![]() "Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The primary reference is in 2 Maccabees, 12:26 and 12:32. There is scriptural basis for this belief. Purgatory is necessary so that souls can be cleansed and perfected before they enter into heaven. The third option is purgatory, which is where most people, free of mortal sin, but still in a state of lesser (venial) sin, must go. The second is hell, where those who die in a state of mortal sin are naturally condemned by their choice. The first is heaven, where a person who dies in a state of perfect grace and communion with God goes. The soul of a person who dies can go to one of three places. This Monday 2nd November is the Feast of All Souls - the Commemoration of all the faithful departed. The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee. We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. But surely we can have a strong hope that these three people are among those we celebrate today and give praise to God for. We only know for certain those in Heaven, when they are raised to the altar at canonization. On All Saints Day this Sunday we celebrate all those who are in the presence of God whose names we do not know. This is one of the attributes of a death that carries with it the idea of martyrdom and is one of the conditions accepted in the beatification process. It appears to have been a terrorist attack and the murders targeted those going to Mass - a clear case of their deaths being “in odium fidei”, which is to say, carried out in hatred of the faith. Three people, the sacristan, Vincent, who was 55 years old and a father of two daughters, who had served the basilica as sacristan for 10 years, and two women Mass goers, one 44, the other 60 years old. On Thursday morning at the Basilica of Our Lady at Nice in southern France, there was a terrible attack on those attending Mass. I pray that this Christmas will bring each of us new hope as we look to the future year with the strength of God's grace within us. The many tragedies of Covid 19 have also been the cause of so many acts of kindness and generosity that give us hope. The new life we celebrate each Christmas is the renewal of that which God has given each of us - His life that courses through our world, which re-invigorates our faith. When we cannot hold hands we can still hold one another in prayer as we gather in spirit with the Holy Family this Christmas. Let us be inspired to find new ways to reach out and care for one another. The precautions we live under are a sacrifice for the greater good, so that more of us may live to see another day. So likewise, we must do so today with courage and dignity in the face of that which afflicts us. But our Order began precisely to combat that to find ways to give them that comfort of care. This year, we have all shared in that feeling. The warmth of the embrace of family and friends, one of the most basic of human needs, denied to them. We know from the Scriptures and we know it remains true today, that those suffering from it are often excluded from society. Our Order is called after St Lazarus and it's founding charism that of caring for those suffering from leprosy. Not least, that for the most part we have not been able to gather together in the Order, either nationally or internationally. Perhaps what we will remember most is the necessity of being apart. Let us stand together with those who have found their incomes disappear or their businesses struggle. Let us recall that we have all suffered emotional and mental distress through fear and through being kept apart from our loved ones and friends. Let us stand with those who have been bereaved. We come to the end of a year when so many have endured so much suffering in so many ways brought on by the Covid 19 pandemic. This Christmas may be like no other we have experienced.
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