Yesterday was a beautiful feast in honor of all the saints, reminding us of the universal call to holiness. Today reminds us to keep praying, even for those we no longer see among us. The communion of of the saints--the Church Triumphant in heaven, the Church Suffering in Purgatory, and the Church Militant still fighting, making our pilgrimage on earth. At Ss. Trinita' in the evening, as a beautiful image, they celebrated the Second Vespers of All Saints (pictured above) immediately followed by the First Vespers of All Souls, pictured below.
They expected it to take about an hour, so planned it for an hour before the evening Mass. But, we finished about half an hour after that Mass was supposed to start, what with the procession in the Saints Vespers, and the blessing of the enormous catalfalque (15 feet tall!).
All was very solemn, and beautifully chanted.
Then, today for All Souls, the church allows each priest three Masses for the dead. I arrived for Lauds with the Dominicans at the Angelicum, and discovered that they were having Lauds within their community Mass today for the feast, with 34 resident concelebrants. One of the friars missed that Mass, and volunteered to say Mass later in the day at my convenience. I asked if he could say Mass, then, at 4:30, to coincide with Eileen's funeral back in Rockford. He agreed, and said that Mass for her soul particularly, and then went on to say another. After that, skipping the evening Latin class, I went back to Ss. Trinita' for the solemn Mass of the day.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
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| Not a good angle, but at the bottom of the back of the catalfaque is this skull, hiding here behind the candle, resting on a black velvet pillow. |
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| Fidelium animae per misericordiam Dei, requiescant in pace! |
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