Every 1st and 2nd of November, the Church invites us to look up to heaven and into our hearts: on 1st November, with the solemnity of All Saints’ Day, we celebrate the victory of those who have lived the Gospel faithfully; and on 2nd November, we commemorate the Faithful Departed, praying for those who have gone to meet the Father.

Holiness is not the preserve of extraordinary heroes, but of open hearts. The Founding Mother of the Angelic Sisters lived holiness in pain, in silence, in daily devotion.

Celebrating All Saints’ Day means recognising that the path to holiness begins in everyday life: in love for one’s neighbour, in fidelity to one’s mission, in humble and persevering prayer.

In commemoration of All Souls’ Day, Saint Genevieve invites us to look with hope upon death as a passage to true Life. She used to pray and ask for prayers for the souls in purgatory:

Offering the Eucharist, praying the Rosary, saying their names, visiting cemeteries… these are gestures of love that transcend time and unite hearts. The soul does not die. It passes into eternity.

These days remind us that we are all on the path to fulfilment. That holiness is possible, and that love is not interrupted by death. As Saint Genevieve said:

May all the saints and those who have gone before us help us to rekindle our desire to be saints, through love made manifest in daily charity towards our neighbours, for love never dies because God is love.