... this devotion to the memory of our dead “who are gone before us with the sign of faith” is particularly worthy. It is above all a meditation on eternal truths, enabling us to perceive what it is that passes away and what is destined to survive. Today, we have come to pay our respects to the memory of the dead, and a tribute of prayers to the Lord for their souls, in the hope that divine mercy may finally receive them in the glory of heaven. But the memory of those who have gone before us, to whom we are linked by bonds of fidelity and gratitude, must also accompany us in all the acts of our daily life. For this is the memorial that they deserve: this redounds to their honour; this is the spirit of Christian prayer for the dead, which is inseparable from Christian life and practice.
~ Prayers and Devotions from Pope John XXIII,
his personal thoughts for every day of the year ~
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