On Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve, my wife and I took our family to adoration followed by a candlelit procession through the Gardens of Gethsemani cemetery to pray for the repose of souls.
Thankfully my son, Thomas, is young enough that we didn’t get much pushback when we told him we were going to the cemetery before trick-or-treating.
The procession was accompanied by candlelight and wound its way through the cemetery, passing statues of the Virgin Mary and of St. Anthony and St. Andrew Kim. At each statue we stopped to finish a decade of the Rosary and for Deacon Kenneth Fung to tell us something about the saint.
Children were encouraged to dress up and candy was given out afterward (I am sure as a concession to children who might feel short-changed by the late start they would get for trick-or-treating.)
Edith, our daughter, is only four months old so I can’t tell you what she thought about everything – I assume she thought the candles were neat – but Thomas is at that age where experiences become more than just moment-to-moment occurrences.
He is starting to think about things, and when I stand with him at my grandmother’s grave and tell him “this is where we put my Oma’s body to keep it safe when she went to see Jesus,” I fully expect him to bring it up in a few weeks unprompted.
These moments are important because everything we experience from a young age either builds us towards virtue and charity or inhibits our growth. It’s a process. Especially with regard to religion and prayer, nothing should be taken for granted.
While the depth of a child’s understanding is obviously fairly shallow, these moments will form the foundation for his sense of God and religion for the rest of his life.
In this way, sitting in adoration, even for a minute or two, is helping Thomas become comfortable with the sacred while building his capacity for meditation and prayer.
Still, I’m not sure I would have made him come with us if not for the procession. Especially in a cemetery where the sacred is mingled with the very dirt we stand on, the very act of walking emphasizes the physical nature of prayer, which isn’t always so visible.
To my mind, these processions and prayers offer an important way for a child to meet religion. The act of walking, the rosary beads, and the statues we passed all contribute to the sacramentality of the prayer.
These objects and actions that we make aren’t just symbols in the mundane sense that they remind us of religious things. They are the result of a sacramental theology that emphasizes the tangible magic of our God-sustained world.
I am coming to realize that keeping children physically engaged with that world is an important part of their spiritual formation.
Even if they can’t say the prayers, they have hands to touch, eyes to see, and feet to walk – language is not logos, words aren’t always needed, and prayers don't always need to be spoken.
When Thomas picks up a candle or touches a statue, he forms a tangible and concrete connection with our faith, with his faith, that I know I couldn’t give him through explanations - no matter how often I answer the question “Dadda what dis?”
Maria Rodrigues, a parishioner of Immaculate Conception in Vancouver, is the winner of the 2021 National Certificate of Excellence from the Prime Minister’s Award (PMA) for Excellence in Early Childhood Education. She has been an early childhood educator for 26 years and previously won the award in 2014. (Submitted photo)
Georges Gracieuse presents Archbishop Miller with a copy of his new book A Jesuit Who Became Father: An Autobiography. Available on Amazon in English and French, the book tells his story of growing up in Mauritius, joining the Jesuits to become a priest, and the dramatic turn that changed his life. (Archbishop’s Office photo)
Gracieuse, a parishioner of Our Lady of Fatima in Coquitlam, recently returned to Mauritius where the English and French versions of his book were launched by Cardinal Maurice Piat, Bishop of Port Louis. (Submitted photo)
Adriana Kerrsens (90 years old) delivers rosaries that she makes by hand to the Legion of Mary. With her are Linda Edmilao and Mamie Rodrigues. The rosaries are donated to migrant farm workers in the area. (Submitted photo)
Sacred Heart parishioners in Delta celebrate with Father Francis Galvan on his birthday. (Submitted photo)