The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, challenge us to assess our path of ripening in the light of thanksgiving for our faith, hope, and love.
The Book of Wisdom presents the Hidden Counsels of God ON SUFFERING
* [3:1–12] The author affirms that, for the righteous, sufferings are not punishments but purification and opportunities to show fidelity, whereas for the wicked suffering is truly a punishment.
* [3:6] Offerings: the image is that of the burnt offering, in which the victim is completely consumed by fire.
* [3:7] Judgment: the Greek episkopē is God’s loving judgment of those who have been faithful to him; the same word is used in 14:11 for the punishment of the wicked at God’s judgment. Cf. also v. 13. (Wisdom, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 23 proclaims God’s loving care under the figures of a shepherd for the flock.
* [Psalm 23] God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Ps 23:1–4) and a host’s generosity toward a guest (Ps 23:5–6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Is 40:11; 49:10; Jer 31:10).
* [23:1] My shepherd: God as good shepherd is common in both the Old Testament and the New Testament (Ez 34:11–16; Jn 10:11–18).
* [23:3] Right paths: connotes “right way” and “way of righteousness.”
* [23:5] You set a table before me: this expression occurs in an exodus context in Ps 78:19. In front of my enemies: my enemies see that I am God’s friend and guest. Oil: a perfumed ointment made from olive oil, used especially at banquets (Ps 104:15; Mt 26:7; Lk 7:37, 46; Jn 12:2).
* [23:6] Goodness and mercy: the blessings of God’s covenant with Israel. (Psalms, PSALM 23 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Letter of Paul to the Romans is a commitment to teach believers patience and to strengthen hope, which dwells in their hearts and imbues them with God’s Faith, Hope, and Love.
* [5:1–11] Popular piety frequently construed reverses and troubles as punishment for sin; cf. Jn 9:2. Paul therefore assures believers that God’s justifying action in Jesus Christ is a declaration of peace. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ displays God’s initiative in certifying humanity for unimpeded access into the divine presence. Reconciliation is God’s gift of pardon to the entire human race. Through faith one benefits personally from this pardon or, in Paul’s term, is justified. The ultimate aim of God is to liberate believers from the pre-Christian self as described in Rom 1–3. Since this liberation will first find completion in the believer’s resurrection, salvation is described as future in Rom 5:10. Because this fullness of salvation belongs to the future it is called the Christian hope. Paul’s Greek term for hope does not, however, suggest a note of uncertainty, to the effect: “I wonder whether God really means it.” Rather, God’s promise in the gospel fills believers with expectation and anticipation for the climactic gift of unalloyed commitment in the holy Spirit to the performance of the will of God. The persecutions that attend Christian commitment are to teach believers patience and to strengthen this hope, which will not disappoint them because the holy Spirit dwells in their hearts and imbues them with God’s love (Rom 5:5).
* [5:1] We have peace: a number of manuscripts, versions, and church Fathers read “Let us have peace”; cf. Rom 14:19.
* [5:7] In the world of Paul’s time the good person is especially one who is magnanimous to others. (Romans, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Letter of Paul to the Romans proclaims Freedom from Sin and Life in God.
* [6:1–11] To defend the gospel against the charge that it promotes moral laxity (cf. Rom 3:5–8), Paul expresses himself in the typical style of spirited diatribe. God’s display of generosity or grace is not evoked by sin but, as stated in Rom 5:8 is the expression of God’s love, and this love pledges eternal life to all believers (Rom 5:21). Paul views the present conduct of the believers from the perspective of God’s completed salvation when the body is resurrected and directed totally by the holy Spirit. Through baptism believers share the death of Christ and thereby escape from the grip of sin. Through the resurrection of Christ the power to live anew becomes reality for them, but the fullness of participation in Christ’s resurrection still lies in the future. But life that is lived in dedication to God now is part and parcel of that future. Hence anyone who sincerely claims to be interested in that future will scarcely be able to say, “Let us sin so that grace may prosper” (cf. Rom 6:1). (Romans, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of John proclaims God’s revelation in Jesus in the The Bread of Life Discourse.
* [6:35–5, 9] Up to Jn 6:50 “bread of life” is a figure for God’s revelation in Jesus; in Jn 6:51–58, the eucharistic theme comes to the fore. There may thus be a break between Jn 6:50–51. (John, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)
Rev. George Meze, SJ, comments that in today’s Gospel, Christ calls each one of us to believe in him and follow him. Let us pray for the grace to accept the “Happy Chance” by following Christ because his path purges us to become an acceptable offering.
