Blessing for All Souls by Kate Rhea

Caring for a cemetery is not without costs, without some degree of difficulty due to vandalism, to storms, lightning strikes, tornadoes and floods and without a commitment on our part to keep that cemetery in pristine shape. In the cemetery are the mortal remains of the “faithful departed” that were blessed during the funeral services.

This is where the rubber hits the road, the cemetery. This is where our faith and hope of the resurrection of the body come together. From the sacred spaces in the cemetery the faithful departed will rise into eternal life.

As we look upon the cemetery as the holy place that it is, it is our responsibility, the responsibility of the living to see that these ground remain sacred both in the nature of the ground and the ground itself. We are asked to see to the care and maintenance of the cemetery by that the graves and tombstones are kept in good condition, are not desecrated or not used for profane purposes but reserved for the beauty of what lies beneath.

Cemeteries must be kept clean, headstones erect and repaired, ample walkways and roads so the grave sites themselves can be respected and not walked across. Families and

descendants have a responsibility to care for and maintain the monuments placed on the lots, to not add to or detract from the shrubbery, or plants and flowers without prior arrangements. Care is meant to be general care, keeping the grass cut, cleaning the grounds, raking leaves and removing broken trees; general care of the roads, fences; maintain a level of security so you can visit loved ones.

There are many ways to meet our responsibility to maintain the cemetery, not just at St. Joseph but at all Catholic cemeteries. It starts with each one of us, whether we own plots that have not been used, have plots where we have laid our dearly departed to rest, or know of others that have no family left in the area to help maintain their plots. As St. Paul reminds us in the book of Romans,“To rise with Christ, we must die with Christ,” let us find hope in the Lord within our cemeteries and be at home with Him while visiting the graves of the dead.

Please help the Diocese to meet our responsibility by meeting your responsibility to maintain all Catholic Cemeteries.

A Blessing for All Souls

OCTOBER 2019 17 T he tradition of blessing the graves dates back to the sixth century when Benedictine monasteries created a tradition of commemorating the deceased on Whitsunday, the 7th Sunday after Easter. The tradition wasn’t official until the 11th century, when Odilo of Cluny inaugurated a formal day to bless the souls of all the faithful departed to take place the day after All Saints’ Day, establishing All Souls’ Day.

Later referred to as The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed or Cemetery Sunday, the blessing features a solemn prayer to God in remembrance of those who have perished and now rest in the consecrated ground of a cemetery. Families pray to help their deceased loved ones and for themselves as they grieve and remember all who have passed. The Blessing of the Graves is a spiritual communion among the communion of the saints, a moment to cherish and sanctify the Mystical Body of Christ.

This year, the Diocese of Shreveport would like to begin what we hope will become a new tradition for families and Catholics to practice on Cemetery Sunday. This year a special event will take place at St. Joseph Cemetery in conjunction with the Blessing of the Graves. The faithful are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy prior to the blessing ceremony. St. Joseph Cemetery will provide beverages and restroom conveniences along with tables and chairs to encourage fellowship as we remember and pray for our dearly departed. As is the custom at St. Joseph, after the general blessing if you stand at your loved ones gravesites, the priest or deacon will come and do a special blessing at that site. This event will take place on Sunday, November 3rd from 11:00am until the Blessing of the Graves ceremony begins at 2:00pm. If you and your family plan on joining us, please RSVP to Kate Rhea at krhea@dioshpt.org with the number of people attending. Msgr. Earl V. Provenza presdies at a Cordaro family Mass held on September 1, 2019. By Kate Rhea