Remembering in November

I am so proud to be a Catholic! Its history is filled with remarkable contributions to human progress. The Church played a key role in the development of the scientific method (and even the Big Bang Theory), founded hospitals and universities, and even influenced everything from our calendar (thanks Pope Gregory XIII) to our morning coffee (thanks Pope Clement VIII)!

Just over a week ago, many parts of the world celebrated Halloween. But did you know that it too has Catholic roots?! Halloween actually began as All Hallows’ Eve, the vigil before All Saints’ Day, when Christians prepared to honour all the holy men and women who had gone before them. In medieval times, Catholics commemorated this evening with prayer and acts of charity. During All Hallowtide, the three sacred days of October 31 (All Hallows’ Eve), November 1 (All Saints’ Day), and November 2 (All Souls’ Day), Catholics honour all the saints and pray for the faithful departed.

In the Middle Ages, All Hallows’ Eve and All Souls’ Day, were days where the poor once went door to door offering to pray for the souls of the departed in exchange for spiced short-bread cookies known as “soul cakes”. Sometimes they even went dressed up as angels or saints and held carved turnips. This practice, known as souling, was an early expression of community prayer and charity, and it eventually inspired the modern custom of trick-or-treating. How incredible is that?!

November is known as the Month of Remembrance for both the Church and the world. For Catholics, it begins with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, when we honour the saints in heaven and pray for all who have died. We also recall that one day this will be our very own feast day where other’s will be praying for us. Throughout the month, we are encouraged to remember our loved ones, visit cemeteries, and offer Masses for the faithful departed, trusting in God’s promise of eternal life. In the wider world, November 11 commemorates Remembrance Day, a day to pause and honour those who gave their lives in war for peace and freedom.

November invites us all to remember with love, hope, and thanksgiving all those who have gone before us.

When we celebrate the Mass and indeed, as we go about our daily lives, we are reminded that we live in both a natural world and a supernatural world. The visible signs of bread, wine, words, and gestures draw us into an invisible reality where heaven touches earth. At every Mass (and even in one’s personal prayer), we invoke the angels and the saints, our heavenly companions, who join us in worship and intercede for us before God’s throne.

The act of remembering anchors us in God’s faithfulness, reminding us who we are and whose we are. As a faith community, we don’t simply recall events or people from the past, we bring their meaning into the present. That’s exactly what we do at Mass: it’s a re-presentation of the Last Supper, where we make present the saving mystery of Christ’s love. In remembering, we recognise how God has walked with us through every joy and struggle, shaping our identity as His people.

We honour those who have gone before us, whose faith and love have built the foundations on which we now stand. Remembering keeps us grounded in gratitude for what God has done, attentive to what He is doing now, and hopeful for what He will continue to do.

May this sacred act of remembering strengthen your faith and renew your trust in God’s enduring love.

Remember well this November,

🙏 Fr Gerard