by Msgr. Joseph P. Calise

In 1997, James Cameron’s version of “Titanic,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, opened in theaters. There are many memorable scenes and lines, but there is one in particular that I found both tragic and amusing.

After the iceberg was hit and the ship began to sink, DiCaprio is trying to lead Winslet to the little higher ground there is and finds his passage blocked by a man reciting verse four of the 23rd Psalm: “Though I walk through the valley of darkness, I fear no evil for You are with me.” Hearing this, DiCaprio asks, “You want to walk a little faster through that valley…”

Certainly it is tragic because you know these men are both probably going to drown. They are reacting to the immanence of death – one with panic and the other with acceptance. However, there is also the humorous play on words and the telling question, “Did he really want to walk through that valley more quickly?”

On the Feast of All Souls, we are invited to pray for those who have passed through that valley and to trust that they are safe. One image often used is the butterfly. We learn as children that caterpillars spin a cocoon, and when the cocoon dries, a butterfly emerges. What we never quite know is whether or not the caterpillar knew it was going to emerge as a butterfly or if it thought it was spinning its own tomb. Do baby caterpillars see butterflies flying and think, “That’s going to be me one day,” or does nature simply run its course with the players being unaware?

Today’s Gospel passage offers us a word of reassurance and a word of challenge. We read in St. John’s Gospel that “this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” In a sense, this is the Mission Statement of the Divine, the “why” of the coming of Christ: our salvation. It is certainly reassuring to know that God wants us to be saved, that He loves us enough to have sent the Son – to have taken upon Himself the limits of human form – so that we could learn how to live in accordance with His will for us. God spared no expense in opening the gates of Heaven for us and in giving us the opportunity to pass through those gates. Therein lies the challenge. St. John tells us that our part of the mission is to believe in Him. Yet, we know that when the Scriptures call us to faith, it must be a faith that is demonstrated through works. Lip service serves God and us nothing.

It may appear that celebrating today’s Feast of All Souls after yesterday’s Feast of All Saints is a bit like putting the proverbial cart before the horse. Many who have been called “living saints” have disappointed their admirers. Notwithstanding some recent exceptions, canonization usually only takes place after someone has been dead many years. Given that, logic might say that we should pray for the dead and then acknowledge that some of them (hopefully, all since we acknowledge that canonization is a specific process by which the Church declares there is no doubt of someone’s sanctity. All who pass through the gates, we believe, are saints) are saints. This might be true if our prayers were only for those gone before us. Remembering first that the Kingdom is real, that heaven exists and Christ has prepared a place for all who believe in Him is like teaching the caterpillar he will become a butterfly. It takes some of the fear away so that we know with the author of today’s words from the Book of Wisdom that the “souls of the just are in the hand of God and no evil can touch them… because God tried them and found them worthy of Himself.”

I am not trying to walk through the valley any faster than necessary, but I do know that one day I will take that journey. So many have gone before me to a place Jesus prepared for them that I rely upon their example and prayers. Aware of God’s love for us and of all that has been given for our salvation, may we walk through this valley of life using each day’s opportunities to express our faith in action.[hr]

Readings for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

Wisdom 3: 1-9

Psalm 23: 1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6

Romans 5: 5-11 or Romans 6: 3-9

John 6: 37-40[hr]

Msgr. Joseph P. Calise is the pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish, Williamsburg