"A Blessed All Saints and All Souls! If you cannot make it on All Souls itself, sometime during the month of November visit a cemetery and spend a little bit of time praying for those who have died.
"I had some free time this afternoon and decided to do just that. I went to Calvary Cemetery, Resurrection Cemetery, Papillion Cemetery, and Cedardale Cemetery, the main ones in which I have buried parishioners these past few years. As I walked around and prayed, I happened across a couple graves of those for whom I had their funeral. I have had 54 funerals here at St. Columbkille and we have had quite a few recently. So death and funerals have been on my mind quite a bit, especially with the whole Archdiocese preaching on it this and last weekend. Don't forget to check out the St. Columbkille website for funeral pre-planning information.
"As I walked the cemeteries I prayed the sorrowful mysteries of the
rosary and the Office of the Dead. Part of the Liturgy of the Hours,
the Office of the Dead is usually prayed on All Souls, but since this
year All Souls is on Sunday, we pray the Sunday office instead, so I
decided it would be great to include the Office of the Dead in my
prayers today.
"Before the graves of the bishops and priests in Calvary Cemetery I sang the "Dies Irae." Considered the greatest of all hymns, the "Dies Irae" was written by Thomas of Celano (ca. 1200-1255) one of the first disciples of St. Francis Assisi. It was used as the sequence between readings at the Funeral Mass until the reforms after Vatican II where it was moved to the hymn for the Office of the Dead. Some feel that it is overly negative because the first half describes the Day of Judgment, but the second half professes confidence in Christ's mercy as our hope, so I find it quite beautiful.
"At Resurrection Cemetery I sung the "In Paradisum" in the Holy Angels Chapel and Mausoleum. "In Paradisum" is an antiphon sung in procession on the way from the final blessing of the body in church to the graveyard where burial takes place. You can listen to my recording here:"
“An indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed. The indulgence is plenary each day from the 1st to the 8th of November; on other days of the year it is partial.”
"Before the graves of the bishops and priests in Calvary Cemetery I sang the "Dies Irae." Considered the greatest of all hymns, the "Dies Irae" was written by Thomas of Celano (ca. 1200-1255) one of the first disciples of St. Francis Assisi. It was used as the sequence between readings at the Funeral Mass until the reforms after Vatican II where it was moved to the hymn for the Office of the Dead. Some feel that it is overly negative because the first half describes the Day of Judgment, but the second half professes confidence in Christ's mercy as our hope, so I find it quite beautiful.
"At Resurrection Cemetery I sung the "In Paradisum" in the Holy Angels Chapel and Mausoleum. "In Paradisum" is an antiphon sung in procession on the way from the final blessing of the body in church to the graveyard where burial takes place. You can listen to my recording here:"
“An indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed. The indulgence is plenary each day from the 1st to the 8th of November; on other days of the year it is partial.”
(Handbook of Indulgences 13)
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