Today is All Souls Day

In my younger days as a Bible (born-again) Christian I did not believe in prayers for the dead, so All Souls Day meant nothing to me. I did not know that praying for the dead was very important in the Early Church - and moreover it was often connected to the mass. St Augustine's mother Monica asked to be remembered at the altar, where she had expressed her love for God day by day. After her death, Augustine asked people to pray for her to enjoy eternal rest with God. We Carmelites are very privileged to have our own additional day for all departed Carmelite Souls on 15 of this month.