Today is the third day of a sort of unofficial ‘autumn triduum’ of All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints, and All Souls’ (kudos to Elizabeth Scalia, through whom I encountered the term in her 2021 article Halloween, All Saints’, All Souls’: The “Autumn Triduum” of Waiting). These three days are both joyful and mystical. For the first two days, we turn our hearts & minds towards the eternal Jerusalem – imploring its citizens to intercede on our behalf as we ourselves strain heavenward. This final day, we remember and commemorate all the faithful departed, assisting them by our prayers to join the communion of saints.
Liturgically speaking, All Souls’ Day is a bit of a unicorn. While the Church encourages Her priests to celebrate Masses generously, the general norm is that priests would be limited to offering Mass once a day (CIC 905 §1). There are certain cases where She universally gives priests permission to binate (celebrate two Masses), but those circumstances are specifically spelled out (GIRM 204) or, if there is a shortage of priests, with the permission of the ordinary (CIC 905 §2). That same canon even allows the ordinary to permit a priest to celebrate up to three (!) Masses on Sundays and holy days of obligations.
And yet, if you read that paragraph in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, there are (only!) two days of the entire year where the Church specifically allows three Masses: Christmas and All Souls. And of the two, the Church fervently encourages priests to offer three Masses on All Souls’ Day! In his 1915 Apostolic Constitution Incruentum Altaris, Pope Benedict XV lays out a schema of Mass intentions for these three Masses: the first may be offered for any given intention, the second must be offered for all the faithful deceased, and the third must be offered for the pope.
That fervor isn’t limited to the celebration of Mass. So eager is the Church to encourage prayers for the dead that She also extends a special opportunity to all the faithful. Starting on All Saints’ Day and lasting through November 8, a Catholic may obtain a plenary indulgence – the complete remission of time in purgatory – each day for the souls in Purgatory by visiting a cemetery and praying for the faithful departed, mentally or aloud (Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, 29). Plenary indulgences also require that the person, a) have no attachment to sin, b) go to confession, c) receive communion, and d) pray for the intentions of the pope. Communion must be received once per indulgence but a single confession may cover multiple indulgences – all must be completed about about 20 days before or after the indulgenced acts (The Gift of the Indulgence, 5). And (and!), should a person not quite be free from attachment to sin or is otherwise unable to complete the general requirements of a plenary indulgence, a partial indulgence is still granted.
In short, the Church deeply desires that Her members be greatly motivated to pray for the faithful departed – and so we ought to do! Here on the Olympic Peninsula, we have quite a few cemeteries (see the list below). May we not miss this opportunity, this novena of prayer for our own beloved dead and for those who have no one to pray for them.
Cemeteries of the Olympic Peninsula (non-exhaustive – there are many more!)
West region
Central region
- Ocean View Cemetery
- Mount Angeles Cemetery
- Mount Angeles Memorial Park
- Dungeness Cemetery
- Sequim View Cemetery
- Sequim Cemetery
East region
during this time I ask for prayers for my recently departed beloved mother. Who passed away on September 14, 2024. Her name is Paula Norris. Prayers offered will be gratefully appreciated. Thank you so much.