# All Souls’ Day: A Place for Us
*2019-11-01*

> Bill reflects on the saint who loved him most—his aunt Sister Mary Teresa—shares how praying the Rosary brought a deep experience of heavenly love, and meditates on the meaning of All Souls’ Day and purgatory.

## A Personal Saint

Yesterday, for All Saints’ Day, I talked about the saint who loves me most: my aunt, Sister Mary Teresa Cicerole, a member of the Congregation of St. John the Baptist who spent her final years in Staten Island. As a child she gave me rosary beads, holy cards, and even a Bible, gifts I didn’t fully appreciate then. After she died in 1992, I began to pray the Rosary more earnestly. In 2005, while praying at home and later in my car at work, I asked for her intercession. At the end of each rosary I felt an overwhelming love that seemed to extend even to strangers, a glimpse of the love that fills heaven.

## The Joy of All Souls’ Day

The liturgy for All Souls’ Day reminds us that there is a place prepared for us (John 14) and that those who die in Christ may still need purification before entering the heavenly banquet. The Church calls this state purgatory, a merciful preparation for the vision of God. Our prayers for the dead, especially the Holy Rosary, help them on this journey.

## Scripture and Saints

The readings for the day include 1 John 3:2, which tells us that when Christ appears we shall be like Him, and Hebrews 12:29, urging us to be consumed with the desire for holiness. The Church has long honored all saints, from St. Aaron to St. Zeno, asking them to intercede for us. Our own “saints”—family members like Aunt Mary—can inspire us to seek holiness.

## Praying the Joyful Mysteries

I began the Rosary with the Joyful Mysteries, meditating on the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Presentation, and Finding in the Temple. Each mystery invites us to grow in humility, love, obedience, and joy, and I offered each Hail Mary for a specific intention: love, hope, peace, and the souls in purgatory.

## A Film Recommendation

I also recommend the film *Harriet*, which tells the story of Harriet Tubman’s courageous escape from slavery guided by her faith. Her reliance on God’s providence reminds us that divine help is present even in the darkest moments.

*The love we experience in prayer, especially when we remember those who have gone before us, points us toward the greater love awaiting us in heaven.*