“Festival of Lights” by John August Swanson, 2000. COURTESY OF JOHN AUGUST SWANSON TRUST
Source & Summit: The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
(The faithful) taking part in the Eucharistic sacrifice, which is the source and summit of the whole Christian life, offer the Divine Victim to God, and themselves along with it.
-The Second Vatican Council fathers in Lumen Gentium, #11
Source & Summit is a feature of The Western Kentucky Catholic online, celebrating the National Eucharistic Revival: Year of Parish Revival. Intended to help Catholics of our parishes to probe the riches of our liturgical year and celebrate the liturgy well, the column will always start with the Bible readings for the Mass of the Day to help us reflect on, and help to “unpack” and expand our experiences at liturgy into the domestic church (the home) and the workplace.
Sunday reflections will be based on the Lord’s Day, the Liturgy, the Eucharist, and, occasionally, community.
Thursday, November 2, 2023
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
(Today, a number of possibilities occur for the readings at Eucharist.)
I will forever cherish my time as a child being raised by my grandparents on a farm in Jalisco, Mexico. Especially when it came to observing certain religious celebrations and traditions. One unique tradition I always recall is that of “Día de Muertos” (Day of the Dead) every November 2. It was a day that I could be sure we would be spending a considerable number of hours at the “panteón” (cemetery). We would always start by attending All Saints Day mass together on November 1. Later that day we would make our way up to the cemetery to spend the evening into the late hours of the night. What would we do? First, there was a good amount of time dedicated to cleaning the grave sites and each “monumento” (above-ground cement mausoleum) of our various deceased family members, followed by the placement of a lot of flowers. The night would be filled with a lot of praying, singing and conversation around the memory of those departed. Even eating together as family and sharing with one another some of the food that our deceased loved ones enjoyed was part of the celebration. There was always an understanding and belief that even though we no longer can see those loved ones, it doesn’t mean they’re completely absent from us. And even as Catholics we pray for the departed, but we also know that many of them can intercede for us still on our journey through their prayers to God almighty.
-Deacon Chris Gutiérrez
To learn more about the Diocese of Owensboro’s celebration of the National Eucharistic Revival, visit https://owensborodiocese.org/eucharistic-revival/.
