Isaiah 25:6-9 / Romans 5:5-11 / John 6:37-40
We all have loved ones, relatives and friends who have passed on from this world.
Today we join the Church to remember our departed loved ones, relatives and friends, as well as all the faithful departed.
They have departed from this world, but they live on in our memory and especially on this day we will offer Mass for them and we will also visit them at cemetery or the columbarium.
But they don't just live on in our memory. We don't just merely remember them as a past relationship.
They live on in another realm, and if they are in heaven, they live on in God's love.
If they are in Purgatory, they are in the midst of purification, and they need our prayers as they journey towards that mystical mountain that is mentioned in the 1st reading.
They are journeying to that mountain where God will remove the mourning veil covering them and the shroud enwrapping them.
There the Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek, and they will be able to see God and their hope for salvation is fulfilled.
On that mountain, they will exult and rejoice in God's presence and in His saving love for them.
As Jesus said in the gospel, it is God's will that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life because He is our Saviour.
The faithful departed long for eternal life with God. That is also our longing even while we are on.
Let us continue to remember and pray for our departed loved ones and all the faithful departed.
Our hope is that one day we will be united with them and rejoice forever in God's presence.