C.M. Brissette, OSМ
November
November… the heat and ripeness of summer and autumn activity is over. Bare trees and falling leaves best tell the final story: “Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.” Cold, drizzly, slow persistent rain keeps poor mortals indoors… wings thoughts to the dreary quiet solitude of cemeteries, where lie the remains of those they loved. Intermittent sighs and moans of the wind give mournful voice to the spirits of the dead… “Remember me… at least you my friends!” “Remember me,” plaintive and sad… tragic far off wail of the dead reaching minds of those who once mourned a relative or friend. The living once sobbed aloud and stood in frozen grief as the coffin sunk slowly into the earth. Led away from the grave they heard the words: “Your duty lies with the living… dry your tears and try to forget.” Try and forget… Forget? Faces, smiles, voices… no! Forget to assist these same loved ones who may now be in a land of silent sorrow, uncomplaining agony voiceless in the intensity of its resignation? Forget? Too often, the verdict is “guilty.”
Remember me... at least you my friends!
At death… we console ourselves with the thought, he or she was a “living saint.” We want to pray “to” instead of “for” the deceased. We may be correct in our judgment, but we cannot shut our eyes to the faults of the average loved one. We know… all who die in the state of grace are saved! We also know, “God will render to every one according to his work,” and that, every idle word that man shall speak, they shall render an account of it in the day of judgment. (Matt. 12:36) Also, “Nothing defiled shall enter into Heaven, but that the fire shall try each man’s work.” Meaning…there is a place where souls suffer for a time after death to atone for imperfection and sins of carelessness. That place we call Purgatory. In the Old Testament Judas Machabeus, after a battle, sent offerings to Jerusalem “for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead…” Adding, It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sin. (Mach. 12:46)
Why should there be a temporal punishment for sins already forgiven? Human justice and intelligence demand we pay for all our transgressions. Violate natural laws and we pay for it sooner or later. Drunkenness, overeating, sex-excesses bring bodily weakness and sickness. Violation of moral laws demands punishment. If a child breaks a parental law…the good mother forgives but still punishes by denying certain privileges. A man violates state or city laws…society forgives…but the transgressor pays the penalty prescribed by law. In the confessional… God forgives all sin but the temporal punishment due sin is not necessarily removed. Hence…we are encouraged to pray, assist at Mass, gain indulgences, attend Novenas, offer up our everyday trials and suffering as expiation for past sins. The average person who has not expiated for past sins must do so in Purgatory. He cannot help himself. Only we the living…can substitute for him and offer sacrifices for him! The dead pass beyond our sight and touch… never, thank God…beyond our love and prayers!
We owe our loved ones an obligation that goes beyond a lavish funeral, flowers and a tombstone. They are waiting for us... crying voicelessly, "Remember me!"