On the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (In Commemoratione Omnium Fidelium Defunctorum), celebrated liturgically as a Third Class Mass on November 2nd, following the solemnity of All Saints, the Church pauses to pray for those souls who, though redeemed, are yet being purified. On this day, especially in the traditional Roman Rite, three Masses are offered by every priest for the repose of souls. It is a day filled with quiet solemnity, yet shining with supernatural hope, rooted deeply in Sacred Scripture and the teaching of the Fathers.
Today we meditate upon two powerful passages proclaimed in the Masses of this day: 1 Corinthians 15:51–57 and John 5:25–29. These scriptures, read in the shadow of the high altar draped in black and surrounded by the somber tone of the Requiem chants, proclaim not despair, but a triumphant hope—an unshakable confidence in Christ’s victory over death and His just judgment of all men.
1 Corinthians 15:51–57 — “O death, where is thy victory?”
“Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall all indeed rise again: but we shall not all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible: and we shall be changed.” (1 Cor 15:51–52)
St. Paul draws aside the veil of mystery to show us the final hour, when the trumpet of the Archangel shall ring out and the dead shall rise. This passage, so often read at funerals and on All Souls’ Day, speaks to the universal resurrection—a teaching central to the Catholic faith and confessed in the Creed: “Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum.”
St. Ambrose, in his treatise On the Death of His Brother Satyrus, reflects on this resurrection with the full confidence of a Christian:
“Death is, then, no cause for mourning, for it is the cause of mankind’s salvation. Death is not an ending, but a passage; not a going out, but a going over.” (Ambrose, De Excessu Fratris Satyri)
St. John Chrysostom likewise comforts the faithful in his homilies on Corinthians:
“Let no one fear death; for the Savior’s death hath freed us. He that was once dead is not now dead; but, rather, he that was once in death is now the destroyer of death.” (Homily 42 on 1 Corinthians)
St. Paul’s bold cry, “O death, where is thy sting? O death, where is thy victory?” is not mere poetic flourish—it is the war-cry of the Christian who sees death not as an end, but as the moment of ultimate transformation, when the mortal shall put on immortality.
John 5:25–29 — “The hour cometh, and now is”
“Amen, amen I say unto you, that the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” (John 5:25)
The words of Christ Himself pierce the veil further still. He speaks not only of the final resurrection but of the mysterious life already being given to souls now dead in sin, who hear and respond to His voice. Yet the passage culminates in the universal resurrection and judgment:
“All that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And they that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life: but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28–29)
Here the resurrection of all flesh is made plain. Every soul shall appear before the judgment seat of Christ—this is the sober doctrine that underpins All Souls’ Day. There is no reincarnation, no annihilation, no escape from the eternal consequence of life’s choices. The Fathers insist on this truth with gravity and compassion.
St. Augustine, in his sermon On the Creed, insists:
“He who made thee without thee will not justify thee without thee. He who created thee without thy knowledge, will not save thee without thy consent. For He hath set before thee life and death, and He will render to each according to his deeds.” (Augustine, Sermon 213)
Tertullian, writing in the third century, calls the resurrection “the firmest article of the faith,” stating:
“The body shall rise again, certainly the same flesh, entire in its substance, though changed in its glory.” (De Resurrectione Carnis, ch. 63)
The bodily resurrection is no metaphor. It is a literal, physical reality—affirmed by Christ, taught by the Apostles, defended by the Fathers, and sung in the Dies Irae of the Requiem Mass.
The Context of the Traditional Liturgy
The traditional Roman Rite sets these readings within the black vestments and the austere ceremonies of the Requiem Mass. At Prima Missa, or the first of the three Masses offered for the dead, this profound mystery is proclaimed not with sentimental hope but with the full weight of Catholic realism: death is real, judgment is coming, but Christ has conquered.
The orations and chants are rich with the plea: “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.” Eternal rest is not presumed—it is begged. The souls in purgatory rely on our prayers, sacrifices, and especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This liturgical context is itself a profound catechesis, reinforcing what the Scriptures and Fathers teach.
Conclusion: Hope Rooted in Judgment and Mercy
On this Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, we are summoned to remember the dead not in vague nostalgia, but in confident supplication. The Gospel and Epistle assure us that death is not the end, and that every man shall rise. But they also compel us to act: to pray, to do penance, to have Masses offered—for others, yes, but also for ourselves.
Let us take to heart the words of St. Gregory the Great:
“Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them. For the dead are aided by the works of the living.” (St. Gregory, Dialogues, IV.55)
May we, by God’s grace, live so as to be among those who “have done good things,” who at the voice of the Son of God shall rise to the resurrection of life.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Requiescant in pace. Amen.