Souls of the Righteous (All Souls’ Day)

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This Sunday’s Old Testament reading from Wisdom is one of the clearest passages in the Old Testament about the immortality of the soul after death. Although this concept is hinted at in earlier books of the Bible (most notably in Job 19:26-29 and Daniel 12:1-3), Wisdom is more explicit about the fact that the righteous who perish live on in the presence of the Lord.

The author corrects a mistaken notion that some Jews had that the status of one’s life is indicative of whether one has lived a blessed life or not. This is the same mistake that we see Job’s three friends espousing. Job and Ecclesiastes correct this notion by pointing out that oftentimes it is the righteous who experience lives of suffering in this life, whereas the wicked seem to have lives of plenty and ease.

Wisdom goes further by pointing out that although the righteous seem to live short and miserable lives here on earth (v. 4), the sufferings they experience are really a form of purification (vv. 5-6) they are compensated for it in the next life, because they are rewarded by being granted to enter into God’s presence and behold His face (what later theology calls the “Beatific Vision”). This is contrasted with the wicked, whose good fortunes are transient and disappear after a while (vv. 10-13a). Thus, wealth and power are poor standards for determining whether one is living a good life or not.

This teaching is meant to give hope to those who seem to suffer for doing right. It may seem that justice is missing for those who experience hardship, but Scripture assures us that the righteous will ultimately vindicated by God in the next life. This means that we can be reassured that when we stand for what we know to be good and true, that will not be in vain, as God will reward us for our fidelity on the last day.

J. Luis Dizon