Today is All Souls Day on the Christian Calendar, following All Saints Day on November 1st. In Mexican culture this day is Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. It is a day to remember loved ones who have died with a commemorative altar in the home, or a picnic in the cemetery, or both.
We had our own version of Dia de los Muertos in church today. After I spoke about honouring those who have shaped us in our lives of faith we remembered members who have died during the previous twelve months. In addition we acknowledged all those identified by members of the congregation who were not part of our faith family but died during the year.
As each name was read a red rose was placed in a vase at the front of the sanctuary until 22 flowers formed a bouquet of remembrance. A 23rd white rose was added for all those held in people's hearts but not acknowledged by name. After a minute of silence we sang the hymn For All the Saints which includes the words:
For all the saints, who from their labors rest
All who by faith before the world confessed
Your name, O Jesus, be forever blessed
Alleluia, alleluia!
This was the first time for this commemoration at St. Paul's and we heard from family members that it was meaningful and healing.
To learn more about Dia de los Muertos and to see a family celebration click here http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week1108/belief.html
Who are the "garden variety" saints you remember today, the regular folk who influenced your Christian faith?
6 comments:
It sounds like a very meaningful ritual. We remembered as well today. We rang a bell as a symbol of the way all these people have resonated in our lives.
I remembered my grandmother in particular. If it wasn't for her strong faith and her determination to be at church every weekend, I know my family would have stayed at home.
My brother spent time in Mexico writing an article on the celebrations of "The Day of The Dead". It was about a year after our father had died. He wrote in his article in was a time of celebration, honour, joy and tears.
He said he felt very close to Dad and it was a time of healing. It would be nice if in our culture we had a more positive attitude to death.
Thanks for both these comments. They are both reminders that symbolic gestures and rituals are important to help us put the great mysteries of life in perspective.
Our culture does need a better perspective on death and on the life to come, which is an important aspect of The Day of the Dead.
I have been tracing my ancestry and so I have been spending large amounts of time with the dead, so much time that I have found it hard to think of them as dead. I have found myself collecting photos of their graves, which I have been able to find online. Cemeteries are being photographed for the internet in large part because people are interested in finding out where their ancestors are buried. Gravestone pics are not something I ever pictured myself collecting, but everytime I find an ancestor's stone I feel relieved. I can't visit the graves in person right now, but I know where they are and can keep these momentos along with the many many documents I have collected detailing their lives. I have been able to follow their journies through documents, gravestones, and even several town history books. It is amazing how much they left behind for me to find, and how blessed I feel to have this chance to know who they are. I find that I am meeting myself really. I have spent so much time as far back as the 1700s that I feel as if my own life is much much bigger than I could have imagined. It's connected to time much more than I imagined. Strands of my DNA have been here from so far back its unimaginable. You could compare this with someone who has just witnessed a spectacular sunset fully conscious that it is indeed a miracle.
LOGGING IN A LITTLE LATE ON THIS BUT COULDN'T HELP BUT FIND COMFORT IN THE HYMN, FOR ALL THE SAINTS. I SEEM SURROUNDED BY EVERYDAY "SAINTS", SEVERAL OF WHOM ARE IN THE LATER YEARS OF THEIR LIVES, WORKING SO HARD TO LIVE GRACEFULLY WITH ILLNESSES OR CAREGIVING OR OTHER BURDENS AND I WAS REMINDED BY THE HYMN OF THEIR REWARD, WHEN FROM THEIR LABOURS THEY WILL REST. IT HELPS ME TO MAKE SENSE OF THE JOURNEY.
Post a Comment