Prepare an “Altar of Remembrance” for the month of November
Set up an Altar of Remembrance in your home with the photos and symbols of your loved ones who have died as part of your celebration of the All Saint’s Trilogy: All Hallow’s Eve, October 31 (when hospitality is shared); All Saints Day, November 1 (when we remember at Mass all the unnamed and unknown saints who live with God in heaven); and the Solemnity of All Souls, November 2 (when we honor the graves of our ancestors, pray for any of them who may be in purgatory, and commend all who have died to God).
A word about “Purgatory.” WE DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT IT! What we do know is that it is an expression of God’s love and mercy. Purgatory is not so much a place but a process. It is God’s love and mercy reaching beyond the grave, cleansing us of sin, and preparing us for eternal communion with God. As dear old Fr. Royce put it to the grade school kids at St. Joseph’s where all our kids went and where Lori taught, “Purgatory is like going to the car wash on Saturday before driving to church on Sunday. Or it is like taking a shower at the end of the day to clean up before having a meal with the family. Here’s what The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
“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.” Art. 1030
