Remembering
Read time: 7.5 minutes
The month of November is always filled with memories. This is the time of the year when we remember in a special way our dearly departed loved ones.
Beginning with Halloween, which means All Hallows Eve, or All Saints Eve. All Saints is simply a day to celebrate saints. This is not about canonised saints, but about all the good, holy, ordinary people who have ever lived. Although none of us expect to be saints, all of us have the potential to become saints. So this is a day to think about what it means to be a saint. It is a day when I think about people I know or have known whom I considered to be saints, who set quiet examples for me and others around them. We are all called to be saints, called to be better people than we are, called to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.
As a child, I remember my mother explaining that her father had told her that during these special days of Halloween, all Saints and All Souls, the souls of our deceased family members were closer to us than at any other time of the year. A candle was always lit and doors were left open for a short time so that the souls of our relatives could visit.
There are many cultural activities in different parts of the world to celebrate this time of the year. Some families visit family graves, some clean up graveyards. And of course there are huge spiritual celebrations which take place in South American countries. These celebrations are known as “Dia de Los Muertos” (Day of the Dead). Families get together to celebrate their deceased loved ones. These celebrations include music, dancing, blessings and of course lots of good food.
This year, even the Edmonton Oilers recognized the “Day of the Dead”, honouring those who have gone before us, by creating special jerseys with a special logo. The inaugural “Dia de Los Muertos” took place on Monday, November 4th. According to the Oilers, this celebration took place “In order to highlight and honour the Mexican, Hispanic and Latin communities and others who love celebrating with us.”
So, during this special month we are reminded by family, Church and Community to honour, remember and pray continuously for de
ceased family members, offering up special masses and celebrations as well as private prayers. We pray for them because we love them. We pray for parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren. I also pray for ancestors whom I have never met in person. We pray for them, knowing that they also pray for us. Love is at the heart of our prayers. When we pray, we are celebrating their lives. We are also asking for forgiveness on their behalf because most of us are not instantly transformed and forgiven when we die. This period of transformation is known as purgatory. So we pray for the souls in purgatory and they pray for us.
Another important day in this month when we remember our departed loved ones is November 11th, Remembrance Day.
This is not a Church day celebration, but it is still a day to pray for our loved ones and to give thanks for their sacrifices. This day commemorates those who gave their lives and those who returned but were forever changed by the horrors they saw in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is solemnly celebrated on November 11th usually around 11:00am, to commemorate the exact time of the ceasing of World War 1 hostilities.
For me, Remembrance Day is another day to remember and pray for deceased family members. My grandfather, great uncles, father and uncles all participated in wars. I am grateful for all the years of sacrifice they gave so that my generation, my children’s generation and my grandchildren’s generation could live in freedom in this beautiful country. In addition to praying for all those lost in previous wars, we should pray that all the conflicts and wars still going on will be brought to a peaceful end.
Here is a beautiful prayer for peace, given to us by Our Holy Father, Pope Francis:
“Lord God of Peace, hear our prayer.
We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own power and by the forces of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many hopes have been buried….But our efforts have been in vain.
Now Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace, guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts and give us the courage to say “Never again war!” With war everything is lost. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace.
Lord God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, You created us and call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace, enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister.
Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust and our quarrelling into forgiveness.
Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation.
In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother” and our way of life will always be that of Shalom, Peace, Salaam!
Amen”