Remembering the Dead

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The novel I finished this past weekend contained an interesting  bit of trivia: The bulb left burning on a stage when the theater is closed is known as a ghost light. Superstition has it that every theater is haunted, and the light appeases the ghosts by offering them a chance to perform on stage.

The idea of appeasing ghosts can also be found when one traces the history of Halloween back to the Celtic festival of Samhain, when people lit bonfires and wore costumes after sunset on Oct. 31 to ward off spirits. This pagan celebration of the harvest was transformed by the Catholic Church into All Saints Day by Pope Gregory III. This feast, a holy day of obligation on Nov. 1, and the Solemnity of All Souls on the following day, commemorate the faithful departed and remind us of the Church’s teaching that there is a spiritual bond between those in heaven and those still living. On All Saints Day we ask especially that the saints and martyrs pray for us, that we might one day join them in heaven. Each time we recite the Nicene Creed or the Apostle’s Creed we confirm our belief in the communion of saints.

On All Souls Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, we pray for those who have not yet been fully sanctified. We do this, as it states in 2Maccabees 12:45-46, “because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins.” Continuing in this thread, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective” (CCC 958).

Pope Paul VI expressed the Church’s teachings that are the foundation of both solemnities, that of All Saints and All Souls, when he wrote, “We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are attaining their purification, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion the merciful love of God and His saints is ever listening to our prayers, as Jesus told us: Ask and you will receive. Thus it is with faith and in hope that we look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come” (Credo of the People of God 30).

In keeping with the commemoration of those who have gone on before, during the first week of November, the Church offers a plenary indulgence to the souls in purgatory, granted to the faithful to visit a cemetery and pray for the departed. During the month, many Catholic parishes observe the tradition of a remembrance book, in which parishioners write the names of their deceased friends and relatives, asking for prayers from the congregation for the souls of those whose names are inscribed.

The Mesoamerican tradition of the Day of the Dead “ofrendas” carries this a step further. Día de los Muertos is celebrated on Nov. 2, All Souls Day. Although a strict translation of the word “ofrenda” is “offering,” in this context in English it is usually rendered “altar,” on which people place images of their deceased friends and family as well as objects that the beloved appreciated in life. This is a beautiful remembrance of the dearly departed, akin to visiting a cemetery to pray for a loved one.

The idea of an ofrenda appeals to me, even though it is not part of my culture. To visit my father’s grave I would need to travel to Colorado. My brother is buried in Texas, my maternal grandparents in California and my paternal grandparents in North Dakota. Perhaps next year during this month when we Catholics commemorate our dead, I will adopt the tradition of an ofrenda and place photos of my deceased family in an honored space, surround them with flowers, and pray for the repose of their souls in a more intentional way than I do now.

Marie Mischel is editor of the Intermountain Catholic. She can be reached at marie@icatholic.org.