Gospel in Art: All Souls' Day

Vanitas Still Life, by Herman Henstenburgh, 1700 © Metropolitan Museum, New York

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 2 November 2026
Matthew 11:25-30

At that time Jesus declared, 'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.'

Reflection on the gouache

It is highly likely that we have all lost some friends or family over the past year. Today is a day when we pray for all of them. On All Souls' Day, we remember those we love who have died. For some of us, the loss is recent and the absence still painfully unfamiliar. For others, many years have passed, yet certain memories can bring someone close again in an instant, when we hear a song they used to love, or visit a place they like going to...

Death does not bring our love for the deceased to an end. Prayer is one way we continue to express that love. We remember their goodness with gratitude, while recognising that, like us, they had their struggles, mistakes and unfinished business. Today, we entrust them to God's mercy, asking Him to heal all that still needs healing and welcome them into the fullness of his peace.

As Catholics, we believe that when we die our souls can go to three places: heaven, hell or purgatory. Souls who go to heaven, are those who died in a state of perfect grace and communion with God. Hell is where the souls end up if people died in a state of mortal sin. The middle place, so to speak, where our souls may go is purgatory. It is thought that that is where most people, free of mortal sin, but still in a state of lesser sin, probably end up. Purgatory is thus a place where the souls can be 'purged' and cleansed before they are invited into Heaven (see Catechism of the Catholic Church nr. 1030). Perhaps a simple way of picturing purgatory is to think of arriving at our grandparents' home with muddy shoes and dirty clothes. We know we are loved and welcome, but we take off our shoes and wash before joining them at the table. Purgatory is something like that getting ready: a place where God lovingly cleanses us. They are getting washed and ready for the welcome that awaits them in heaven.

Today, many people, including Catholics, find it difficult to believe in hell or purgatory. These can seem like old-fashioned ideas, and we may prefer to imagine that God's mercy takes everyone straight to heaven. We can certainly hope in that mercy, while recognising that Jesus also often speaks of judgement. We do not know exactly what we will experience after death, but our faith teaches that how we have lived and loved WILL matter. We will stand before the God who knows the whole truth about us.

Life is transient. Before we know it, we leave these earthly shores. This very thought led to a whole style of genre paintings, emerging in the 17th century. At a time of great mercantile wealth and military conflicts in Europe, paintings and drawings were made to remind the viewer of the transience of life. These vanitas paintings were filled with symbolic references. Our highly detailed watercolour on paper by Dutch artist Herman Henstenburgh depicts music sheets (giving the earthly pleasure of listening and the ephemerality of human existence), a flute (whose sounds would seduce people), a blown-out candle, a knocked-over hourglass, and blossoming flowers, all surrounding a skull. No matter how much we surround ourselves with earthly delights and excitement, we will all end up like the skull in our painting.

But today, on All Souls, we are called to remember those who have died, especially those who have died in the past year. We pray for their joyful reunion with our Loving Creator.

LINKS

Christian Art: www.christian.art
Today's reading: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-11-25-30-2026-4/