REMEMBERING AND COMMEMORATING
All Souls Day is a time to send a message: "I still
love you and care about you."
We are a people of
remembering and commemorating. Within our families we remember our loved ones
on special days like birthdays and wedding anniversaries; Mother's and Father's
Day, and so on. We may commemorate the day in a simple way, with a card, a note,
or flowers and candy. Sometimes we commemorate a special occasion with a
lasting gift, like jewelry and other collectibles. But however we remember
those we love on such special days, the message is the same: "I love you
and want to remember you."
Oftentimes, we can get
so busy that we might forget, from time to time, to remember! Because of
family, work, and other commitments, we realize too late that we have forgotten
someone's special day. And so we might send a belated card with the message: "I
forgot, but I still love you!" Today, the Feast of All Souls, is also a
day of remembering and commemorating. We remember those we love who have gone
before us.
We commemorate them by
celebrating the Eucharist in memory of them. This special Mass - by way of
God's Word that we hear and the Body and Blood of Jesus that we share - carries
the same message to our deceased loved ones as did the special days of
birthdays and anniversaries of times past: "I love you and want to
remember you." The Church knows how important it is to set aside days like
this. Just as our lives are so busy that we sometimes forget to remember the
living, our lives can become so hectic that we forget to remember the dead. All
Souls Day is a time to send a message: "I still love you and care about
you."
We remember a deceased
loved one who was near and dear to us. We may be carrying in our hearts today
the memory of a family member, coworker or a former neighbor. And we all come
together as a community, sharing and remembering as a community. Through our
"Prayers of the Faithful" we put them, and all of us, in God's loving
care. In the Eucharistic Prayer we pray for "those who have gone before us
marked with the sign of faith." In this celebration of the Eucharist, we
gather as a people of faith, telling them that we love them and care for them,
and that we remember.
All of us have
experienced the loss of someone in our lives. We need to remember that God
said, "You are precious in My eyes and honored, and I love you" (Is
43:4). He is above all understanding and He truly knows each of our hearts
better than we know ourselves. God sent His Son, Jesus, so that over and over
again we can hear Him tell us in His Word and in the Eucharist, "I will
always remember you, I will always love you."
May the souls of all
the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest peace. Amen.