Feast of All Souls

I have always found visits to cemeteries thought-provoking and paradoxically life-giving.  To visit a cemetery is to remember death, and by remembering death we can live our lives more fully.  The thoughts of Ivan Illych in the famous work by Leo Tolstoy The Death of Ivan Illych come to mind.  When Ivan was faced with certain death, he asked himself why he had to wait until almost dying to begin living.  By recognizing his impending death, he shed superficiality, established priorities and began to truly live his life.

When I lived in Steubenville, Ohio, I often visited the local cemetery.  One of my professors once stated, “the city cemetery here is drop dead gorgeous.”  It was a gorgeous place, very peaceful and quiet.  Oftentimes you could see deer racing across the green hills over the graves.  In nearby Follansbee, West Virginia there was a cemetery overlooking the Ohio River.  I enjoyed sitting on a bench overlooking the valley, feeling the chilly breeze behind my ears.

Every time I bury someone at one of the local cemeteries I try to imagine how these places will be at the end of times since we believe that when Jesus returns the dead will rise from their graves.  I said once at a graveside service at Magnolia Cemetery near my parish, “this cemetery will be one big party at the end of times,” the folks laughed a bit.

The prayer over the Place of Committal as it is blessed expresses our belief that death does not have the final word, but that Jesus Christ will come to raise our mortal bodies:

Lord Jesus Christ,
by your own three days in the tomb,
you hallowed the graves of all who believe in you
and so made the grave a sign of hope
that promises resurrection
even as it claims our mortal bodies.

Grant that our brother may sleep here in peace
until you awaken him to glory,
for you are the resurrection and the life.
Then he will see you face to face
and in your light will see light
and know the splendor of God,
for you live and reign for ever and ever.

A few years ago I visited one of the most interesting tombs I have ever seen.  It was in Amiens, France at the Madeleine Cemetery.  The tomb belonged to the famous writer Jules Verne.  The tomb, as you can see below, has Verne emerging from his tomb by lifting up the tombstone.  He looks up into the sky and reaches up with his right hand.   He is watching Jesus descending from the clouds shinning like a star in the sky.  He perhaps raises his hand  to block some of the light to see better, or maybe he raises his hand reaching out to Jesus who is quickly approaching him.