The Faithful Departed and Purification

          As a postulant in 1964 I recall making multiple visits to chapel to pray for the dead. In order to have each one “count” as a separate visit one had to leave the chapel and come back in. It was probably November 2, and I do not know if it was a monastery custom or a church practice. Certainly there was a “more is better” point of view behind the practice. I could not find its source.

          The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed was instituted by Odilo, Abbot of Cluny in France, in 998. It was accepted in Rome as part of the liturgical year in the 14^th century after the monks spread the custom of this remembrance. The departed who were not quite ready for heaven spent time in purgatory, less an actual place than an opportunity to be purified. Western theology in the Middle Ages focused on the penal and expiatory character of purgatory. Eastern theology explored its mystical nature, as a process of maturation and spiritual growth.

 

          The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but who are still imperfectly purified…undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” How often do we hear ourselves and others say that he or she went straight to God. We are not entitled to judgment, so we testify to the maturation and spiritual growth that has been a witness to us.

          Following the tradition of centuries, we pray for the dead at each Eucharist:

Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and all who have died in your mercy: welcome them into the light of your face. (Eucharistic Prayer II)

          Two lines from our Liturgy of the Hours readings affirm the belief that God’s love pursues us until we are face to face:

St. Augustine: “…Faith…assures us that when believers die they go but a little distance from us that they may pass to a better state.” (4^th-5^th c.)

St. Catherine of Genoa: “God so transforms the soul that it knows nothing other than God…God will not cease until the soul is brought to its perfection.” (15^th c.)

          I am long past 18 when I made multiple visits to chapel on Nov. 2. My parents have joined the “faithful departed.” These readings and those from the lectionary for this day confirm that:

We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.        (Romans 6:4)

           Sr. Christa Kreinbrink, OSB

All Saints, All Souls Day: a Reflection

       He wanders around the residence all day wearing a blank gaze. A familiar face may bring comments on the temperature or time. An unfamiliar one often generates an effusive greeting and  launch into a narrative that’s threadbare from constant re-telling.

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       A well-dressed woman strides into the room and dominates by her mere presence. Self-focused, she smoothly greets others, and in conversations, easily directs them to topics that relate to her and her interests.

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       The 2-year old rattles the grocery cart and screams unceasingly while the frustrated father struggles for an elusive way to calm the child. All-knowing shoppers look on, some critical, others sympathetic, but all hoping for quick quiet.

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       Dusk is slipping into night, and a rumpled figure sits curled up near the sidewalk heating grate. Now and then  passersby  may give a disapproving or pitying look. Others don't seem to notice at all.

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       Other common experiences cross our path: obnoxious relatives, complaining co-workers, constant talkers, nosey neighbors, weak politicians, inconsiderate drivers, etc., etc., etc.

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       Now a question: Have you ever spotted the face of Christ in any scenario like one of the above? Have you ever become conscious of a missed opportunity? We humans have a well-ingrained habit of looking without seeing and judging without understanding.  If we try to see with the eyes of God, once in a while we may see the face of Christ or sense the presence of the Spirit hiding behind and within human frailty.  As St. James reminds us: "...it was those who were poor…that God chose, to be rich in faith and be heirs to the kingdom… "(Jas 2:5-6)

       Maybe in this week of All Saints and All Souls Days we could pray for clearer vision and greater sensitivity to all the saints among us. After all, St. Paul often called the whole motley church "saints" or ”holy people”(See Rom 16:2, Eph. 4:12, Phlm. 5, Hb. 6:10) and they were just as human as we are.

        Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB

Companions on the Journey

          On Saturday, November 1, we celebrate the Feast Day of All Saints.  This feast is a celebration of the Communion of Saints and all the saints of the Church’s Liturgical Year, those with assigned days and those not celebrated on any particular day.  It is an inclusive celebration for “all saints” in general. We remember the lives of these saints and how they grew in holiness.  Sometimes we try to imitate their virtues. We all have our favorite saints.
          November 2 is the feast day of All Souls Day, and we remember all who have died, our relatives, community and friends. We pray for them and ask them to also intercede for us who are still on our journey. The older I get, the more people there are to remember on All Souls Day, my parents, friends, community and co-workers.
          Recently, on October 23, our community lost a friend and companion, Sr. Betty Cahill.  She is greatly missed and will certainly be remembered on All Souls Day

           Sr. Barbara Woeste

            

We Remember ...

       We have had prose and poetry on our blog but no jokes.  So I will break the tradition, it also goes

with my blog.

       “A couple of friends were talking recently and they agreed that the one who died first would let the other know what heaven was like. One of the friends died and went to Heaven. She got word to her earthly friend. Heaven is wonderful! I have good news and bad news for you.The good news is that they have a beautiful big ball field! The bad news is that you are pitching tomorrow.” 

       On November 1, we celebrated All Saints Day and on November 2, we celebrated All Souls day.  It indeed was a celebration on both days of the Communion of Saints.  All of us have had close relatives and friends die and we still grieve their loss. These days help us to remember them and pray to and for them and know that some day we will be reunited with them.

       Sr. Barbara Woeste, OSB

Haiku for November

All soul's month is here

Come November every year

Pray for the deceased. 

We hold them so dear

But see them on earth no more

Stil so close they are!

Communion of saints

Drawing us close again

So united still.

"Come to me God says

No more suffering no tears

Come, now dwell with Me."

Sr. Victoria Eisenman, OSB

St. Walburg Monastery's Great Cloud of Witnesses

     Daily at Evening Prayer this community intercedes for its deceased--Sisters, relatives, friends--with  special reminder of of a Sister who died on that particular day. Each time we enter chapel from the infirmary we pass two large charts of necrology, a listing of the dead who served God and this community. The first death occurred in 1863; the last in September, 2011--a total of 286 sisters! My life in this community has brought me into contact, one way or another with 196 of these women. Sr. Mary Jane Andrews died in 1945 and Sr. Ruth Yost in 2011. A favorite early morning or late afternoon walk takes me to our cemetery located up the road behind the monastery. It is a place of peace, quiet and beauty. But as we celebrate the the feasts of All Saints and All Souls, a trip to our cemetery becomes for me an annual pilgrimage. It is so easy to remember!

     A short walk shows, in the distance, the crucifixion sculpture, a gift of the St.Walburg Academy alumnae in 1930. It tops the hillside and overlooks all the graves below and around. First to be buried in this cemetery was Mother Walburga Saelinger, second prioress of St.Walburg Monastery, who died in 1928. those who preceded her in death are buried in Mother of God cemetery in Latonia, and their names are engraved on a plaque near the crucifixion scene. A casual walk among the graves and frequent stops at special markers revive memories and deepest appreciation of my early Benedictine teachers at Holy Cross and my monastic community at St. Walburg's. A private pilgrimage in these early days of November makes me feel part of that "great cloud of witnesses" spoken of in Hebrews 12:1 into which, with the grace of God and the help of my monastic community, I hope to join. After all St. Benedict prays in Chapter 72 of the Rule that Christ may lead us all together to everlasting life.
                                                                                 Sr. Andrea Collopy, OSB