In November, we commemorate all the faithful departed by remembering, praying, and giving thanks for the dead.
Praying for the faithful departed pleases God who makes use of our prayers to help purify these souls whom he loves in purgatory.[1] At the Gardens of Gethsemani cemetery in Surrey, events are held for this purpose.
This Catholic cemetery, with its adornments, rituals, symbols, and prayer practices, offers the community memory and a legacy from the past to carry into the future. Our cemeteries feature memorial statues, gravestones, and brass memorials, burial places of notable personalities, including bishops, other clergy, and key personalities in the life of the church. With a chapel, mausoleum buildings, offices adorned with Catholic photos, and a sacred character, this cemetery is a testament to the resurrection.
This essence is well expressed in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s (CDF) instructions regarding the burial of the deceased in Ad Instruction Ad resurgendum cum Christo (To Rise With Christ): “In memory of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord, the mystery that illumes the Christian meaning of death, burial is above all the most fitting way to express faith and hope in the resurrection of the body.[2]“
In Pope Francis’ encyclical letter Fratelli Tutti, he spoke of the importance of memory. The Pope advises that society cannot move forward without remembering the past; progress is not made without an honest and unclouded memory.[3]
Catholic cemeteries play a role in helping families work through the loss of a loved one and aid future generations witness to the care and attention provided to those who have died. Paying homage shows gratitude for the virtues and contributions of members of the community.
These are values to foster and take forward across future generations. We are called to pray not only for our loved ones but for all holy souls.
Human beings have both biological and spiritual lives. According to ancient philosophers and theologians, humans seek meaning from their experiences.
The Catholic faith provides an assurance of eternity. The great paradox is that it is only in understanding death that we can overcome our myopic dread of bodily death. By addressing their own mortality, humans can be liberated from the fear of death and better embrace their eternal destiny in a spirit of hope.
Death plays a role in this quest for meaning and fulfillment. Death is part of being baptized into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Attachment to God, a set of divine beliefs in God as loving, caring, and supportive is associated with a decrease in anxiety about death.[4]
Meaning and experience provide personal fulfillment. Every human being faces the challenge of defining his or her legacy, a meaning for their life which will have lasting significance. Religious traditions serve the important role of helping to heal and to help families make sense of the departed’s lives.
To live fully, humans need to understand their nature. Acceptance of mortality is an important task to prepare for transcendent destiny.
Consider this passage from moral theologian William C. Mattison:
“Humanity from the beginning has been called to a destiny – a supernatural destiny – of union with God, which is made perfectly visible in the ultimate sacrament, or symbol of God’s presence with us: Jesus Christ. This is eternal life, most properly understood not simply as life without end (eternal) but as life without any limitation, sometimes translated as the fullness of life … is complete happiness, fulfillment. Indeed, Christian faith as knowledge of these truths is actually a foretaste of our supernatural destiny of eternal life in union with God.” [5]
The Thomist philosopher and author Josef Pieper spoke of human beings as pilgrims on Earth and in a condition of status viatoris, the state of “being on the way,” which he described as a basic concept underlining every Christian rule of life. The journey involves comprehending, encompassing, and arriving. To be a viator means making progress towards eternal happiness. A person who fully comprehends and encompasses these truths has truly arrived and is no longer a pilgrim but now possesses this beatitude.[6] The Church helps its members comprehend, encompass and journey towards eternity.
This November, our month of Holy Souls, consider participating in one of many events offered to remember our saints and loved ones and to take the opportunity to reflect how this reflection can also lessen any of your own fears or anxieties you may have around the end of your life. We hope this period offers a fresh perspective on the meaning in life. For events at our Gardens of Gethsemani cemetery in south Surrey please visit rccav.org/events.
Peter Nobes is the director of Catholic Cemeteries. His thesis work Life Without End is available online.
[1] The Holy Souls Prayerbook. Vancouver: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. 2015.
[2] Ad resurgendum cum Christ. Article 3.
[3] Pope Francis. Fratelli Tutti, on Fraternity and Social Friendship. Encyclical Letter. 2020.
[4] Attachment Theory was outlined in a chapter of David Kuhl’s book What Dying People Want. Developed in the early 1970s by psychologists Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby, attachment theory examined early parent-child relationships as either being securely attached, ambivalent, or avoidant in attachment. Themes of longing to belong can provide some basis for understanding a person’s attachment to God or ambivalence.
[5] William C. Mattison. Introducing Moral Theology True Happiness and the Virtues. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2008, p. 224.
[6] Josef Pieper. Faith., Hope, Love. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012, p. 91-92.
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