The Ascension of The Lord

Dear Parishioners,

    Memorial Day we always have Masses in our Catholic Cemeteries.  This Monday there will be a Mass at Calvary Cemetery in Rock Island at 9:00 a.m. and St. Mary Cemetery in East Moline at 9:30 a.m.  Please bring your own lawn chairs if you are coming to St. Mary or Calvary.

    Memorial Day began as a day to remember all those who have died in our nation’s wars.  The day was called Armistice Day (The Day WWI ended) when it started, but now we remember all those who have died.

We are reminded of the importance of cemeteries on this day.  In the present day many seem to feel like a dignified resting place for the dead is unimportant.  Perhaps it has to do with our American values system which is all about individual freedom. We need to personalize everything.  Everything is about “me.”  I want to be able to scatter my remains at a sports stadium, throw them in a lake, etc. because that represents my life.

Once it was thought that the ultimate insult was to try and destroy evidence that someone ever existed.  Bodies were burned, ashes were scattered as a way obliterating the fact that another person lived.

In contrast to that idea was how soldiers’ bodies were treated. In war bodies were not left on a battlefield, but the desire was for the body of a soldier to be returned to his home country “for a fitting burial.”  We are still retrieving American soldiers from the Asia to be buried to this day. It is a sad fact that Ukraine must ask Russia to take back the bodies of dead soldiers. This does not seem to be a priority.

The body is sacred.  When I go to visit my relatives graves it is a way of mourning.  When I decorate their graves on Memorial Day it is a cathartic moment.  It would be appropriate and healthy for everyone to celebrate Memorial Day as intended.  Take your children to visit the graves of their relatives when you go.  It would be a great gift to them. It reinforces the respect we have for human life.

May Our Lady of Peace Pray for Us.

Fr. Mark