J1ST 093: All Soul's Day

Just One Small Thing Podcast for Catholic Parents

Welcome back to another week of the Just One Small Thing Podcast!!

Continuing on our 'Fall Triduum' theme, we're discussing All Soul's Day today. Although the last day of this great Triduum of our Faith, it seems to be the 'middle child' in some ways... It's not an eve. It's not a Holy Day of Obligation. It's also kind of sad. We all have people we have known and loved and they've passed on and we're not exactly sure where they are... Did they go straight to Heaven? Are they still in purgatory? How exactly are we supposed to celebrate it?

First of all, it's really truly beautiful that our Church gives us a feast day expressly to remember our beloved dead. Many (most?) of us will spend some time in purgatory after we die and the only way we can get to Heaven is the prayers of those on Earth or in Heaven. There are actually indulgences attached to praying for the dead during the month of November! It's also comforting to have this time to remember those we've lost personally.

That's exactly what we do in today's episode... Nancy and I both share a bit about our beloved dead and discuss ways to remember and honor them on All Souls' Day and throughout the month of November. Some ideas are:

• 1. Visit, clean, and decorate their graves (check out this beautiful tradition in Poland!)
  2. Speak their names
  3. Ask them to pray with you
  4. Display their pictures/names
  5. Pray the St. Gertrude Prayer (see below)

We also discuss how we talk about death with our kids. As uncomfortable and sad it might be, death is a reality our children need to be aware of.

We'd love to pray for your beloved dead too! Please comment here or email us so we can add them to our list.

Your sisters in the small things,

Nancy and Katie

The St. Gertrude Prayer (pious tradition is that 1,000 souls are released from purgatory upon each recitation... more about that here):

Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for all sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.