Bishop Solis celebrates All Souls Day Mass at cemetery

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Bishop Oscar A. Solis gives the homily at the All Souls Day Mass at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery.

SALT LAKE CITY — Bishop Oscar A. Solis celebrated the traditional All Souls Day Mass at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery on Nov. 2. Among the concelebrants were Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general; Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general emeritus; and Fr. Kenneth Vialpando, vicar for clergy. Deacon George Reade, chancellor, assisted.

Delivering his homily in English and Spanish, the bishop noted that “going to the cemetery and praying for the dead is a long religious tradition and also a central part of the early Christian practice as a sign of our Christian love and charity.”

He recalled that when he was growing up in the Philippines, people would spend the week before the feasts of All Saints and All Souls cleaning the graves of their family members. Then, over the two days during which the Church commemorates the faithful departed, the people in the Philippines would attend Mass in the churches before going to the cemetery to bring flowers and light candles “all day long. It is a beautiful time for a family reunion,” he said, adding that relatives would travel from other towns to “pray and honor the dead members of their family.”  

He quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”

This is a clear teaching of the importance of praying for the souls of the dead, the bishop said, because Catholics believe that “through prayer and through the grace of God we can help the people departed endure the final purification of their sins and achieve and attain reunion with God in heaven.”

The Feast of All Souls “reminds us about the brevity of life and the urgent need to live life fully and meaningfully,” he said, adding that “Life is meaningless unless we learn to love, and for those who live in love, death is not the end of life but a transition to eternal life promised by Christ.”

As members of the mystical Body of Christ, “while we are still living on earth … it is important that we persevere in our faith, remain loyal to God and obey God’s commandments,” he said. “We must love one another as Jesus loves us in all our thoughts, words and deeds so that in the end God the Father will … welcome us into his eternal kingdom.”

Bishop Solis asked those present at the Mass to pray for the faithful departed and also for themselves, that they might obtain eternal life. He ended with a prayer that God in his mercy would grant eternal rest and peace to all the loved ones who have died..