“To our minds, the dead are not here. They are gone. But because of the depth of God's reach, they are not gone and are never forgotten. The descent of Christ to the dead bespeaks the truth that God remembers even those who live in the darkness of death. Their lives were and are by God's hand. Nothing, and no one, is beyond God's reach.”

Dear brothers and sisters in the risen Christ,

These words from the book The Depth of God's Reach: A Spirituality of Christ's Descent, by Michael Downey, speak to our hearts when we experience the death of a loved one. We are so attached to the physical presence of a loved one that the shock of death can be felt for ages. Fortunately for us, we have a deep spiritual relationship with the dead that endures forever. In fact, every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we specifically pray for the dead after the consecration because we believe that they are with the Lord and with us at the altar in one communion of saints. Because the incarnate Lord Jesus died for us and rose from the dead, the bond we have with the deceased can never be broken.

I would like to invite you to be part of our remembrance of the deceased by participating in the All Souls Novena. The names you submit of your loved ones will be placed at the altar of our community chapel at Immaculate Conception Monastery in Jamaica, NY, where our Passionist priests and brothers come to pray every day, and during the nine days of preparation for All Souls Day and for the month of the Novena, they will be praying especially for your deceased loved ones.

Please know that we will be praying with you during this Novena, and as we pray, we give gratitude to God that all of us are never beyond God’s reach and that our beloved dead will behold the face of the living God.  The Passionists are with you, and together we have the great privilege of being together to pray for our beloved deceased and remember them with love and gratitude.

Gratefully yours in the Passion of Jesus,

Rev. Fr. James Price, C.P.

Provincial