All Souls' Day -Year A -
2 November 2026
Readings for All Souls Day- Year A
FIRST READING: Isaiah 25:6-9
Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14. "The Lord is my light and my
salvation"
SECOND READING: Romans 5:5-11
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 6:39). Alleluia, Alleluia! This is the
will of my Father, says the Lord, that I should lose nothing of all that he has
given to me, and that I should raise it up on the last day.
GOSPEL: Matthew 11:25-30
https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/iSrEdUTcO8K3I9541Ra3/all-souls-day-solemnity-christ-has-saved-us-by-his-holy-cross-people-holding-candles-stand-all-aroun?ru=Paul-Evangelion
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Please listen to the audio
recordings of the Mass (Readings, prayers and homily) for All Souls Day, Year A
- 2 November 2026 - by clicking this link here: https://on.soundcloud.com/dVEyDDCirJ6J0DFKV5
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Faith, Hope and Love,
the commemoration of all the faithful departed,
[All Souls' Day].
This day of
commemoration began early in the Middle Ages, with annual prayers for the dead
in monastic communities. Fixed on this day, it spread more widely after the
10th century and now ranks with the principal feast days in the liturgical
calendar.
Commonly known as All
Souls, it expresses Christian faith in the communion of saints and the real
need and effectiveness of praying for one another in the church, including for
souls in purgatory who have been buried in their human imperfection.
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I could not think of a
better person to commend our dear departed loved ones to, friends and
colleagues, to the eternal care of, than the one who formed them with love, and
walked with them every step of their life's journey, and loved them as a doting
parent, that is, our God, God who is love. God created everything from the
dust.
And we're told in the
Scriptures that God never hates anything he created because he made it, and
with love beyond all telling. We commend our departed loved ones, and all
souls, to God, who understands us better than we even understand ourselves. God
knows every situation, every circumstance, every hardship, every context behind
our actions and decisions, and every blessing and grace in each person's life.
God sees and knows
everything that made us free to make the decisions we made in our lives, and
God also saw all the restrictions on our freedom to think and act. Amazingly,
we often don't see those factors clearly in our lives, even in our own events,
because we're mortals. We act imperfectly, with imperfect vision and knowledge.
But God knows and sees
it all and allows all these factors. God has the whole picture and sees us with
clear but loving eyes. God is all-compassionate, merciful, kind, loving, and
faithful.
In his earthly ministry,
Jesus physically raised from the dead only a few people. And naturally, this
astounding miracle, this exceptional miracle, was met with incredible wonder,
awe, fear and amazement. But we know that the people he raised back to life,
with compassion deep in his heart, would eventually go the way of all humans
and die again, hopefully this time after a long and happy life.
These rare incidents of
Christ raising the dead in his earthly ministry show us God's heart toward all
of us who mourn. This heart is filled with unfathomable love and compassion.
Our Lord himself knew what it was like to mourn the loss of loved ones.
His stepfather Joseph,
whom he loved deeply, passed away at some time in his young life. It must have
been a deep loss and sadness. He must have been tempted to raise him back up
straight away.
But he did not!
Instead, he entrusted
him to his Heavenly Father, who is always faithful. He also wept at the death
of Lazarus, even though he believed and knew in heaven and the ultimate
resurrection of all the dead.
But he still keenly felt
grief and loss, just like we all do. Our Lord knows what it's like to grieve
deeply. Jesus says to each of us, I will raise you up anew to eternal life, to
the fullness of life in heaven.
He promises this. He
will not break this promise. Those few examples of physical resurrection, of
which Christ himself is the absolute fullness, are a promise and a foretaste.
This poor widow who lost
her only son. This son was raised up out of compassion, to remind everyone that
God promises to raise up our bodies in the fullness of time. It also shows
Christ's faithfulness, love and care for all who are bowed down by grief and
loss.
God promises to fulfil
his words to us. We too can join with those in the first reading who are
claimed: see, this is the one in whom we trusted. It is God in whom we hoped.
