November: Praying for Our Deceased

This month is set aside to remember in prayer our deceased relatives and friends. The Catholic Church sets aside November 2 as “a commemoration of all the faithful departed,” but this commemoration continues throughout the month.

How are ways that we can remember our loved ones?

Prayer. It is through prayer that we encounter the Risen Lord and know He is with us. In prayer, we do not pray alone. We pray as a member of the Body of Christ which includes those on earth as well as those gone before us. In our prayer we are in union with them.

Thanksgiving: Those who have gone before us have shared their life, their love and their faith with us. In being grateful for them, we are invited to notice their fingerprints on our hearts and in our souls.

Good Works. As we are the hands and heart of Christ reaching out in sacramental ways (notice the small "s") to our brothers and sisters to serve, to heal and to respect, so we continue the good work of those who have gone before us by doing what they did in serving others.