Remembering The Saints

This weekend, the members of the Clergy Academy and I returned from Cuernavaca. It has been a powerful two weeks as we wrestled with a new language and learned from a new culture. I especially found the past two days particularly impactful as we participated in the Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos) celebrations with our new friends.


Altars were created in our homes, around the community, as well as at the school, a tribute to loved ones who had passed. Favorite foods and other memorabilia were placed on the altar next to a loved one’s picture as a way to help them on their spiritual journey. As we shared stories of our deceased loved ones, more than a few tears were shed.


Many of us saw death this year. Many of us had our lives profoundly impacted by the loss of a loved one. Grief clings to us as bitter soot on our souls, because life has been taken from us, wrenched from our grasp. The empty place beside us in bed, or at the dinner table, or in the office, or next door, or at the family gathering, is an ever present reminder that cannot be denied: death has paid a visit and left with one we love. 


Even though death has taken some dear ones from us, my faith that tells me that they are in fact here, still amongst us. My faith helps me continue to experience the love we shared that not even death can take away. Faith teaches me that the dead are never very far from the living. I am grateful that you, me, all of us are surrounded by the “communion of saints.”


This weekend is a time when many cultures and religious traditions believe that the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest. It is a time to honor those who have passed, those saints of our lives who now rest in the arms of God.


Who are the saints in your life, those who from their labors rest, who today are sitting now at God’s side, watching over and caring for you, continuing to surround you in love that not even death can destroy?


Whose voice do you still hear? Who do you remember? Who showed you a bit of what God is like? Who loved you? Whose love was so big that not even death can put an end to it?


This weekend, we remember the saints. We draw the circle wide to include them in our Celebrations. We draw wisdom from the way they embodied faith. We draw strength from the way they lived their lives. We give thanks to God for their witness that transcends death.


Thomas Lynch, an undertaker-turned-poet, reminds us to be gentle with ourselves and our grief. It is hard work. His advice is this: 


“There's no easy way to do this. So do it right: weep, laugh, watch, pray, love, live, give thanks and praise; comfort, mend, honor, and remember.”


In these days of remembering the saints, may we turn to one another in our grief. Offer comfort. Offer affirmation. Offer life. Offer love as we live into and move through our grief, as we surround ourselves with saints.