And we were right to do
so, for see, he has saved us. In life, and in the life of each one of us, we
come across sadness, tragedies, loss and disaster, more times than we care to
count. Some disasters are naturally occurring, freak incidents or accidents, or
inexplicable developments.
Other disasters are
tragically due to human action: mistakes, sins, negligence, or malice. These
are even harder to bear. Today's Feast of All Souls is a reminder that God is
our faithful shepherd, a good and loving shepherd and parent who is never just content
with saving the ninety-nine of the flock, but who will not rest and who keeps
searching until the very last sheep is recovered and carried back on his
shoulders to be reunited with everyone else.
Jesus shows us that it
is right and good to keep trusting and hoping and praying, for God is truly
faithful. God is gentle, kind, and compassionate, and understands our needs.
Today we pray for all holy souls.
We're consoled and at
peace in knowing that we are praying and entrusting all these precious souls
into the hands of the One who has the final loving say over everything.
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References:
Homily: Fr. Paul W. Kelly
Image Credit: https://creator.nightcafe.studio/creation/iSrEdUTcO8K3I9541Ra3/all-souls-day-solemnity-christ-has-saved-us-by-his-holy-cross-people-holding-candles-stand-all-aroun?ru=Paul-Evangelion
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Prayers of intercession:
Gentle shepherd and
eternal Lord, we trust in your loving compassion and mercy as we pray for our
faithful departed.
That all who have died
in faith may come one day to the glory of eternal life. We pray to the Lord.
That those who grieve
may find understanding support in their time of need.
We pray to the Lord.
That those who do not
believe in God may come to know the hope the Lord brings. We pray to the Lord.
That those who suffer
depression or anxiety may experience the Lord's merciful comfort and receive
the help they need. We pray to the Lord.
That those who are
lonely may hope for a new life. We pray to the Lord.
Loving God, with
confidence in your unconditional love, faithfulness and mercy, we make our
prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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All Souls Day Year A
-
2. The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with
you all.
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{{Joy and peace to
everyone}} Welcome, everyone. We gather to listen to God's Word and contemplate
the sacraments. On this All Souls' Day
As one family in Christ,
let us prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries by calling to mind
our sins.
Lord Jesus, you are the
image of the unseen God: Lord, have mercy.
You are the firstborn of
all creation: Christ, have mercy.
You are the head of the
body, the Church: Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring
us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of
the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14.
"The Lord is my light and my salvation"
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John
6:39). Alleluia, Alleluia! This is the will of my Father, says the Lord,
that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me, and that I should
raise it up on the last day.
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PREFACE:
Eucharistic Prayer 2
(theme variation: theme 1 )
(post version: v1-short)
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{Thank you for giving generously of your time and prayer.}
Go forth; the Mass is ended.
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Archive of homilies and
reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul,
please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to the weekly
homily audio podcast, please click this link here:
https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
Details relating to the audio productions linked
to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship
and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly
Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition,
© 2010, The International Commission on English in the Liturgy. (ICEL)
Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: ©
1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)
"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail -
Collins Publishers.
Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we
pray" by Robert Borg. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers (1993). (Sydney, Australia).
Sung "Mass in
Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.
"Faith, Hope and
Love" theme hymn - In memory of William John Kelly (1942-2017) - Inspired
by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with
additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.
"Quiet
Time." Instrumental Reflection
music. Written by Paul W. Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan
Kelk, 2020.
"Today I Arise" -
For Trisha J Kelly. Original words and
music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St. Patrick's Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by
Stefan Kelk. 2019.
Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly.
Microphones:
Shure Motive MV5 Digital Condenser. And (2024+) Rode Nt-1 +
AI-1 Sound Mixer.
Editing equipment: MixPad Multitrack Studio
Recording Software v10.49 (NCH Software).
NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters
Edition v 17.63 (NCH Software)
Sound Processing: iZotope RX 10 Audio Editor (iZotope Inc.)
Text transcription as
per the recorded podcast version is transcribed by TurboScribe.ai
{excellent and accurate
transcription from voice to text}
[Production -
KER - 2026]
May God bless and keep you.
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