In the 2017 animated movie Coco, inspired by the Mexican holiday Dia de los muertos, we hear sung, “Remember me, though I have to say ‘good-bye.’ Remember me, don’t let it make you cry. For even if I’m far way, I hold you in my heart… remember me.
The meeting place of the melody and the words of that song draws us into remembering our loved-ones, then it takes us by the hand ushering us into cherishing their memory by celebrating the impact they have and continues to have in our life.
“Remember me, though I have to say ‘good-bye.’ Remember me, don’t let it make you cry. For even if I’m far way, I hold you in my heart… remember me."
Extending throughout the entire month of November, the Church invites us to focus our prayerful attention on remembering our loved ones and cherishing the many memories of them. The month begins with All Saints’ Day on November 1, moving into All Souls’ Day on November 2.
Originally, All Saints’ Day was a feast commemorating the nameless Christian martyrs of the early church. Over the centuries, however, the feast has grown into a celebration of unity of the church across time.
"Extending throughout the entire month of November, the Church invites us to focus our prayerful attention on remembering our loved ones and cherishing the many memories of them."
There maybe millions, perhaps even billions of saints in heaven, and while most saints on the Catholic Calendar have a feast day, not all those feast days are observed throughout the year. Also, there are saints whose sainthood is known only to God, having no particular feast day on the calendar, in a special way this is their feast too. So, All Saints’ Day is a way to prayerfully honor all the saints with a special Mass different from All Souls Day.
The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day) is closely related to All Saints Day. On this day special Masses and prayers are offered with the firm conviction that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all who die in the faith will share in the life promised to us by Him who said, “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be” (Jn. 14:3).
"There are saints whose sainthood is known only to God, having no particular feast day on the calendar..."
All Souls Day is an opportunity to remember and pray for those who have gone before us in death and journey more deeply into the loving embrace of God. But this is also a time to reflect on our own future, namely, how we respond to God’s call for holiness in this life, and heaven in the life to come. The Catholic Funeral Liturgies sums this up beautifully saying, “we believe that all the ties of friendship and affection which knit us as one throughout our lives do not unravel with death.”
As these days approach let us cherish the memories of our loved ones striving to be men and women of faith, who model and pattern our lives after Jesus Christ who accompanies us on the journey and welcomes us into eternal joy.
By Rev. Michael Chrisman, Pastor, Shrine of Saint Therese, Pueblo
Image by www.freepik.com
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