02/11/2025
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๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ; ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ'๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ.
Bells toll across the archipelago this November 2nd in solemn remembrance of those we have lost, for their time on earth has withered and left naught but the handprints of a humanity so brief and yet so brilliant. The mere existence of the departed, for us whom they have departed from, invokes the highest reverence from the chambers of our hearts: to be kept alive through memory, to have their names still spoken of beyond their journey's ending.
All Soulsโ Day brings weary brothers and sisters before the candlelight of the family altar, the hollow welcome of the mausoleum, the somber sterility of the cemetery. For many, there is little joy in what may seem like an obligation to those who will no longer benefit from such worldly matters. And yet in these shrines to death and departure, we find it somewhere in the depths of our spirits to revive the presence of those we have loved, immaterial as they may be. You see children running with glee through the aisles between crypts, uncles and aunts regaling their nieces and nephews with tall tales from the family's history, sons and daughters speaking to the tombs about their lives as of late as if they have always known that to pass on does not mean to turn away forever.
In cherishing the souls of the dead, we are called on to bring them back to life, for little can triumph over death as much as love can.
We love not only our dead, but those still with us today, brushing shoulders with a shared, for every person who draws breath is a receptacle for love whether or not they cease to breathe. That very loveโthe potent, unrelenting mystery of human loveโwe cradle today falls upon us as consummately as night; perhaps that is why we often see ghosts in the dark. And for every white candle erected on the concrete, every story told again and again, we garland the cemetery with light and noisemakingโsmall beacons of throbbing humanity that will lead the souls back home.
See them, and be not afraid. See how they shine, and know that they will always shine for us.
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฉ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.
By Gabrielle Louis Paolo Santiago
Layout by Joshua Lian Cawilan
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White & Blue, the official student publication of Saint Louis University, solemnly commemorates All Souls' Day this November 2nd, 2025, as an observance of deep significance for the souls of the departed and for the people whom they have left behind. May we always be grateful to be able to dedicate this day to their loving memory and gather as a people in reverence for the miracle of life, be it our continued existence or the chronicle of the people we have been bestowed the miracle of knowing.
