The Grace of the ‘Day of the Dead’

Though retired, I still get calls for weddings, baptisms, visits to the sick and blessings of homes and graveyards.  So, on All Saints Day, Monday, Nov. 1, I found myself in the Lutheran Benevolent Society graveyard on Eddie Robinson Street in Old South Baton Rouge with a small bucket of holy water and a holy water sprinkler.  It was at the request of two friends, Lillie Gallagher and Matt Thomas, both determined to keep Baton Rouge clean and presentable by organizing large clean-up campaigns of volunteers.  The cemetery is one of their projects.  Lillie was in Cutoff along down Bayou Lafourche with family.  Matt and I were greeted by a family of grandmother, daughter and grandson, also named Thomas, but not related to Matt, who cut the grass in the cemetery. Also, there was a young teacher named Morgan Miller Udoh and the area’s City Councilwoman Carolyn Coleman.  The grandmother’s husband had died during the past year, so we began at his tomb.

I did the usual blessing of graves in our Catholic ritual book.  The ceremony brought back memories of cold November days as an altar boy in the Plaquemine city graveyard trying to keep a censer lit in a chill wind.  Graveyard blessing was also an early experience in my first assignment as a priest to St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Baton Rouge.  The parish was charged with the upkeep of a cemetery off 19th Street with the graves of the soldiers killed in the Civil War Battle of Baton Rouge.  Awaiting the yearly blessing of graves, the Daughters of the Confederacy would place a small Rebel flag on the grave of each fallen Southern soldier while the Daughters of the American Revolution did the same with a small American flag for the Northern soldiers.  At least in death, they were brothers in Christ and received the same prayer and holy water.  

It is, however, our growing Hispanic population who best understands the true importance and meaning of the two consecutive Holy Days of All Saints and El Dia de los Muertos (All Souls Day).  They are celebrations of the grace of our redemption won for us by Christ’s death and resurrection.  The liturgy of the feast of All Saints commemorates the vision of heaven had by St. John the Evangelist in Chapter 7 of the Book of Revelations: “After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue.  They stood before the throne and before the Lamb …”  And in Chapter 14:13, “I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ”

 As we profess in the Nicene Creed that we pray during Mass we believe in “the communion of saints.”  We pray to them, ask their intercession for us, try to learn from their lives and imitate them and have reason to believe from these Scriptures that we will join them one day. We celebrate their lives on the feast of All Saints.   

All Souls Day also has its roots in sacred Scripture. Chapter 12:32-46 of the second book of Maccabees tells the story of the great general of the army of Israel, Judas Maccabeus.  In one of his battles he defeated the pagan Idumeans with their 3,000 foot soldiers and 400 horsemen.  On the following day he had his soldiers gather their fallen companions for burial.  However, they found on their bodies “amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia.”  Judas took up a collection among all his soldiers which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for “an expiatory sacrifice.”

The writer of this Scripture adds: “In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death.  But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.  Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.”   

I Googled “El Dia de los Muertos” to get the full background of the Hispanic celebration of these two feasts.  This is what I found.  “A Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration.  A blend of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion and Spanish culture, the holiday is celebrated each year from Oct. 31–Nov. 2.  While Oct. 31 is Halloween, Nov. 1 is el Dia de los Inocentes, or the day of the children and All Saints Day.  Nov. 2 is All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead.  According to tradition, the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on Oct. 31 and the spirits of children can rejoin their families for 24 hours.  The spirits of adults can do the same on Nov. 2.”  

The ancient Aztecs had a custom of providing their dead with food, water and tools for their journey to the land of the dead.  This inspired the contemporary Mexican Day of the Dead practice of leaving food or other offerings on the graves of loved ones or on altars called “ofrendas” in their homes.  

I like the idea of not only praying for our dead family members but also inviting them back to share a meal with their family to bring back memories and have a little chat.  

Father Carville is a retired priest in the Diocese of Baton Rouge and writes on current topics for The Catholic Commentator. He can be reached at [email protected].