Bereavement and Praying for the Dead

Dear Parishioners,

Ministry to the sick and dying is an essential concern for us as Christians. To visit the sick and to bury the dead are two of the corporal works of mercy. Our parish’s consolation ministry can be of assistance with ongoing support after the death of a loved one.

Let me begin by reiterating the importance of having a priest visit when a person is seriously ill, is on hospice or is in the hospital. Please call the parish office and request that a priest visit the sick person for the Anointing of the Sick, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (confession) and Holy Communion. Regular visits by an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion can also be arranged.

When death occurs, someone from the parish will be available to meet with the family to help prepare the funeral liturgy. I am always looking for additional people to be trained to assist in this task. I encourage families to have a Mass of Christian Burial offered for the soul of the deceased. Joining our prayers to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the greatest gift that we can give to one of our deceased loved ones.

I am also looking for additional volunteers to be present at the funeral Mass. People who can help to set up and clean up, to greet any parishioners and visitors, to serve during the Mass, to read the Scriptures (if no one does so from the family), can be a tremendous assistance during a funeral Mass. Those who are retired or senior citizens seeking to get more involved would be wonderful for this task. We will train you!

As time passes, it is important that those who have experienced the loss of a loved one not fall through the cracks. I know that when I finish one funeral, it seems I begin preparing for the next situation. I need people to help me by following up with a card or a phone call. I want those who may now be alone to know that they are not forgotten. This phase of bereavement ministry can be done right from home! I hope this task is appealing to someone looking to do more for others.

Part of our follow-up is our annual All Souls Day Mass during which we remember all our dead, especially those who died this past year. Please fill out your All Souls Day envelopes with the names of your deceased as they will be placed on the altar for the entire month of November—the month of the Holy Souls. 

If any of these phases of bereavement (helping to prepare the funeral liturgy with the family, serving on the day of the funeral Mass, or following-up afterwards) appeals to you, please contact the parish office for further information. We could always use your help in some capacity.

People are also encouraged to visit a cemetery during November to pray for deceased friends and relatives.

Most importantly, please take the opportunity and encourage others to have Masses offered for the dead. More than flowers that will wither quickly afterward, the spiritual benefits of the Mass are beyond what we as humans can fully comprehend.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Praying for the Dead

Dear Parishioners,

As we approach the month of November, we should consider the importance of remembering and praying for the dead. We begin with two notable liturgical celebrations—All Saints and All Souls days. St. Paul reminds us . . . Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  (Phil. 3:20)

Saints are destined for heaven. Once their lives are finished on earth they will spend eternity enjoying the Beatific Vision—the "Face" of God—in God's time and according to God's plan. Many saints will not be officially canonized and placed on the church calendar. However, the Solemnity of All Saints reminds us of all those intercessors in heaven closely united with God who pray for us. (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, #956)  Where they have gone, we hope to follow someday. They have been called the Church Triumphant. Just as we may ask a friend here on earth to say a prayer for us, we can ask the saints in heaven to pray to God for us. Once they reach heaven, they no longer need our prayers but they can certainly pray and make intercession on our behalf.

While we may hope that our deceased relatives and friends are in heaven, we do not have that absolute certainty simply because of our hoping or desiring it to be so. While our Christian funerals are meant to strengthen our hope in eternal life, they are not meant to be canonizations.  Only God knows the ultimate destiny of any soul as he alone knows the disposition of the person when he or she dies. Did the person die in the state of grace or not? We can only hope and pray. We should pray.

Still, we can take great consolation if a person receives the last rites of the church—the sacraments of Penance and Reconciliation, the Holy Eucharist and the Anointing of the Sick. I remind people constantly that the sacraments are for the living and we should not wait until a person dies (if at all possible) to call for the priest. If the person is homebound, elderly, on hospice, in the hospital, terminally ill, etc. let the priest know so that a pastoral visit can be arranged. Moreover, we should all try to be living continually in the state of grace and not be conscious of any mortal or serious sin. The sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (confession) is the ordinary means that we have to keep the fullness of God's life (grace) alive in us. God's mercy will be given if we but ask for it!

