All Saints, November 1, 2026
November begins with the Feast of All Saints (November 1). The next day we have the Feast of All Souls. All Saints is about the holiness of ordinary people, not just famous and canonized saints. I prefer the Feast of All Souls because it assures us that even people who are sinners, not yet fully perfected, can be forgiven and saved.
For Catholics, November is the month of the dead. Our Mexican Catholic brothers and sisters make fun of death in their November 2 festival—Dia de Muertes. As the leaves fall from the trees and the nights lengthen, we are reminded that life on this earth is temporary. Everyone dies and death is forever.
In our modern world, we have learned to prolong life. We live longer than our ancestors did. And we hide from death. People don't usually die in the family home, but in an institution where people don't have to see the body's wasting away and the last breath.
Ancient cultures were not able to pretend that death wouldn't come. Death was ever present in communities and families. However, in some cultures there was a hope to "die well". Warriors considered it a blessing to die in battle, bravely and for one's people. When a father or mother reached old age and died, it was a blessing, what everyone could hope for. Dying after a long life, surrounded by family and in the midst of prayer, was a happy death.
Catholic teaching does not sanitize death but stares straight at it, on the crucifix, in the heroic tales of saints and martyrs, in the liturgy where death is always spoken of in the context of resurrection.
My father once told me that it is not easy to live as a good Catholic, but it is easy to die as a good Catholic. He meant that it requires sacrifice to truly love God and neighbor. But if you sacrifice for God's righteousness and build your life on God's law and love, when the time comes to die, you will be consoled.
Live right and you will die well. Jesus told many parables about being prepared for the return of the Master. The servant who loses focus and forgets the Master's concerns, but instead lives for his or her own wants, is condemned.
From a Christian perspective, death is not a tragedy for the prepared soul. People are blessed if they see death coming and can confess their sins, receive Communion and die surrounded by prayer and love. An unexpected death is risky in that the dead person is deprived of the opportunity to repent and to meet death with prayer. But Jesus urges us to be prepared always, because no one knows the day or the hour of the Master's coming.
During November we pray for our deceased loved ones. We know that they went to God's world and we believe that God is merciful. We should also remember that death is certain for everyone. Be prepared!
