The Healing Journey

November 1, 2026

November 1st and 2nd call to mind an aspect of the reality of the Church that many people are unaware of: that the Church is composed of Christ who is the Head, as Saint Paul says, and the faithful—both living and dead—who form the members of his Body, the Church.

All Saints Day recalls the innumerable men, women, and children who led lives of heroic virtue and great holiness: All Saints. They pray for us. As members of the Church, they practice charity in Heaven by praying for us to God. They are our friends in Christ. All Souls Day on November 2nd calls to mind those innumerable men, women, and children who have died, but whose lives were less than perfectly holy. They, hopefully, are in Purgatory, being purged of the effects of their sins. We remember them in a particular way, as our act of charity, praying for them because they are still members of the Church.

Not everyone is in Heaven; not everyone is in Purgatory. The popular fallacy is that everyone who dies goes to Heaven. Not so, at least not according to Our Lord’s revelation in Scripture and the Church’s consistent teachings. If we live without Christ or live contrary to Christ now in life, then why would we want or expect to be with Christ forever in Heaven?

At the end of the month and beginning of November, we recall those Saints who loved Christ so much that they based their daily lives on his words. We also recall those others who desired to live good lives, but who were less than perfect because of human weakness.
— Monsignor Stephen DiGiovanni

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