| BEFORE Introit | AFTER Entrance Antiphon |
| Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. To You we owe our hymn of praise, O God, in Sion; to You must vows be fulfilled in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; to You all flesh must come. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. | Just as Jesus died and has risen again, so through Jesus God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep; and as in Adam all die, so also in Christ will all be brought to life. |
Why is this change important?
The text in the new Entrance Antiphon pre-supposes that none of those “who have fallen asleep” died in sin. This seems to a disguised form of universalism. We hope that none have died in sin, but we should not presume that this is the case. Hoping that they did not die in mortal sin, it is best to assume they are in purgatory and so we pray for their eternal rest as in the Introit. If their souls are in purgatory, their purgation will be mitigated or completely eliminated by our prayers. If they are in heaven, we who pray for them we will be the beneficiaries of the prayers which we offer for them. If they are in hell, they cannot be helped, so again, we will be the beneficiaries of our offered prayers.
Additional Notes
The question mark in the title is there because the word “soul” nowhere appears in the ordinary or the propers of the Novus Ordo Mass for all “Souls” Day. The day itself has also been renamed as “The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed” and, it seems, they grudgingly added “(All Souls)” at the end of the title. See https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110226.cfm