Word to the Wise
Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - Tuesday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Wis 2:23—3:9 and Luke 17:7-10,]But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction, but they are in peace....
These beautiful words from the Book of Wisdom are often read at funerals, with good reason. They are wonderfully comforting and express our Christian hope of resurrection even though they were written before the time of Jesus. They capture also the sense of grief that we experience at the death of a loved one. A death always involves more than the person who dies! We Dominicans pray a lot for the dead. We have special days during the year when we pray for our deceased family members, our benefactors and the deceased members of the Dominican Order. This last group is commemorated today.
When I get over near a place north of New Orleans, called Rosaryville, I go to our cemetery and walk among the graves of the Dominican friars. I knew most of the men who are buried there now! Someday I expect to rest among them. Looking at the names on the wrought iron crosses that stand on the graves brings back a lot of memories! I sometimes wonder what people will remember when they look at my cross someday! At least I hope they will pray for me!
If we turn death into a "morbid" subject, we lose the opportunity to remember and pray because we will avoid the subject of death or our beloved deceased. I hope to remember many "significant" Dominicans in my life, for their impact lives on in me. Each evening before dinner, our community (and others in the Order) we pray the "De Profundis" psalm (130) for them. It is comforting to know I will be included in that prayer someday. I hope my Beloved Congregation will be comforted to know that they are in my own prayers - alive or deceased! AMEN