Letter from the Pastor
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November 5, 2023The year is fading away, daylight is becoming shorter we have entered into the eleventh month of the year, November. It is the month of transition, the midpoint between autumn and winter, the beauty and color of the falling leaves to the ice and coldness of winter. It is perhaps why St. Odilo of Cluny, established the Day of the Dead in November at his abbey in France in the 10th century. From there, the practice spread until the Church officially adopted All Soul’s Day in the 14th century.
Traditions associated with the feast include placing the names of the dead on the altar at Mass, and visiting the graves of loved ones. In time, the entire month of November became dedicated to the dead.However, Twenty-first-century America is not comfortable with death. We want death to be clean and sterile, some people don’t want to be in the same room when death occurs to our loved ones. According to the Center for Disease Control: The percentage of deaths that occurred in hospitals or long-term facilities is 61%; while only 31% of deaths occurred in homes. Given the choice, most people say they want to die at home in their own bed, surrounded by friends and family, and get a priest. Death is a part of life, it can’t be denied, but we also know that death is not the end of us, only a change. Sadly, November is no longer for remembering the dead, now it begins the “holiday season.”
All civilizations have their own careful rules regarding the dead — how to honor them, etc. For Christians, though, extending love beyond the grave is an imitation of Christ’s mercy, which reached out to us even when we were spiritually dead.
Caring for the body and burying the dead is one of the seven corporal works of mercy, but it is also a sign of hope in Christ’s pledge of eternal life. The bodies of the dead are not discarded vessels, but integral parts of a human person that will be reunited on the last day. The separation is temporary, and the body is still worthy of our respect and our love. The body is not the prison for the soul. Human beings are a composite of both body and soul; both are consecrated at our baptism. The body in death is to be handled with respect and dignity. Even if the body is cremated, it is to be buried in sacred ground. It is not to be scattered to the winds, or the sea, it is definitely not to be divided and made into jewelry or placed in lockets. Would you want grandma’s finger or toe hanging around your neck? Get your ideas and rituals from the Church, and not from the latest fad from TikTok or the Internet.
As Catholics we have the proper perspective on death and dying, because of the Lord, who experienced human death. We look to Him to find the truth. It is important to pray for the dead, it is important to give our loved ones a proper burial; we need to sit with the deceased, to “wake” with them. It is important to let people grieve and tell you about your loved one. More often, wakes are so short in time, if at all, no Masses are offered for the deceased including the Funeral Mass. There may be a nod to prayer by having a funeral service in the funeral home.
Catholics don’t have funeral services, we have the Mass. For some families, they prepare more for the luncheon afterwards then the funeral. Good Catholic people who went to Mass every Sunday or even every day are denied a funeral Mass because their children don’t want to be bothered, or worse spend the inheritance. I would be fearful that my Mom or Dad would haunt me!
As our society is becoming more secular, and instead of Christians influencing the world, it seems that the world is influencing us, we need to recover what we have lost regarding the rites and ceremonies for our beloved dead. We are people of the resurrection; we are people of hope. We began this month recognizing all the saints, the Church Triumphant, those brothers and sisters who are sharing eternal glory with God, now.
It may be tempting, during the month of November, to prematurely celebrate the ‘holidays’. But as someone observed, “Let the dead have November.” November is a somber, chilly month, windy, messy falling leaves and darkened purple sunsets and skies. Nature is telling us stop and say a prayer for all the dead during this month, or go and visit the graves of your beloved dead.
“Blessed are those who mourn,” says the Lord in the Sermon on the Mount, “for they shall be comforted.”Next Sunday at 3:00PM, the Requiem Mass written by the French composer, Gabriel Fauré will be sung with orchestra. Fauré wrote the Mass while he was Director of Music at the Madeleine Church in Paris. You will hear the influence from Gregorian chant. He wrote the music for his Requiem with a quiet serenity and even light heartedness more than other composers. Fauré once observed: “It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death and someone has called it a lullaby of death.”
Come and pray along with Fauré.
Go to the Internet and listen to the music beforehand. You will appreciate it more.
See You Next Sunday!
