Word to the Wise
Monday, November 2, 2009 - The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)
[Wisdom 3:1-9; Romans 5:5-11 or Romans 6:3-9; John 6:37-40]The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the folish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. [Book of Wisdom]
On the feast of "All Souls" we celebrate all the members of the Communion of Saints who have died from the beginning of time. But this feast is also an opportunity for each of us to celebrate those beloved persons in our own lives who have died - parents, children, spouses, friends, mentors, etc. - and to confront our own mortality! For some this seems a morbid exercise, but to the person of faith, despite natural fear of death, the certainty of death represents a step forward to eternal happiness with God. I have just returned from a long "road trip" which included a stop at our Dominican cemetery in Rosaryville, LA, northwest of New Orleans. There I was able to walk among the graves of the friars who have died since I first entered the Order of Preachers. Every grave represented a memory, especially since I lived with many of those men. One of them was my Novice Master, and three of them were my former provincial superiors! One of them was the first Dominican I went to talk to about a possible vocation when I was an undergraduate student at Tulane! When I am at home in Natchitoches, LA, I try to visit the graves of my parents and my sister. During the same road trip, the father of a close friend died unexpectedly and since I knew the wonderful gentleman I mourn his death along with my friend and her family. Yet, I knew him to be a man of faith and I am confident that he is with God. It is this confidence that makes All Souls Day a celebration and not a morbid exercise. As loving humans we must grieve our "loss" but as faithful Christians we know the separation is temporary! AMEN
config
view
logs
4096.0 KB
72 ms
4
