Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection November 02, 2026
Monday – The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
02nd November 2026 (Monday)
Psalter: Proper
Here are the Catholic Mass readings and a daily Gospel reflection for Monday, November 02, 2026, the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. Wisdom says the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and Jesus promises to lose nothing of all the Father has given Him.
Catholic Mass Readings
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Wisdom 3:1-9c
The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an evil thing, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial whole burnt offering he accepted them. In the time of their visitation they will shine forth and will run like sparks through the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever. Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones.
Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 R.(1)
R/. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Second Reading: Romans 6: 3-9
Brethren: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: John 6:37-40
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Monday – ALL SOULS DAY
Daily Gospel Reflection
Main Point: Today families walk to cemeteries with flowers and candles and stand before names carved in stone. The Church does not ask us to hide our tears. She asks us to weep with hope, and to keep loving the dead through prayer.
1. Evening in a cemetery on All Souls Day. Families cleaning the stones, lighting small candles, arranging flowers. A mother standing a long time before a small grave. An old man touching his wife’s name with his fingers. The air is full of quiet prayers and quiet tears.
2. Those tears are not a failure of faith. Jesus wept at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, even knowing He would raise him. Grief is the price of love, and the Church does not ask us to pay it with a straight face. Today she gives our sorrow a place to stand.
3. And then she places one sentence beside the grave. The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, the Book of Wisdom says, but they are at peace. What looks like an ending from our side of the stone is not the whole story.
4. Jesus says it even more plainly in the Gospel. This is the will of the One who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day. Lose nothing. Not one name, not one person you have buried. Christ does not lose what the Father has placed in His hands.
5. Paul tells us why we can trust this. In Baptism we were buried with Christ, so that as He was raised from the dead, we too might walk in newness of life. Our beloved dead were joined to His death long before their own. Death met them already marked as His.
6. Today we also pray for them, because love does not stop at the grave. The Church teaches that those who die in God’s friendship but are not yet fully purified are made ready for heaven after death, and that our prayers, and above all the Mass, help them. Praying for the dead is simply loving them in the only way still open to us.
7. So we stand at the graves holding two things together, tears and hope. We miss them. We may still feel the empty chair at the table. And we entrust them to the hand of God, from which no one can snatch them. That hand holds them now. One day it will hold us too.
My Practice: Name one person you have lost, and pray for them slowly today: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You wept at the grave of Your friend, and You see the tears we carry for those we have lost. We bring them to You today, our parents, our spouses, our children, our friends, and those who have no one left to pray for them. You have promised to lose nothing of all the Father has given You. Hold them in Your hand. Purify them with Your mercy, and bring them into the light of Your face. Comfort us in our missing them, and keep us faithful, so that one day we may be gathered together with them in Your presence. Amen.
Question to Reflect Today
- Whom do you miss most today, and how might you keep loving them through your prayer this week?
Thank You 🙏🙏🙏
Tags: Daily Mass Reflection, All Souls, Faithful Departed, Gospel of John, Catholic Mass Readings, November 2026
