One of the most memorable verses of the Gospel of John (John 15:16) is “it was not you who chose me, but I who chose you to bear fruit that will remain.”  This year, the Solemnity of All Saints, celebrated November 1, is not a Holy Day of Obligation because it falls on a Monday.  We will celebrate All Saints at 8:30 am at St. James, noon at St. Brigid, and 7 pm at St. James. On Tuesday, November 2 is the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, often called All Souls Day.  We will celebrate All Souls Day at the regular daily Mass at both churches. These two feast days are the fulfillment of John 15:16 as they acknowledge “the fruit that will remain.”

The pandemic has reminded us of the fragility and unpredictability of life.  Throughout history, death remains the unfathomable mystery.  What happens after life as we know it ceases?  We cannot understand. All of us experience the death of our loved ones, friends, and others as bystanders.  We experience the painful separation of physical bonds and navigate the unpredictable process of grief. For us, there seems to be an emptiness and sadness where once there was a profound relationship.

The earliest witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ had to experience the same mystery of the deaths of their contemporaries. They had mistakenly believed the end of time was very near. Over two thousand years later, we can appreciate that “the end of time” is unknowable, and that the death of our loved ones and ourselves is inevitable.

The two feasts of All Saints and All Souls allow us to “glimpse” at the fulfillment of John 15:16. Even though we journey through the sadness of grieving the deaths of others, we are comforted to hear that God chose us to bear fruit that will remain.  At the end of my favorite play, Angels in America, we are told “nothing is lost forever.”  At the end of our funeral liturgy, we are reminded to wait “until we are with our loved ones forever.” 

This promise, reunion in glorified bodies, is the fruit that remains forever. Fr. Gary