The Church, a pilgrim in history, rejoices
through the intercession of the saints and blessed who support her in the
mission of proclaiming the Gospel; on the other, she, like Jesus, shares the
tears of those who suffer the separation from loved ones, and like Him and
through Him echoes thanks to the Father who has delivered us from the dominion
of sin and death.
Many people visit the cemetery, which, as
the word itself implies, is the "place of rest", as we wait for the
final awakening. It is lovely to think that it will be Jesus who will awaken
us. Jesus himself revealed that the death of the body is like a sleep from
which he awakens us. With this faith we stop - even spiritually - at the graves
of our loved ones, those who have loved us and have done good deeds for us. But
today we are called to remember everyone, to remember everyone, even those who
no one remembers. We remember the victims of war and violence; the many
"little ones" of the world crushed by hunger and poverty. We remember
the anonymous who rest in common graves. We remember our brothers and sisters
killed because they are Christians; and those who sacrificed their lives to
serve others. We especially entrust to the Lord, those who have left over the
last year.
Church tradition has always urged prayer
for the dead, in particular by offering the celebration of the Eucharist for
them: it is the best spiritual help that we can give to their souls,
particularly to the most abandoned ones. The foundation of prayers in suffrage
of souls is in the communion of the Mystical Body. As the Second Vatican
Council reiterates, "fully conscious of this communion of the whole Mystical
Body of Jesus Christ, the pilgrim Church from the very first ages of the
Christian religion has cultivated with great piety the memory of the dead"
(Lumen Gentium, 50).
