Word to the Wise
Friday, November 2, 2012 - Nov. 2 - The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
[Wisdom 3:1-9 (and others); Romans 5:5-11 or 6:3-9 (and others); John 6"37-40 (and others)]And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day. [John]
If All Saints Day is about holiness, All Souls Day is about love - loving memory! At one time the emphasis on this day concerned "releasing" as many souls as possible from Purgatory! Now it is more about our love and concern for our brothers and sisters who have loved us and whom we have loved, and who have died. Just because my parents and my sister are all deceased does not mean I am any less their son or brother! It is loving memory that continues that relationship. We experience the loss of a way of relating to them but we gain another way through loving memory. This is why a visit to the grave(s) on All Souls Day can be a powerful experience. In the Hispanic community in San Antonio (and elsewhere), this could mean spending the whole day at graveside, telling stories and enjoying the favorite food or beverage of the deceased loved one. Even in more "reserved" cultures, the custom of decorating the graves on All Souls Day continues.
When I have the opportunity to be near our Dominican province's cemetery at Rosaryville, LA, (north of New Orleans), I try to visit and remember the friars buried there. I have quite a few memories of many of them! Some of them were inspirations to me, some not so much! But they are all friars in our Dominican memory and we pray for them on their individual anniversaries of death each evening at supper (in our house here in Houston) by saying the "De Profundis" Psalm (130). The diversity of character and lives could have me nodding or shaking my head as I pass by each grave! I guess each of us would have a "significant grave" to visit if we could on this day. First and foremost, we pray for these "faithful departed." A visit adds to the power of the day. One of my ritual duties as prior of this Dominican community is to say at the end of our community prayer in morning and evening: "May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace! Amen." All Souls Day gives us all the chance and duty to say that prayer! AMEN