As Saint Paul reminded us, God has no favorites, and does not parcel out his love according to the nature of our relationship with Christ—be that mother, sister, or brother. Instead, it is solely our capacity to accept and receive God’s love that determines the degree of God’s love poured into our hearts. Doing the will of God in all things maximizes our human capacity for God and for receiving his love. Our beloved dead, whom we remember in this Holy Mass, are those who at the end of their earthly life may not have attained hearts fully open to receive the fullness God’s love. Still, it is that same love poured out upon them, that serves as that purgatorial fire completing the purification and transformation begun in baptism. We are, likewise, undergoing the same purification in our hearts provided that we too seek to do the will of God in all things. And as Saint Benedict insisted, seeking God’s will through holy obedience and authentic humility are the crucial means for expanding and enlarging the human heart and its openness to receive God’s infinite Love.