Commemoration of All the Faithfully Departed of the Franciscan Order

Homily for Franciscan All Souls Day

On this day when we remember deceased members, family, friends, and benefactors of the three Franciscan Orders, the readings take on a particularly tender significance.

St. Paul tells the Philippians, "Our citizenship is in heaven." Those words are not an escape from earth but a promise about our destiny. The sisters, friars, friends, and benefactors whom we remember today have not vanished into the past. Their lives are now hidden in the heart of God. Like us, they journeyed through joys and sorrows, successes and failures, always hoping in the Lord who would transform them into the fullness of life.

The Psalm echoes that hope: "I rejoiced because they said to me, 'We will go up to the house of the Lord.'" For us, Jerusalem is more than an earthly city. It is the heavenly dwelling toward which we all travel. Those whom we remember today have reached the destination for which every Eucharist prepares us.

Even the surprising Gospel about the dishonest steward reminds us that earthly possessions pass away. What endures are the relationships we build and the love we share. The benefactors and friends we honor today used their gifts to support the work of the Gospel. Their generosity continues to bear fruit long after their earthly stewardship has ended.

Today we give thanks for all who have walked before us in faith. We entrust them to God's mercy, confident that the Lord who began a good work in them has brought it to completion. And we pray that, when our own pilgrimage is ended, we may join them in that heavenly Jerusalem where Christ gathers all God's people into everlasting joy. Amen.