All Souls Day reminds us that we should pray for the dead. Our prayers can help them if they are in a state of purification that we call purgatory. Remember that if someone is in heaven, they do not need our prayers. If they die not in the state of grace, being unrepentant, obstinate, and alienated from God—thus being in a state of hell or eternal separation from God—our prayers cannot help them. Church teaching encourages us to pray and to offer Mass for the dead. The greatest spiritual gift that we can give to our deceased loved ones is to have a Mass offered for them. The Catholic Mass is a re-presentation of the offering of Jesus himself on the cross. We have no better intercessor with the Father than Jesus who suffered and died for us.

Souls in purgatory, in a state of cleansing or purification—what I like to refer to as the fringes of heaven—can pray for us as we can assist them on their eventual journey to heaven. They have been referred to as the Church Suffering, in regard to their temporarily being kept from the fullness of heaven.

Finally, members of the Church on earth all are saints-in-potential. As baptized Christians, part of the Body of Christ, while we are alive in Christ Jesus, our ultimate destiny is heaven. Only our choice to sin gravely, to put ourselves out of the state of God's life, His grace, will keep us from that path. We are the Church Militant, currently battling sin and evil. 

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones [saints] and members of the household of God. . . . (Eph. 2:19)  May we live up to our calling!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Life Beyond the Grave

Dear Parishioners, 

Last night I went to see the film After Death. It was produced by Angel Studios, the same company that gave us Sound of Freedom and The Chosen. This documentary dealt with the near-death experiences (NDE) of people from various cultures and backgrounds. Not only was it thought provoking but it made a strong case for life beyond the grave and the existence of God.

From my high school days I had a serious interest in the afterlife, including aspects of death and dying. This fascination began by reading books for class as a senior by Drs. Raymond A. Moody, Jr. and Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. Hearing about near-death and out-of-body experiences and the various stages of dying from a medical/clinical perspective sparked my intellectual curiosity and heightened my desire to reconcile my Catholic faith with the reported experiences of science. How did this all fit in with the Church's teaching about the four last things—death, judgment, heaven and hell?

One thing of which I was pretty certain throughout my studies was that the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead was something completely unique. The Resurrected Body was not some out-of-body experience or near-death occurrence like those stories I had read. The Glorified Body was encountered by those chosen disciples after Jesus was unmistakably dead by means of torture and crucifixion. This Glorified Body could now pass through matter such as locked doors (Jn. 20: 19-20) (subtlety). Instantaneously, it could be in various places not necessarily in close proximity like Galilee and Jerusalem (agility). It was frequently unrecognizable as on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24: 13-32) or to Mary Magdalene in the garden (Jn. 20: 11-18) (brightness or glory). It had triumphed over all human suffering (impassibility).

I hope that we never take for granted what occurred on that first Easter morning. Most of Jesus' disciples had fled and were presumably in hiding for fear that what just happened to their rabbi-leader might also happen to them. Women went to anoint the crucified Body and found an empty tomb. Jesus then made His presence known and everything changed! He is risen! No matter what they did to Him, He is still alive! The experience of a Resurrected Jesus led the disciples to be fearless in their preaching and to endure torture and martyrdom themselves.

If we get to a point in our lives where this essential teaching of our Christian faith—the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead—ceases to captivate, to encourage, to foster hope and to motivate, then I suggest that we should probably just stay in bed on Sunday morning. Why bother at all? Life would be pretty empty and meaningless as far as I am concerned. (Unfortunately, I think that far too many Catholics are at this point already.)

However, for Christian believers it is this triumph of Jesus over sin and death that makes all the difference in the world. We hope to share in His Resurrection. We hope to receive a new, glorified body ourselves. We have hope for an eternal life. We believe that Jesus can and does forgive our sins when we repent. We have Christian hope.

