Franciscan Friar Fr. Paul Gallagher reflects on the Gospel readings for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. All Souls Feast falls on Sunday this year. As we anticipate this celebration, does this feast have any special meaning for you this year? Photos: St. Rose Church, Pecos, Texas has beautiful windows in their Blessed Sacrament Chapel. The church is part of the West Texas Catholic Communities.
The content is edited by Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Anne Marie Lom and Joe Thiel. The excerpts from the Sunday readings are prepared by Joe Thiel. To read or download the complete pdf with excerpts for your prayer, please click here: Franciscan Gospel Reflection November 2 2025. Excerpts are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Photos
John 6:37-40
Note: This feast does not have particular readings assigned to it. For pastoral reasons, any of the readings for Masses for the Dead may be chosen. Therefore, the gospel used in any particular situation may be different from this frequently-chosen selection.
Jesus said to the crowd: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For 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.”
Background:
The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed on this Sunday takes the place of the Celebration of Mass for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time and those readings. The gospel for the 31st Sunday would have been Luke 19:1-10 that includes the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector who climbs a tree to be able to see Jesus as he passes. While the gospel for the feast is appropriate for its celebration, it is very different from the text for the 31st Sunday.
In the gospel for the feast Jesus tells the crowd:
- That the purpose of his coming is to do the will of the Father.
- That the will of the Father is that He not lose anything of those given to him.
- That the Father desire that anyone who sees and believes in him will have eternal life.
There is a sense here that the Father has given Jesus his relationship with his disciples, and that he will protect that relationship. In describing himself as the good shepherd, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No can take them out of my hands.” (John 10:27-28) During Jesus’ final prayer to the Father, Jesus prayed: “When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:12) Jesus accepts the responsibility given him by the Father and is faithful to that responsibility to the very end of his life. Therefore, Paul can say in his letter to the Romans, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” In recognizing that we are sinners, the emphasis is not on us or our faith as disciples, but rather on God’s goodness and desire.
Reflection Questions:
- Does this feast have any special meaning for you this year?
- Do the feast of All Saints and the feast of All Souls have different significances for you?
- How does the sense that the Father has given to Jesus the care of the disciples speak to you?
- How does the sense that part of Jesus’ mission on earth is to care for those the Father has entrusted to Him speak to you?
- What does this gospel suggest to you about your desire to be in relationship to God?
- Do you have a sense that God is protecting you? How do you experience that? How are you responding?
- Do you as disciple also live with a sense of responsibility to protect others?
- In the gospel text Jesus says, “And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me…” Please take some time to talk with Jesus about this desire of his, or anywhere else you have touched by this gospel and/or its feast.
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