will appear in the Catholic Herald to offer catechesis and formation concerning end of life decisions, dying, death, funerals, and burial of the dead from the Catholic perspective.
Lessons of suffering at Lough Derg
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A few years ago, our Catholicism series film crew arrived at the shores of a large lake in far northwest Ireland, in the county of Donegal. We stepped onto a ferry and were taken to an island in the middle of the lake.
On the island was a collection of buildings, which in both architecture and color reminded me vividly of Alcatraz prison. The weather that day was horrific: temperature around 50, heavy winds, and a steady cold rainfall. Our hosts offered us tea and scones and then we made our way onto the island to begin our work.
Repentant persons can reveal Lord’s mercy
To the editor:
Have you ever noticed that among thousands of women saints who are virgins, and several great men saints who repented of fornication, there are no unambiguously historical canonized women saints who were neither virgins nor married, except, traditionally, Mary Magdalene?
One might confusedly wonder if Jesus is above all for virgins, not sinners, and if such women should pin their hopes on purgatory.
Pope Francis wants you to read Dante
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This year marks the 750th anniversary of the birth of the great Catholic poet Dante Alighieri. Michelangelo reverenced Dante, as did Longfellow, Dorothy Sayers, and T.S. Eliot. In fact, it was Eliot who commented, “Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them. There is no third.”
One of Bob Dylan’s finest songs, “Tangled Up in Blue,” contains a reference to Dante: “She opened up a book of poems, handed it to me/It was written by an Italian poet from the 13th century/And every one of those words rang true and glowed like burning coal/Pouring off of every page like it was written in my soul.”
Diocese of Madison to observe Year of Mercy
Pope Francis has declared a Year of Mercy — December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016 — throughout the worldwide Church.
Remembering saints and all souls in November
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We begin November by celebrating the feast of All Saints.
All Saints Day
On All Saints Day, we remember and we honor both the canonized and non-canonized saints of the Catholic Church. Both invite and inspire us to imitate their Christ-like lives.
Pontifical Requiem Mass for deceased bishops and priests on November 3
MADISON — In the “Church Year,” November is a significant month for considering the Communion of the Saints and the holy souls in Purgatory.
At the start of the month, the Church celebrates All Saints Day, giving thanks to God for all those we believe have achieved their heavenly goal, and then All Souls Day, during which we pray for the souls of all those who have departed but await their entry into heaven. They are moving days, which call to mind not only loved ones and friends who have died, but also the end of our own lives.