November is traditionally called “All Souls” month in the Catholic Church. It is a time when Catholics are called to remember the dead.
Remembering a deceased loved one in prayer - especially by having a Mass offered for deceased relatives and friends - is an important part of our Catholic faith and the Mass itself. Yet many Catholics have left behind this venerable and ancient practice of praying for the dead or having Masses offered for their deceased family members and friends. Too often prayers for the dead are seen as a heavy burden or unnecessary obligation of days gone by and generations past.
Booking a Mass at the local parish seems for many Catholics a quaint custom of a by-gone era. As a result, the Mass books of many Catholic parishes are now empty and lack names as the offering of a Mass for the repose of a dead relative’s soul is no longer a family tradition. Sadly, this secularist approach toward the dead is now a common part of the modern Catholic experience. All too often many parishes witness the passing of faithful and devout Catholics who go forgotten by children and grandchildren and in some cases denied even a Mass of Christian Burial by children and grandchildren not interested in proper Catholic traditions or uncaring relatives who have quickly dismissed the practice of the faith as outmoded and unwanted. Their lack of faith results in the quick and easy dispatch for the deceased at the funeral home or by a graveside service as the Mass of Christian Burial seems to many to be obsolete, old-fashioned or even bothersome for some.
These troublesome trends in our culture especially among Catholics point to a more serious problem regarding the proper respect for the dead as well as efficacious nature of the Mass.
Let us be clear, the church has never stopped calling forth prayers for the dead as a profound respect for the dead still has a preeminent place in Catholicism. This respect must include a dignified Mass of Christian Burial for the departed in which the souls of the faithful departed are commended to God’s merciful judgment and the proper burial for the dead in the holy grounds of a Catholic cemetery. A funeral Mass offers an opportunity to praise and thank God for his love and mercy towards the deceased, to pray for the repose of the soul of the departed and provides a grieving family with comfort and consolation the eucharistic Lord imparts. Catholics who have devotedly practiced their faith for decades upon decades deserve nothing less. The Mass of Christian Burial, the Month’s Mind Masses, Anniversary Masses and All Souls Masses are traditions that should not be allowed to die. During this upcoming All Souls’ month of November, we need to pause from the frantic pace of daily life and willingly resist the secular temptation to forget our beloved dead. Instead let us pause in prayer for all those souls who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith and pray in particular for the souls in Purgatory. We urge Catholics to call your local parish and set a date for a memorial Mass for your deceased mother, father, relative or friend. St. Augustine taught us that monuments are built to help the living while prayer is the best way to assist the dead. Let this November be the time that we begin to truly assist our beloved dead with prayers and memorial Masses.
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