Today's commemoration follows immediately on yesterday's feast of All Saints. The members of the Church can be divided into three groups. The first are those who have gone ahead of us and already enjoy being forever face to face with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They include not only those we call 'saints', those who have been formally canonised, but all those who are now with God in perfect happiness. And we can be sure that many of our relatives and friends are among them. In the second group are those who have died but who are not quite ready to come face to face with God until they have gone through some process of purification. We call this state 'Purgatory', although the Church has never defined its exact nature. We believe also that these people can be helped by our intercession and so it is they who are the special object of our prayers today. Lastly, there are those still on earth, living their lives in preparation for that glorious future. It is the combination of all three that we call the 'Communion of Saints'. As we do so, on the one hand, we rely on the prayers of the first group to support us but also remember that our prayers and good works can help the second. Among these also we can count family and friends. Let us remember them in a special way today.