On November 2, we celebrate the Commemoration of All Souls Day. The Church calls us to pray for the souls in purgatory awaiting sanctification. This is the day that the Church Militant — the faithful on earth — can assist the Church Suffering  — souls in purgatory  — through offered prayers, sacrifices, and Mass.

Autumn’s beauty invites a Catholic reflection on mortality, hope, and eternal life. Weaving Scripture (Genesis 3:19), the Catechism (1020), and cultural touchstones like Anne of Green Gables and The Song of Bernadette, this piece reframes “remember your death” as a call to prayer, the sacraments, and renewal — showing why October’s melancholy points us toward Heaven.

One of the most challenging aspects of living with a chronic illness is that I don’t look sick. I’m not observably sick. To another’s eye, I look perfectly healthy. Over the years, this has made day-to-day living an emotional battle.

Of all the ways the Devil tries to destroy our souls, one is especially devious for high-achieving, perfectionist women like me: the lie that our worth depends on how much we accomplish and how much we have to show for our time. How can we “be” enough when everything in the world tells us we have to “do” more?

Where were you on May 8?

I was working at home, as per usual, and my husband was out running errands. He texted “White Smoke!” My first thought was “Already?”