October 25-26, 2025
Dear parishioners,
In last week’s article, I concluded with a note about All Souls Day, which is next Sunday, Nov. 2. Because All Souls Day ranks higher on the Church’s hierarchy of liturgical feast days than a Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are required to pray the orations for All Souls rather than for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. This also pertains to the Saturday evening Mass.
A little-known fact about the celebration of All Souls Day is that the priest is permitted to wear black vestments at Mass- an option I always prefer. Priests are also permitted to wear black vestments at funeral Masses, even though this is seldom done today. But it used to be more common; in fact, before the liturgical changes of the Second Vatican Council, black was the only color of priest vestments that were permitted at a funeral Mass. Unfortunately, black vestments were stigmatized in the years after the Council. Many within the Church (especially clergy) vociferously made the claim that black vestments somehow denied the Church’s belief in the Resurrection (an idea that was in no way promoted in the Council’s documents). But this could not be further from the truth! Black vestments have been worn for centuries, and the permission to wear white or violet came in the 1960’s.
So, please do not fret when you see me donning a black chasuble next weekend. The black is meant to be somewhat somber, as we still mourn the earthly loss of our loved ones. However, the priest’s black vestments are also an external liturgical gesture to show that the Church is mourning with us. She understands the grief that we are experiencing, or have experienced. As a loving mother, the Church cries with us, gathers our prayers for those who have gone before us into eternity, and presents them to Jesus, especially through the sacrifice of the Mass. In a word, the black vestments are a reminder to pray for the souls in purgatory, since these souls rely on our prayers to remit the temporal punishment they are currently experiencing. The color is also a reminder for us to do penance for our own sins before we too experience death.
As a final note regarding All Souls Day, I would like to once again remind everyone that on this day and for the following week, a plenary indulgence may be obtained for the dead. The Church’s Manual of Indulgences states:
A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, is granted to the faithful who,
1° on any and each day from November 1 to 8, devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, if only mentally, for the departed;
2° on All Souls Day, […] devoutly visit a church or an oratory and recite an Our Father and the Creed.
The above two indulgenced actions are separate options; it is not required to complete both of the options in order for the indulgence to be applied to a soul. However, please keep in mind the usual conditions for obtaining a plenary indulgence. In addition to the prescribed actions above, one must make a sacramental confession, receive the Eucharist, pray for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff (pope), and be removed from all attachment to sin, even venial.
If any of the above conditions are lacking, then the actions performed obtain only a partial indulgence. The condition of praying for the intention of the pope is “fully satisfied by reciting one Our Father and one Hail Mary; nevertheless, one has the option of reciting any other prayer according to individual piety and devotion, if recited for this intention.”
A single sacramental confession suffices for multiple indulgences. The three conditions (confession, Communion, praying for the pope’s intention) “may be fulfilled several days before or after the performance of the prescribed work”.
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Blessings,
Fr. Ammanniti
