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 a short story 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 sure 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.
As a priest, when I officiate a graveside service, 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. The prayer to bless the grave 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.”
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 on the page, 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 watches Jesus descend 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. The title of the sculpture captures our belief in eternal life, “Towards Immortality and Eternal Youth.”
As this month when we remember our dead comes to a close, we pray for their eternal rest, that God may have mercy on them and that He will prepare us for the day when we will see Him face to face.
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