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On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The LORD GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!”
R./ The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger, and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R./ The Lord is kind and merciful.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
For he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
R./ The Lord is kind and merciful.
Man’s days are like those of grass;
like a flower of the field he blooms;
The wind sweeps over him and he is gone,
and his place knows him no more.
R./ The Lord is kind and merciful.
But the kindness of the LORD is from eternity,
to eternity toward those who fear him,
And his justice toward children’s children
among those who keep his covenant
and remember to fulfill his precepts.
R./ The Lord is kind and merciful.
Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man. For just
as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his
coming, those who belong to Christ; [then comes the end, when
he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father. For he must
reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last
enemy to be destroyed is death, for “he subjected everything
under his feet.” But when it says that everything has been
subjected, it is clear that it excludes the one who subjected
everything to him. When everything is subjected to him, then
the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected
everything to him, so that God may be all in all.]
On that occasion Jesus said, "Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise you, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to simple people. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you.
"Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
"Come to me, all you who work hard and who carry heavy burdens and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For my yoke is good and my burden is light.
Great feast!
Today is a day to visit cemeteries, to remember loved ones, to pray for them… it seems to be a sad day par excellence. In Mexico, the Day of the Dead is a day of great celebration. It was expressed in the movie Coco a few years ago, in all its color and celebration. However, the movie does not do justice to the basis of the celebration, because it puts life into the memory that the living have of them. Once they are forgotten, they die altogether. This is where it makes a big mistake. Life does not depend on memory, but on the hands of God, where the souls of the righteous are, as the reading from the Book of Wisdom says. Only fools think otherwise.
It is a great feast because it is precisely the celebration of being in God’s hands and the attainment of eternal life. It is the fulfillment of God’s will: that everyone who believes in Him will be saved and have eternal life. Hope is not based on the memory that some may have of those who once lived on this earth. It is based on the reality of the memory of God, who has reconciled us to Christ through His blood. A reconciliation that we receive in Baptism. This hope does not disappoint. God’s will is not variable, because love cannot change its intentions. It would not be God.
«Those who trust in the Lord will understand the truth, and those who are faithful to his love will remain by his side, because God loves his chosen ones and cares for them. For our part, it is necessary to remain, to be faithful, to accept God’s justice in order to be just, to be justified, to keep hope alive… That is, not to be so foolish as to think that death is final. We have proof. Hope does not disappoint.
That is why today is a great day of celebration. The promise is sure and God is always faithful.
Carmen AguinacoNeither death nor life,
nothing that exists, nothing still to come,
nor any created thing
can ever come between us and the love of God
made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.
May this risen Lord be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Today's celebration of All Souls is more a feast of hope than a day of mourning for the dead. By visiting the graves of our beloved ones and praying for all who have died, we profess and affirm our faith that we are still linked with the dead, that for us they are not gone for ever but that we shall see them again in the home of our Father in heaven. For them and for us the stone of the tomb will be rolled away, and we will rise from death as once Jesus raised Lazarus and he himself rose from the tomb. Let us celebrate this resurrection faith today.
We seek forgiveness for all our sins,
for they destroy or obstruct life in us.
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus, you became one of us
to share in our joys and pains, even our death:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you died for us on the cross
to take the evil of death away from us:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you rose from the dead
to open for us the way to life:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
raise us up from our sins
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Let us recommend to the Lord
all the faithful departed
(PAUSE)
God of the living,
we believe that you are a God
of a love that is stronger than death
since your Son Jesus Christ, born as one of us,
destroyed death for ever.
Let all the faithful departed live
in the security of your love.
Let them enjoy peace, your peace,
which escaped them so often in life,
and give to us, too, the courage
to face life and to live it
in close union with your Son.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Let us pray to our living God, who created us for life and happiness. God will not give us up to death but give us eternal life. Let us pray to him: R/ Lord of life, hear your people.
- For the dead in our families and our community, for all those who were dear to us in life, that God, who called them by their names, may be their unending joy, let us pray:
R/ Lord of life, hear your people.
- For all those who had to suffer much in life from sickness, injustice or poverty, that their sorrow may now come to an end and that there may be no end to their happiness, let us pray:
R/ Lord of life, hear your people.
- For the dead who had to go a lonely way through life because none, or few, cared for them, or because they were loners themselves, or because their children or partners deserted them; for those for whom nobody mourns, that now they may discover the joy of the friendship of the saints in heaven, let us pray: R/ Lord of life, hear your people.
- And finally for ourselves, that we may help and support one another on the journey through life, that we may go the Lord's way side by side and share joys and sorrows, life and death, let us pray:
R/ Lord of life, hear your people.
God of life, we thank you for the assurance that the dead are in your hands and that we are called and destined to eternal life on account of your risen Son Jesus. Do not let our heart be troubled but reunite us one day with those whom we have known and loved. Lead us all to you through him who is our way, Jesus Christ our Lord.
R/ Amen.
Lord our God,
we entrust into your hands
our life and our death.
Give us your life-giving bread
and the wine of loyalty to your covenant,
that by their power
we may overcome death and live for life,
and may join those who have gone before us in faith,
through Jesus Christ, your Son
and our risen Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Let us give our wholehearted praise to the Father of life and happiness, for he has created us for life and has not abandoned us to death. Through Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord, he has brought us the fullness of life.
(Do not forget to use the inserts for the dead in the Eucharistic Prayer.)
Let us pray in the words of Jesus
to the God of life and hope
who is our Father in heaven: R/ Our Father...
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant your peace in our day
to a world that cannot create peace.
Grant peace to the dead who died in the hope
of living in your lasting peace.
Free us from the fear of death,
as we wait in joyful hope
for our resurrection and the full life
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
This is our risen Lord, who said:
I am the resurrection and the life.
Those who believe in me will live,
even though they die;
and whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Happy are we to be united
as we eat the bread of eternal life. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
God our Father,
you know and love us beyond death.
We thank you for calling all of us
to live forever in your friendship.
We thank you for the unending happiness
of the saints who live in your joy.
We thank you
for your undying, everlasting love
for us and for all our beloved dead.
Accept our thanks through your risen Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
We have prayed today
for those who have died,
known or unknown, close or distant.
It was an occasion for us to deepen our faith
in the resurrection promised
to the deceased and to ourselves.
We believe in a living God
who wants all to live in his love and joy.
May our God of life bless you all,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go in the peace of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.
