November 6, 2011 The month of November has traditionally been set aside to pray for our dear dead. And what a wholesome thought that is. Some people’s death impacts us deeply.
I recall my Mom’s death last December. Even as I was busy preparing to celebrate the Birthday of Our Lord in Wisconsin, far away from home (Ghana) word came that Mom was not too well. Back home I went with the blessing of the Bishop on my back and yes to find that she was in a coma. I desired to share a word with her so I prayed like I’d never done before. I spent endless hours by her bedside. I cuddled her like a baby and I bargained with the Lord – just one more time, let me hear one more word, I pleaded. Now that I recall the event I know who anguished I felt and even now tears come to my eyes. Then the moment of departure came, twelve days after I arrived home. I was by her bedside along with my brothers and sisters. We had prayed the Rosary and were still waiting for that ‘last word’ again from her. I was recounting how at the last Mass I celebrated with her the year before she had thanked me for being there for her when she needed me most. Perhaps that was after all her last word for me. Then all of a sudden, like a whirlwind she took a deep breath, held it for a while and so powerfully she released that breath of life over all of us. It was a wonderful experience. We saw her leave us almost palpably in that hissing sound, transfixed even as she was transported beyond the innocent present before our very eyes.
Tears began to bubble in my eyes but my strength came back, an inner joy took hold of me. If I had questioned God in those agonizing days it was all now peace and an unbelievable serenity that came upon me.
Yes our dear dead depart this life but they do not leave us in thin air. They abide with us in a presence that only the eyes of faith continue to make real. I am sure this month of November we can all recollect the passing away of a dear one. They remind us of who we are even as they speak volumes about who we shall be, especially when we visit a graveyard.
On a tombstone in far away Rome was written this inscription:
“Quod es eram, quod sum eris”
“What you are now I was, what I am now you will be”
The inevitability of our death gives us cause to pause and reflect on the deeper meaning of human existence. In Christ we know that there is the life beyond the grave. This month let us pray with the whole Church for our dear dead and I might add, for each other too – the Communion of Saints.
-Father Francis