This gift of purgation is always available to us. It is the wonderful process of renouncing the very self from inordinate attachments in order to attach ourselves to God. It is to lose ourselves in God only to find ourselves. While purgation can be painful because it involves detaching ourselves from false hope, its outcome is freedom, love, and peace.
Saint Faustina, in her Diary, wrote about the purgation God gave her, while assuring her not to fear because he was always with her. Saint John of the Cross described it as the “dark night of the soul,” through which God leads the soul in order to purge the attachments that hinder its union with him. He refers to this purgation as a “Happy Chance,” because through it the soul escapes bondage and restrictions to be united with God. (Meze, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Whoever sees and believes,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"He has said two things: 'This is the work of God that you should believe in the one whom he has sent,' while here he added, 'whoever sees and believes.' The Jews saw but did not believe; they had the one condition, lacked the other. How could they attain to eternal life without the other? The reason those who saw did not attain eternal life was because they did not also believe. If so, what about us who have believed but have not seen? If it is those two things that earn eternal life, seeing and believing - and whoever is lacking one of them cannot attain to the reward of eternal life - what are we to do? The Jews [who saw him] lacked the one; we the other. They had seeing but lacked believing. We have believing but lack seeing. Well, as regards our having believing and lacking seeing, we have prophetically been declared blessed by the Lord himself just as Thomas, one of the Twelve, was blessed when he felt [Jesus'] scars by touching them." (excerpt from HOLY VIRGINITY 3.1) (Schwager, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the texts for today. In the Book of Wisdom one of the last in the Hebrew Testament, written in Greek and not in the Protestant Canon presents souls in the hands of God who have a special route planned for them. Jewish faith people are no longer about Sheol, at this time, but understand a reward for the faithful in death. Paul proclaims Jesus died for us as we were still sinners. We have been reconciled and will be raised like Jesus. Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John 6 proclaims the close relationship between Father and Son. They who are one with the Son will be raised. In John, the text usually refers to a realized eschatology but this is a future eschatology in the Bread of Life Discourse. Friar Jude notes that Jesus, truly present now in the Eucharist, will be present in heaven in a way where we will see Jesus face to face.
The Word Among Us Meditation on Wisdom 3:1-9 comments that St. Paul wrote, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God loved us before we deserved it. And he never stopped loving us. So we’re not trying to persuade God to be merciful; we already know he is.
So as you pray for your loved ones who have gone before you, let the Lord fill you with confidence in his unshakable commitment to his own. Let him plant the hope for immortality in your heart. And let him lift your eyes to heaven so that you will desire it for yourself and everyone you know.
“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord!” (Meditation on Wisdom 3:1-9, 2026)
Father Richard Rohr, OFM, describes how a spirituality of ripening allows us to hold greater paradox through an increasing awareness of our union with God. If we are to speak of a spirituality of ripening, we need to recognize that it is always characterized by an increasing tolerance for ambiguity, a growing sense of subtlety, an ever-larger ability to include and allow, and a capacity to live with contradictions and even to love them!
The ripening of mind and heart is most basically a capacity for nondual consciousness and contemplation. Many might just call it a growth in compassion, but surely no growth in compassion is likely unless one learns how to forgive as a very way of life, and to let go of almost everything as we first imagined it had to be. This is possible as our understanding of faith deepens, requiring a careful pairing of not-knowing (the apophatic way) with knowing (the kataphatic way). The Jewish and Christian traditions balanced our so-called knowing with trust, patience, allowing, waiting, humility, love, and forgiveness, which is very nearly the entire message, and surely the core message, necessary for the possibility of ripening. Otherwise, we all close down, and history freezes up with all of its hurts, memories, and resentments intact.
So my guidance after over eighty years of life is a simple reminder to recall what we will be forced to learn by necessity and under pressure anyway—the open-ended way of allowing and the deep meaning that some call faith. To live in trustful faith is to ripen; it is almost that simple. (Rohr, n.d.)
We seek the help of the Spirit as we commemorate our relationship with our departed family and friends and pray that eternal life be granted to them.
References
John, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6?37
Meditation on Wisdom 3:1-9. (2026, November 2). The Word Among Us. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/11/02/1706121/
Meze, G. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-november-2-2026
Psalms, PSALM 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/23?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). A Spirituality of Ripening. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-spirituality-of-ripening/
Romans, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/5?
Romans, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/6
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Every One Who Believes in Him Will Be Raised up at the Last Day. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2026&date=nov2a
Wisdom, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/wisdom/3?
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