Year A
Discover the deeper meaning and connections found in this week's readings, through these great commentaries written by our priests.
Explore this week's readings and hear what God is saying to us through His Word.
Find out more about how we can mark this special day in our liturgy.
See our music recommendations for the liturgy.
Remembrance Sunday
1st R. The virtues of Wisdom are extolled as if ‘Wisdom’ were an attractive person
2nd R. St Paul encourages Christians to trust in Christ and hope for heaven.
Gospel: Wisdom urges us to prepare for the unexpected call from the Lord.
The Readings for today, all focus on the gift of Faith in the Resurrection.
St. John Henry Newman left us a poetic description of purgatory in which the soul itself, saved and invited into the company of heaven, chooses to be purified first. The Dream of Gerontius
Throughout this month we are encouraged to pray for All Holy Souls.
Today, Remembrance Sunday, we remember especially those who died in the two world wars and in subsequent wars.
Remembering those who have died who were close to us, may leave a very personal and painful sense of loss in our hearts. That sense of loss is an indelible mark of love. Therefore we should never regret feeling that pain. It reminds us to remember with gratitude and with joy the experience of true companionship and reminds us that we have a means to show even now our love by praying for those who have gone before us. They, too, pray for us and, thereby, give us their protection.
In the Gospel parable, Jesus warns us not to take length of life for granted. We don’t know when the call will come!
When we die we go into the arms of another Mother, who represents the whole Church and who loves us and will see to the nurturing and any further growth needed to reach fullness of life. Indeed we pray daily ,“Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for us now and at the hour of our death.”
Pope Benedict XVl’s thoughts about dying included looking forward to being united with loved ones and being received into the loving embrace of the tender Physician, Jesus himself.
32nd Sunday in OT
Catholicism of the Catholic Church References:
CCC 671-672: we wait for all to be made subject to Christ
CCC 988-991: the just will live forever with the risen Christ
CCC 1036, 2612: vigilant waiting for the Lord’s return
We are already in the eschatological run-up to Advent, and the flavour of being alert and on the watch is already present in the 1st Reading, Gospel Acclamation and Gospel reading. Today is also Remembrance Sunday, with its focus on remembering and praying for the departed.
The 2nd Reading today can bring comfort to those who mourn. Many parishes use November as a month for remembrance of those who have died in the previous twelve months. In some churches the names of the deceased during the year are written on ribbons which are hung along the wall of the church from the beginning of the month, with a request for people to take time to stand before the ribbons and pray for the departed. At one Mass in the month —and today, Remembrance Sunday, would be a most appropriate day to do it — the ribbons are blessed and people are invited to take them home as a remembrance of their friend or relative, and to continue to pray for that person in their home.
A second aspect today is related to the theme of light. “Wisdom is bright and does not grow dim”, the 1st treading tells us, and in the Gospel we hear about the wise and foolish bridesmaids and their oil lamps. We could use this as an opportunity to speak about the significance of the oil lamp that burns in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and the symbolic value of bees wax candles with real flames as opposed to electric or other ways of providing illumination. This might in turn lead to a reflection on allowing God’s light and wisdom to permeate our lives, particularly in a season where the days are growing shorter and darkness is more prevalent. We can also make a connection with today’s commemoration of the dead. Instead of the ribbons mentioned in the previous paragraph, another obvious symbolic gesture is lighting a candle for each person that has died. Their flames still burn in our hearts, and the light of their lives has not gone out but continues on in our memories.
Note: These hymns have been picked and chosen from different sources.
O Jesus Christ remember (CFE535,L982, LHON521, RCH125)
Awake, awake, fling off the night (CFE64, L851, LHON153)
How lovely are the mountains (Our God reigns) CFE268, L768 LHON 346)
Wait for the Lord (CFE762, L88, LHON897)
O Jesus Christ, remember (CFE535, L982, LHON521, TCH125)
Key
CFE - Celebration Hymnal for Everyone
L – Laudate
LHON – Liturgical Hymns Old and New (Mayhew, 1999)
TCH – The Catholic Hymnbook(Gracewing)
Do you have questions about the liturgy and how we are called to participate in it? Explore how the Church councils, saints, and popes have answered this key question and many more.
Every movement of the Mass is rich in meaning but we can become over-familiar with it. Rediscover the Mass and explore how it relates to the Exodus story, where many of its rituals come from, and how it makes Jesus present to us today.
