Fr George Adimike The Church celebrates the living dead, the saints, and the holy souls with a resounding proclamation of faith that death does not have the final word and will have no dominion. Even though loved ones are no more, love remains. We do not cease to love because of their physical absence; our love endures because we are metaphysical beings, spiritual in nature. We can abstract and retain the presence and consciousness of the object of our love. We do retain the presence and consciousness of those we love, emphasising that human life transcends the physical realm. Our loved ones are not merely ashes in graves; they remain living parts of our family ecosystem and continue to participate in society on different levels. Those marked with the signs of Christ carry that indelible mark.
In and through this feast, the Christian faith celebrates the unwavering love and mercy of God, which transcends time and space. His mercy is never limited by these dimensions. It endures forever (cf. Psalm 136), reaching into the realm of the living dead, for want of a better expression.
This celebration reflects the hope of Christians, who believe that by actively responding to the stirrings of the Spirit in their hearts and following God’s Word, they will not be abandoned by Him, even amid their imperfections. It expresses hope that, on account of their faith in God and love for Him, our departed brothers and sisters will not be abandoned by God; instead, they will experience God’s continued loving mercy.
Furthermore, this celebration is our expression of love in a communion that enriches our understanding of life. It emphasises the enduring bonds of family across different realms, proclaiming that life extends beyond mere matter. It celebrates the timeless nature of love through prayer, presence, and a commitment to faith. As stated in Romans 6:9, “death will have no dominion.”
The raising of Christ from the dead by the Father in the Holy Spirit signifies that death holds no power over Him (cf. Rom. 6:9). The human person endures; life continues even after the disintegration of the body. At the end of one’s earthly journey, a person is transformed into a new state of existence. To achieve perfect unity with God, one undergoes final purification through the fire of Christ’s love for the ultimate beatific vision. Thus, for the faithful ones of God, while death signifies the end of a phase of one’s life, life itself goes on. Ultimately, dominion belongs to God, who alone sustains human existence even beyond the grave. For those destined for salvation, life is transformed and not ended, as God, the author of life, continually supplies the life force to all those in Him.
God holds dominion, not death or the devil. Death is neither destruction nor annihilation but rather a transformation—a change of address. With this assurance, Christians celebrate the Feast of All Souls to honour the holy souls—the saints of God—who are in heaven or purgatory. This observance affirms that God’s mercy reaches into the deepest recesses of the human experience, even beyond death.
While there is no repentance in the grave, there is forgiveness beyond it. God’s mercy is co-eternal with His being, and His forgiveness knows no bounds or constraints. Although the pain of separation caused by death is profound, it is balanced by hope. For Christians, death evokes hope that the merciful Father and eternal Judge will choose purification and perfection for the faithful rather than eternal condemnation, provided they have taken their discipleship seriously (cf. 1 Cor. 3:14-15, 1 Peter 3:19-20). In the end, death will have no dominion—only God will.
Fr George Adimike
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