During this month of November, please pray for all the Holy Souls and all of your deceased friends and relatives. Continue to have Masses offered for their eternal salvation. We certainly need to trust in the mercy of God, but should never take it for granted. I suspect we will all need a bit of purgatory (spiritual cleansing and purification) prior to seeing God face to face.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor                       

Halloween and Praying for the Dead

Dear Parishioners,

November is considered the month of the Holy Souls. Following the Catholic teaching and practice that it is good to pray for the dead, allow me to make a few suggestions:

• Visit a cemetery and pray for a deceased loved one
• Have a Mass offered for a deceased loved one
• Pray a rosary or Divine Mercy chaplet for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
• Take an occasion during the day to pray the prayer for the Holy Souls:

Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May they rest in peace. Amen.

May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Halloween, sometimes with a rather disproportionate fascination with matters dark and even sinister seems to have gained tremendous interest in our society. Far gone seem to be the days to dress up like a saint (which I actually did in my Catholic elementary school days) to honor a holy, heroic person and his or her virtues. From a Christian perspective, it could still be a beautiful preparation for All Saints Day. But things have certainly changed over time. 

Ghosts, witches, vampires, mummies and werewolves were scary enough when I was growing up. Then came figures on the order of Jason (from the Friday the 13th movies), Freddy Krueger or some other mass murderer.  The theaters have seen their share of zombies, exorcisms, psychopaths and doom's day or end of the world movies to chill and/or terrorize.  Memories of Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs) seem almost tame. A scary thought in more ways than one!

It is the subtle (and not so subtle) de-sensitization of our youth to the presence of violence, evil, and cruelty that continues to disturb me. We need to be extolling positive virtues, goodness and holiness to our young—the good, the true and the beautiful! Yet, too often our young are exposed to just the opposite. The media lets us know often enough how certain young minds are no longer innocent and pure but can become warped and capable of acts far beyond what was ever thought possible (remember Columbine or Sandy Hook?). 

I can’t begin to list all of the negative factors over the years from gangsta rap, to violent video games, to graphic movies and pornography, to access to just about anything on the Internet and social media that bombards the young constantly.  Put on top of that the lack of knowledge and practice of the Catholic (or any) Judeo-Christian faith, a declining moral code in society and the general absence of God and prayer in many peoples’ lives today.  It makes for a type of perfect storm!  And people wonder why we have problems?

Today's parents definitely have their work cut out for them.  Parents remain the first teachers of their children in all things—especially faith. 

Those raising children today certainly have my prayers.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Taking the Dirt Nap

The cemetery at the Abbey of the Genesee

Dear Parishioners,

Almost a decade ago, when I was walking with my mom near her home, we passed an elderly gentleman working outside.  Politely I asked him, “How you doing?”  “Still above ground,” was his quick-witted response.  Still above ground.

The incident reminded me of a line from a movie I like:  Sleepers.  In it, one of the characters, a gangster figure, refers to death as “taking the dirt nap.”

Death is not a topic any of us likes to bring up in everyday conversation.  Too many of us like to imagine that we have plenty of time left.  However, it is something that we all have to face sooner or later.  The fraternal motto of the Knights of Columbus to which I belong reminds us bluntly: Tempus fugit, Momento mori  (Time flies, Remember death).

Inevitably, I have a bit of time to think about death when I am on retreat with the Trappist (Cistercian) monks.  I usually visit their cemetery, praying for the deceased monks who had given their lives in the service of God and the Church.  Their graves are marked by a simple wooden cross.  This seems to me a stark reminder of death’s finality for them and for us in this world.

During the month of November, we are asked to pray for the Holy Souls. We begin the month with All Saints Day followed immediately by All Souls Day. Have you considered having a Mass offered for your deceased loved ones? There is no greater prayer and offering that we can make on behalf of our deceased loved ones than to join our prayers for them to the offering of the Mass. We should realize that the Mass is a re-presentation of Jesus’ Last Supper and His Sacrifice on the Cross on our behalf. It is a continual sacrificial offering of God’s only Son, Jesus, made in reparation for our sins to God, His Almighty Father. There simply is no more perfect sacrifice that can be offered.

The Church has continually taught that our prayers and especially the offering of the Mass can assist our deceased loved ones in their journey to Heaven.

