The Peace and All Good Column

Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., is the seventh Archbishop of Atlanta. In his award-winning column “Peace and All Good,” he shares homilies and pastoral reflections.

Each November, the church turns her gaze toward the mystery of death and the hope of eternal life.  

The month begins with the solemnity of All Saints—a celebration of the countless souls who now share in the glory of heaven—and continues with All Souls’ Day, when we pray for all who have died, especially those still being purified in God’s mercy. The church invites us during this month to remember our beloved dead, to visit their graves, to offer Masses for them and to renew our own faith in the Resurrection. 

In a world that often avoids the topic of death, November is a gift. It provides us with a sacred pause, a time to face what we would rather ignore. Yet as Christians, we do not face death with fear, but with faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us: “Because of Christ, Christian death has a positive meaning: for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (CCC 1010; cf. Phil 1:21). Death, for the believer, is not an ending, but a homecoming. 

Still, the experience of death wounds the human heart. To lose someone we love leaves a profound emptiness within us. Jesus Himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus. But his tears were not the tears of despair—they were the tears of compassion. In raising Lazarus, and in his own Resurrection, Christ revealed that death does not have the last word. “I am the resurrection and the life,” he said. “Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live” (Jn 11:25). 

Candles glow with light representing prayers for deceased loved ones and special intentions at St. Matthew Church, Tyrone. November is traditionally a month of remembrance in the Catholic Church. Photo by Julianna Leopold

November calls us, therefore, not only to remember the dead, but to reflect on how we are living. The church teaches that our earthly life is a time of grace and decision—a preparation for eternity. “It is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment” (Heb 9:27). This truth is not meant to frighten us, but to awaken us to live each day in holiness, charity and faithfulness to God’s will. 

Death as passage to the Father 

In our culture, death is often hidden away or treated as a failure of medicine. Yet the Christian vision sees death as a passage—a moment to entrust ourselves completely into the hands of the Father who created us. The church encourages us to speak about death, to prepare for it spiritually and practically and to accompany the dying with tenderness and prayer. The sacrament of the anointing of the sick, far from being “the last rites” reserved for the final moments, is a beautiful encounter with Christ the Divine Healer, strengthening us with peace and forgiveness as we face the trials of illness or the approach of death.  

Yet this truth stands in sharp contrast to what St. John Paul II called the “culture of death.” In his encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), he warned that modern society increasingly treats life as disposable—especially when it is weak, suffering, or inconvenient. We see this in the growing acceptance of abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide. Under the guise of “compassion” or “choice,” these practices reject the sacredness of life and the mystery of suffering. 

When human dignity is measured only by utility or comfort, we lose sight of the truth that every life—young or old, healthy or frail—has infinite value before God. The church’s teaching is clear: life is a sacred gift from conception to natural death. To deliberately end an innocent human life, even to relieve suffering, is a grave moral wrong. Authentic compassion never eliminates the sufferer; it stands with them in love.  

In this local church, we are blessed to have the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home, who care for patients suffering from incurable cancer, as well as the Missionaries of Charity at Gift of Grace Home, who care for women with AIDS. In both places, we see love and compassion at their finest in serving the terminally ill. 

Pope Leo XIV has said: “Our world struggles to find value in human life, even in its final hour.” In response, he reminded us: “Even when it seems we are able to do little in life, it is always worthwhile. There is always the possibility to find meaning, because God loves our life.” 

November thus becomes a month not only of remembrance but of witness. We pray for the dead, yes, but we also defend the dignity of every person who lives. We resist a culture that fears death so deeply that it seeks to control or deny it. The Christian vision does not run from death; it redeems it. In Christ, dying becomes an act of trust—an offering of one’s life into the hands of the Father who created us. 

As this month unfolds, I invite you to three acts of faith: 

• Pray for the dead. Offer Masses and prayers for your loved ones. The bonds of love are not broken by death; they are purified and strengthened in eternity. 

• Accompany the dying. Visit the sick and the dying, comfort the lonely and advocate for palliative care that affirms the dignity of each person until natural death. 

• Reflect on your own life. Ask: Am I living in readiness for eternal life? Do I live as if heaven is my true home? 

In praying for the dead, we are reminded of our shared destiny: life with God. In mourning, we find hope; in remembering, we find faith renewed. Death, illuminated by the light of Christ, becomes not the final word, but the threshold to glory. As St. John Paul II once wrote, “The believer knows that his life is in the hands of God and that death is the door through which he passes to the embrace of the Father.”  

May this November be for all of us a time of prayer, reflection and renewed trust in the promise of eternal life. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.