Love Transcends Death

“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.” (John 6:39)

All Souls Day will forever carry a special place in my heart, as I delivered my first child into the world on November 2, 2014. My son, Alexander Lloyd, had died in my womb before he ever had a chance to be born into earthly life. To this day, I’ve struggled with trying to understand God’s way. Why give us a son, just to take him away? God can take the hardest of concepts and through it makes all things good.

In today’s Second Reading, “If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him.”

Alexander Lloyd reminds me of one of the many joys I can pray to encounter in striving for life after death. He is my personal reminder that love transcends death. As Catholics, it is our duty to offer prayers for the deceased as frequently as possible. Not just on All Souls Day, but every day, as much as possible. 

As noted in today’s First Reading, “The souls of the just are in the hand of God” and “Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect.”

Today, I offer praise to God for the time he has given me with my unborn Alexander. I will recognize that all things work together for good in the eyes of God. I pray for those who have passed on before me, my family members as well as strangers I’ve never known but who maybe the world has forgotten.

How can your love continue to flourish for those who have passed on before you?

Who of the faithful departed will you take the time to pray for today?

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