A solemn mass for All Souls – a special service of remembrance for those we’ve loved
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On the evening of All Souls’ Day, St John’s celebrated a solemn mass for people who had died, and whom we have entrusted to God’s care. It was an opportunity to pray for those we have loved in a special service of commemoration and reflection.
Mother Jackie, who presided at the service, said it was a service of love and hope.
“It is the only service of the year for which we wear black vestments”, she said, “symbolising our mourning of loved ones who have died.”
“Death is real, grief is real, but it doesn’t negate our hope in resurrection or our hope of ongoing life in God and with God.”
One of the most moving parts of the service was the recitation by Christie Hayes and Chris Cooper – a necrology - of the names of people known to parishioners of St John’s who have died.
The mass followed the special order of service for All Souls’ Day added to the Book of Common Prayer in 1979. Incense was used as a symbol of purification and the mystery of God, as well as a tangible sign of prayers being borne up to heaven.
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The altar and the Gospels were censed during the service.
St John’s choir sang a setting of the text “Requiem aeternam” by Giacomo Puccini, an anthem scored for a small choir, the organ, and viola. They were accompanied by a guest violinist, Nancy Allen-Ziemski.
The choir also sang a double Anglican chant setting of Psalm 130, by the British composer Henry Walford Davies, an extract from “A Short Requiem” which was published in 1915 in memory of the dead of the First World War. St John’s Organist and Choir Director, Kathy Cooper, described the D minor harmony of Walford’s music as rich and dramatic.
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There was a strong choir for the mass.
For the congregation, there were hymns such as Who are these like stars appearing and For all the saints who from their labors rest, and music from the Missa Sancta De Maria Magdalena by Healey Willan. The service ended with the organ Prelude and Fugue in C minor by J.S. Bach.
Organist and Choir Director Kathy Cooper says the choir focused on presenting the unique liturgy of a Solemn Requiem Eucharist in Observance of All Souls’ Day.
Masses for saints – on the feast days of martyrs regarded as being already in heaven – have been celebrated by Christians since the 4th Century. By the 8th Century, November 1st had been designated All Saints’ Day, following the eve of all hallows (Halloween) on October 31st.
Special days had been devoted to prayer for various groups who had died since antiquity, but the institution of November 2nd as a day of general intercession for the dead was brought about by the Odilo, the Benedictine Abbot of Cluny in France a thousand years ago (Odilo died in 1048), and it became almost universal by the end of the 13th Century. Just as All Saints’ Day was dedicated to prayer for saints in heaven, All Souls’ was for intercession on behalf of those souls believed to be suffering in purgatory.
Photo: Keith Hull. The Abbey of Cluny, where Odilo first designated November 2nd as a day for intercession for the dead not already regarded as saints.
The Anglican Church, of which the Episcopal Church is a member, rejects the idea of purgatory: its official policy is summed up colorfully in the 39 Articles, drawn up in 1571, after the English Reformation - to lay out the beliefs and practises of the Church of England. Article 22 declares that the “Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory" is a "fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture".
However, there was a revival of acceptance of a day of prayer for the dead among Anglicans during the High Church Oxford Movement in the 19th Century, and as a result of the two world wars. There is now diversity in belief among Anglicans, with some interpreting the period after a person dies as a process of growth and transformation to become more like Christ.
The Catechism of the Book of Common Prayer reminds us that we pray for the dead because we still hold them in our love, and trust that in God’s presence they will grow in his love until they see him as he is.
In her sermon, Mother Jackie reminded the congregation of the opening words of the Burial Anthem from the Book of Common Prayer: “in the midst of life we are in death. From whom can we seek help?”
She said good theology – and the liturgy of a solemn mass – did not shy away from the reality of death and loss in our everyday lives. But she said, “It is equally true that even in the midst of death we are in life.
“We don’t live in a constant state of sadness and even in the midst of bereavement new life and joy, new friendships and hope, can surprise us.”
Mother Jackie said that All Souls’ Day had become an important part of our Fall season of remembrance:
“All Souls’ Day continues the celebration of the Communion of the Saints, the continuing connection with all God’s people, those still living and those who have died and gone before us.
“Sometimes it’s good once again to acknowledge that we have entrusted our loved ones into God’s care.”
Mother Jackie’s vestments were inscribed with the blessing sometimes known as Requiem Aeternam:
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Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord;
And let light perpetual shine upon them.
May the souls of all the departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.