November: Keeping the memory of our loved ones alive

We are in the month where we remember our deceased: parents, siblings, friends… The month of all those who have departed to the Father. 

As time goes by, the memory of them is likely to fade because when we stop having a relationship with someone—talking, seeing each other, meeting for coffee, and so on—the bond is lost and it's not what it used to be. 

For this reason, the Church helps us remember our loved ones throughout the month of November especially; calling it the month of the Faithful Departed, based primarily on two dates:

November 1st: Solemnity of All Saints, where those who already enjoy the presence of God in heaven are celebrated (both canonized and non-canonized saints).  

November 2nd: Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, a day dedicated in a special way to praying for the eternal rest of all the souls that have died and for their purification.  

That's why there are so many visits to cemeteries where families bring flowers, pray, talk to their relatives in front of their graves to ask for special favors, tell them about family news...

Since we continue to feel love for them, we cannot love what is dead; but rather all that remains alive in each of them in our hearts and in heaven. 

That's why simple gestures like the one my parish priest makes in his chapel—placing photos of his family and loved ones so we can pray for them—remind us so clearly that love triumphs over death. 

This November is the perfect opportunity to bring that corner of memory into our own homes, transform nostalgia into prayer, and trust that, as faith teaches us, one day we will embrace again those who have gone before us on the path.