The Carmelite Holy Souls Society reminds us that the
Church is not confined to this world, but extends into
the next as well. By praying for the dead, as we prayed
for them when they were alive, we can establish a
special link with the communion of saints.
In a way this is a two-way street. We remember them
in prayer and we ask them to pray for us. It is a helpful
reminder that our brothers and sisters who die do
not lose their idenity, or their relaionship with us.
They remain the people that they are and the core of
their idenity is carefully preserved by God as they are
transformed by God's love and set free to love.
If you are anything like me, I imagine that you may be
increasingly aware of just how much unfinished business
we have in life. Things we may have said or done which
we shouldn't have, and which we now cannot put right.
Osten, once a word leaves our mouth, we lose all control
over it!
Prayer, true prayer, is always an act of love. Our
Catholic Chrisian tradiion assures us that our prayer for
the Holy Souls is one of the ways in which God loves our
departed brothers and sisters into life in all its fullness. It
is a gist of the tenderness of God to allow us to share in
this loving process.
Fr. Tony Lester, o.carm., Prior Provincial