Home 
Devote time for prayer. This is how the Catholic Church would want the people to celebrate All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls Day on Nov. 2.
Msgr. Achilles Dakay, spokesman of the Archdiocese of Cebu, said prayer and joining the “communion of saints” was a better way of commemorating the death of loved ones than the usual family gathering in cemeteries.
Catholics believe in the unity between the living and the dead through prayer.
Souls who reach heaven form what Catholic doctrine calls the “church triumphant.” These souls belong to those who were proclaimed by the church as saints and martyrs.
Another group of souls are suffering in purgatory, which Catholics believe is a place or a condition of temporal punishment for those who die in a state of grace but still need to be purified.
The word “purgatory” isn’t found in the Bible but church teachings hold that Jesus referred to this place when he said that “there are sins that will not be forgiven either in this age and the age to come.” (Matthew 12:32)
A third group in the communion of saints is called the “church suffering militant,” which refers to people still living who strive to do God’s will.
Dakay quoted the words of Saint Augustine, who used to be a very rebellious son, saying, “If they could become saints, why can't I?”
Those who are living ask the intercession of saints, while the saints, together with the souls in purgatory, pray for the living.
“We too pray for the dead, as they also intercede for us,” said Dakay.
This unity is referred to when Catholics say during the Apostle's Creed, “I believe in the communion of saints.”
The Church grants plenary indulgences — total absolution of sins — to those who visit the cemeteries or the church on Nov. 1 and 2.
To benefit from this, however, Dakay said that one shoud be in a state of grace by going to confession, attending Mass, and praying the “Our Father,” one “Hail Mary,” and one “Glory Be” for the intention of the church and the pope.
The benefits are for the living and for souls in purgatory. However, souls already in heaven and in hell no longer receive this grace.