I think of it this way: I suspect that most of us die imperfect. I hope that we are not so evil that we deserve the eternal punishment of hell. At the same time, we are probably not so perfect that we deserve to see God immediately without some type of purification or purgation first. Following the ancient practice of the faithful praying for the dead (see 2 Mac. 12:46), the Church teaches that there is a period of cleansing that we call purgatory.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1030:

All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

When I die someday—when it’s time for me to take the dirt nap—I hope that someone prays for me and has Masses offered for me that my sins will be forgiven. Skip the flowers and the other worldly gestures of sympathy. I know that there’s nothing more beneficial than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for my (or your) soul.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Remembering the Holy Souls

Dear Parishioners,

November is the month in which we traditionally remember our beloved deceased—the Holy Souls.  We should be aware that the Catholic Church continually encourages prayer for the dead, especially by remembering our deceased at the Eucharistic Sacrifice (Mass).

According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal:

 

(#379)  The Church offers the Eucharistic Sacrifice of Christ’s Passover for the dead so that, since all the members of Christ’s body are in communion with each other, the petition for spiritual help on behalf of some may bring comforting hope to others.

Pope John Paul II wrote the following in A LETTER FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE MILLENNIUM OF THE COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED (1998):

(#6)  During the Eucharist, through the general intercessions and the Memento for the dead, the assembled community presents to the Father of all mercies those who have died, so that through the trial of purgatory they will be purified, if necessary, and attain eternal joy.  In entrusting them to the Lord, we recognize our solidarity with them and share in their salvation in this wondrous mystery of the communion of saints.  The Church believes that the souls detained in purgatory “are helped by the prayers of the faithful and most of all by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar” (Council of Trent, Decree on Purgatory), as well as by “alms and other works of piety” (Eugene IV, Bull Laetantur coeli).

(#7)  I, therefore, encourage Catholics to pray fervently for the dead, for their family members and for all our brothers and sisters who have died, that they may obtain the remission of the punishments due to their sins and may hear the Lord’s call: “Come, O my dear soul, to eternal repose in the arms of my goodness, which has prepared eternal delights for you” (Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, 17, 4).

Our parish community remembered individually by name those parishioners who died this past year, and prayed for all of our deceased members at the evening Mass on All Souls Day.  It was a special time for so many family members and friends who were comforted and encouraged during a difficult time of loss in their lives.

    

I encourage you to pray, to request that a Mass be offered and to take the time to visit a cemetery as a way to pray for your beloved deceased.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

All Hallows' Eve?

Dear Parishioners,

November is considered the month of the Holy Souls.  Following the Catholic teaching that it is good to pray for the dead, I make a few suggestions:

• Visit a cemetery and pray for a deceased loved one
• Have a Mass offered for a deceased loved one
• Take an occasion during the day to pray the prayer: “Eternal Rest, Grant unto Them O Lord. . . .”

It definitely disappoints me to see the dark and sinister direction down which Halloween seems to be progressing.  A day to dress up like a saint to honor that heroic person and his or her virtues appears to be completely lost.  From a Christian perspective, it could and should be a beautiful preparation for All Saints’ Day.  But things have certainly changed.

I used to think that ghosts, witches, vampires, and werewolves were bad enough, but figures on the order of Jason (from the Friday the 13^th movies), Freddy Krueger or some other mass murderer seem to be staring at me far too frequently anymore.  A scary thought in more ways than one!

It is the subtle (and not so subtle) desensitization of our youth to the presence of violence, evil, and cruelty that continues to disturb me.  We need to be extolling positive virtues, goodness and holiness to our young.  Yet, too often our young are exposed to just the opposite.  The media lets us know often enough how certain young minds are no longer innocent and pure but can become warped and capable of acts far beyond what was ever thought possible (take Columbine, for example).

I can’t begin to list all of the negative factors from gangsta rap, to violent video games, to graphic movies, to access to just about anything on the Internet that bombards the young constantly.  Put on top of that the lack of knowledge and practice of the Catholic (or any) faith, a declining moral code and the general absence of God and prayer in many peoples’ lives today.  Makes for a type of perfect storm!

Parents you definitely have your work cut out for you.  You certainly have my prayers.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor