Thirty First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Mk. 12:28b-34) “Death and dying”
Thirty First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Mk. 12:28b-34) “Death and dying”
Death is an uncomfortable topic. None of us likes to dwell on the idea too long. But on this weekend when we celebrate Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day, death and dying are very much on our mind.
Our society is very uncomfortable with death. Many try to ignore it. One of the ways modern people seem to try cope with death is to spend as little time thinking about it as possible. Religious rituals related to death and dying seem to be disappearing. The rites are viewed as somehow morbid. “We don’t want to make people uncomfortable”, is the common refrain when forgoing funerals.
In a bygone time, mourning was seen as therapeutic. When someone lost a spouse, for example, the widow or widower would spend a year in what was called heavy mourning. Black was worn. The spouse refrained from a lot of socializing but spent time in quiet. After that period came six months of half mourning when clothes with black trim were worn. Activities outside the home slowly increased. Another period of light mourning followed where subdued colors were worn. Special prayers and Masses took place during the mourning period. What did this provide? The reflective time offered the mourner the opportunity to process the death experience. Different traditions were followed depending on the relationship a person had with the deceased.
Today, the time for grieving is compressed into a few days. When those three or four days are over, we sense we are to get on with our lives. Perhaps there is a sense of guilt if we don’t. Funerals are to be full of levity. Sadness is viewed as unacceptable.
Funeral rites might be ignored all together. If there is liturgy it is a graveside service. Usually, the deceased person is quoted in the obituary as saying they didn’t want any rituals. We bury the people. We move on as if we are not affected much. What course of action is healthier? We could debate this. One thing is certain, we are ill at ease with the death experience.
Halloween is an example of how people have tried to deal with dying through the centuries. Why do we dress up in costumes? Halloween started with the religious festival of Samhain (sow-in) which started with the Celts in the pre-Christian era. The end of October (when daylight fades away and the cold winter settles in) was said to be a liminal time. A liminal space and time are considered transitional. We could imagine this as a point in our life journey where we are walking through a hallway from one stage of life to the next.
The ancients considered this time of year as a time when the spirit world was most active. Fairies, ghouls and ghosts, were thought to be all around. Costumes were put on to disguise oneself. Hopefully, then the evil spirits would pass you by especially the angel of death. People wanted to fool him.
What might be key to leaving fear concerning the end of our earthly life behind? Jesus gives us a clue in the Gospel of Mark. If we live fully in the Kingdom of Jesus, we can find courage. How are we to live? The answer of course is we need to live according to the law of love.
But we tend to forget two important aspects of that law. First, we forget that we are to love ourselves. If we acknowledge the fact that we were made good, that we are good, we grow in confidence in the Lord. We are optimistic about ourselves. The second realization we forget about the living in the Kingdom is that we are not the prime mover in our love affair with God. God loves us first. God never stops loving us. A different rendition of the law of love might be “realize the love of God for you, share that love with others.”
St. Francis had a very wonderful outlook on death. He called death “his sister”. He pictured death not as a skeleton in a black robe carrying a sickle, but as a woman who comes with a warm embrace. If we can live the law of love then we will be like Francis, who said in his Canticle of the Sun, “Blessed are those who will find God’s holy will, for the second death will do them no harm.”
Reflection Questions:
1. Why do I fear death? Will that fear get worse as I age or lessen?
2. Does love cause a reduction in fear? Do I love myself today? Why or why not?
Dear Parishioners,
I am pleased to announce that we have achieved our original TTT campaign goal for Sacred Heart. Over the last ten days we have received additional monies that have resulted in us having over three million dollars in campaign pledges. When we began this campaign in 2018, we had a goal of five million dollars for Christ the King parish, Seton School and Sacred Heat Parish. All three institutions have exceeded their goals.
We have repeatedly said, since last spring, that we would like to collect more than the three-million-dollar goal for Sacred Heart Parish because of increased costs due to supply problems caused by COVID 19. For that reason, we will continue to collect monies to offset increases in the amount needed for raw materials. We had eight meetings in September, and we sent out mailings which detailed why things are more expensive today. At this point we will work with our architect and obtain construction drawings so that we can have accurate estimates and be ready to move forward. We will also be in communication with the Diocese of Peoria to keep them informed.
The Steier Group told us in 2018, in our feasibility study, that Sacred Heart parish had the potential of raising 2.2 million dollars (1.8 million dollars for parish needs and $400,000 for Seton School). If we calculate the monies we have pledged to date, Sacred Heart has raised over 3.4 million dollars. We have far exceeded the experts’ predictions.
This wonderful achievement is due to your faith in Jesus and love for our parish. And it is due for the tenacity of our campaign committee. This committee has had to work longer than they originally thought because of the obstacles they have had to overcome. I will list their names in next week’s bulletin. I cannot thank them enough. There was many a day when I doubted we would be where we are today. God has surprised me once again.
We will continue the work of the campaign and I ask for your ongoing support so we can build the structure we had originally desired. If you have not turned in a pledge, please do so. I will continue to pray for the intercession of St. Damian the Leper (a Belgium American Saint) for the success of our efforts to raise funds for this project.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over us.
Fr. Mark