In a moment of spiritual union with loved ones asleep in the hope of resurrection, the faithful gathered on 2 November in the church of St. Saviour's Monastery in Jerusalem, to commemorate their memory and pray for them. Br AMJAD SABBARA, ofm Priest of the Latin Church – Jerusalem In the Old Testament, in the Book of Maccabees, it is mentioned that when we offer prayers for our deceased brothers and sisters, God accepts them and their sins are forgiven.This is the role of the Church and the family on this day. We pray during the Holy Mass and say: ‘O Lord, look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church,’ that is, the faith of the Church that cleanses our sins through the sacrifice of the living Christ. The Eucharist was presided over by Brother Amjad Sabbara, priest of the Latin Church in Jerusalem, with the participation of the Custodial Vicar, Father Ibrahim Faltas and the Custody's friars. During his homily, Brother Sabbara highlighted that what qualifies us to sit at the heavenly table and eat the body of Christ and drink his blood. To receive Holy Communion is to serve the lives of those whom God himself sets before us. Remembering the words of Christ: ‘For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink’. Immediately after Mass, the priests and faithful participated in the solemn traditional procession to Mount Zion. Reciting prayers and singing religious hymns, the participants, led by the priests, walked together to the graves of priests and lay people. A prayer was held at each of them, followed by the blessing of the tombs, incensing and sprinkling of holy water. Br IBRAHIM FALTAS, ofm Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land As you can see, all the brothers gather to pray here and this is Franciscan spirituality, which teaches us to welcome death with joy, just as St Francis did. The Franciscan friars continue to accompany the ‘living stones’ not only during life, but also after death.’ Inside the graveyard, all the treasures and temptations of the world are hidden behind Christ's question: ‘For what profit is it to a man to gain the whole world, if he then loses his own soul?’ We must know that God will not ask us, when the cup of life is emptied, for what is in our hands, but rather for what is in our hearts. The consolation of the faithful is the hope of the resurrection and the knowledge that his life is a pilgrimage to his Creator, as one of the faithful expressed when laying flowers on the grave of a loved one. KHADER RAE’D Jerusalem Today we came to visit the dead and placed flowers on the graves, as they symbolise the joy we will have for our loved ones at the heavenly table.