5 Ways to Make All Souls' Day Meaningful for Your Family

All Saints' Day and All Souls’ Day are an important part of many Filipino families’ annual traditions, especially for the Catholics and Christians who make up more than 80% of the country’s population. 

While All Saints’ Day is a special day to remember the saints in heaven, All Souls’ Day is a time for us to honor the memory of our dearly departed through prayer and other gestures.

According to CatholicCulture.org, this is the main "purpose" of All Souls’ Day:

"On this day is observed the commemoration of the faithful departed, in which our common and pious Mother the Church, immediately after having endeavored to celebrate by worthy praise all her children who already rejoice in heaven, strives to aid by her powerful intercession with Christ, her Lord and Spouse, all those who still groan in purgatory, so that they may join as soon as possible the inhabitants of the heavenly city." —Roman Martyrology

Here in the Philippines, it is also a time for relatives and friends to gather together. Thus, it is an occasion for teaching not just the value of prayer to our children but also to strengthen relationships with others, especially with our own family members.

Below are some ideas for making your family’s commemoration of All Souls’ Day more meaningful:

1. Offer prayers and Masses. 

Image courtesy of dan | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This is something most of us usually do on November 2 (and November 1, for that matter).

For us Catholics, we believe that the offering of Masses and prayers are of great help to dead, particularly the souls in purgatory. They are our way of easing whatever suffering and pain the "Poor Souls" are in.

Make going to Mass on All Souls’ Day extra meaningful by preparing your kids beforehand i.e. telling them who it is you’re offering Mass for, explaining the rites to them, etc.

2. Teach our children about the Communion of the Saints.

The Communion of Saints is a beautiful teaching of the Catholic Church that should definitely be taught to our children.

According to Fr. Rodney Kissinger, S.J., Catholics actually celebrate the Communion of Saints during every Mass because "we honor the saints, pray for the souls in purgatory and pray for one another."

For a more detailed explanation of the Communion of Saints and ideas on how to teach it to our children, I recommend this post on Catholic Inspired, which also contains a free printable activity sheet for kids.

3. Place flowers and light candles at the cemetery.

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This is already a common practice among most, if not all, Filipino families.

However, parents can make this gesture even more meaningful for their kids by asking them to help prepare flower garlands or bouquets for the occasion, instead of -- or in addition to -- the store-bought flowers that we usually bring to the cemetery.

Even just letting children choose the candles that you will be lighting at the cemetery can make the act more significant to them. Of course, don’t forget to explain why you offer flowers and light candles.

4. Look at photos (or watch videos) of your deceased loved ones.

As you do so, don’t dwell on the sadness of your loved ones’ passing. Instead, rejoice in the fact that they have gone “home” to heaven (or if you believe in purgatory, at least they’re on their way there!).

Keeping our loved ones "alive" in our families' thoughts is one of the best ways to honor their memories. This is also a good opportunity to speak fondly of our dearly departed to our children.

5. Celebrate life.

If the dead could speak to us from their graves, they would most probably have this message for us: "Live your life to the fullest and make the most of the life that you’ve been given."

On All Souls' Day, let’s take the time to not only pray for those who have left this earth, but also to be thankful for the lives we have. Let’s thank God for our blessings and teach our kids to do the same.

Some simple ways to "celebrate life": Go on a "date" with your kids and older family members; visit an orphanage or home for the elderly; visit the Blessed Sacrament with your kids (if you’re Catholic); pray a simple Thanksgiving prayer with the whole family.

No matter what you choose to do for All Souls' Day, remember that our life on this earth is fleeting -- none of us will live forever, so let’s do our best to make our stay here on earth fruitful!

_{(References: CatholicCulture.org, SmartParenting.com.ph)}