1st Reading: Wisdom 3:1-9
2nd Reading: Romans 6:3-9
Gospel: John 6:37-40
At this time when the veil between the spirit world and our world is thin, I invite us to take a moment to honor the ancestors of the places where we are currently located, those who tended this land long before our own ancestors arrived.
We remember, we celebrate, we believe. This phrase from our opening song captures well the heart of these holy days of remembering and celebrating our beloved friends and ancestors who have passed on from this incarnation of life and we believe in this remembering and celebrating that they are still with us, united in the love of God that spans all time, and space, life, and death.
All three of our readings today emphasize this idea of connection – we are united to God and Christ not only in this life, but also in death and the new life that comes from death. Sophia wisdom reminds us that the souls of our beloved departed are in the hands of God. Paul opens our eyes to the Sacrament of Baptism as union with Christ in these cycles of life, death, and resurrection, the cycles of creation all around us, and the hopeful message that death is a necessary part of this cycle and from death springs new life. Our Gospel reminds us that in this intimate connection to the Triune God through the incarnation of Jesus we are promised life eternal, we continue to live on as we transition into an even deeper union with the divine in a Love that crosses all boundaries, including life and death.
Knowing that through this unitive presence of divine love we are connected to all who have gone before us and all who will come after us, we can call on these ancestors by name and invite in their gifts and support in our lives today. This is honestly one of my favorite things about Catholicism and our theological imagination: the understanding of the Communion of Saints. There are holy men and women who we can pray to and call on when we need them or their particular gifts in our lives. And this communion of saints extends beyond just the canonized, more well-known ancestors of faith, they include our more personal family members and ancestors as well, who through prayer we can also call on and invite into our lives here and now to support us with their gifts and blessings.
The necklace I am wearing tonight is my ancestor necklace, it contains a locket of my grandparents who have passed on, it includes a medallion of St. Francis and St. Clare, it includes a medallion of Our Lady of Guadalupe, our great divine Mother, and a medallion I bought from the Catacombs of Priscilla of an engraving of an early woman church leader leading prayer. They are all part of my communion of saints who I draw on in prayer and who’s support I feel on my own unraveling spiritual and life journey.
For millenia, at this particular time of year, cultures around the world have recognized there is something special and mysterious about our ability to connect with our beloved departed. Some of the language used is a thinning of the veil that separates the worlds. Given the rich Mexican-American cultural heritage in this country and our communities we might be most familiar with celebrations of the Day of the Dead, but there are similar festivals honoring the dead around this time in many cultures including European, Asian, African, and Latinx. Most of these cultural celebrations involve either visiting the tombs of the departed and/or creating altars, hosting parties and celebrations around bonfires, storytelling, dancing, and song. There is almost always a feast and food shared, particularly favorite foods of the departed. What all of this says to me is that ritual to remember and honor the dead, the ancestors, is an intrinsic part of being human. It is part of who we are.
At this time I would like to open it up for some sharing about what are the traditions in your own family or ancestral lineage to remember and celebrate the dead?
Food is an important part of these celebrations and rituals to honor the dead. Some include sharing a meal with the dead, leaving food out for them, or eating their favorite foods as a way to celebrate their ongoing presence.
I know there are certain foods or food related experiences that remind me of my grandparents who have passed on. I experience this when I make chocolate chip cookies in my grandmother’s green glass mixing bowl. Or over the summer when I went fishing with my nephews and then we cooked the fish we caught, I was reminded of my grandpa and our fishing trips.
What are some favorite foods or meals that remind you of the presence of your beloved departed?
As Catholics, we engage in the ritual meal of remembering our beloved dead every week! This is the Eucharist. When Jesus gathered with his friends before he passed and shared a meal, he said “do this in memory of me,” and in many of the resurrection appearances his presence was known in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the meal. We believe Christ is truly present in the meal we share in his honor. And in continuing this ritual meal we are also bringing into presence all of the ancestors who have shared this meal over the centuries.
On this celebration of All Saints/All Souls may we be particularly tuned in to the presence of Christ and the whole communion of saints that accompany us in the breaking of the bread, and may we live in such a way that the generations who come after us may continue to be blessed by our memory and legacy.
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