Why a communal remembrance of the dead

The tradition of the Church has established a day dedicated to the suffrage of the dead, close to All Saints’ Day. From the beginning (think of the Cluniac impulse), the Christian community understood that remembering the dead does not mean cultivating the past, but allowing oneself to be converted by the Gospel of the Resurrection. We look to 2 November as a ‘school of hope’: we learn to read our lives and history in the light of the risen Christ.

Not ideas, but an encounter

Faith does not arise from well-structured theories: it arises from an encounter. It is Paul’s experience; it is Elijah’s lesson in the ‘whisper of a gentle breeze’: God makes himself close in the concreteness of life, not in the clamour. For us Vincentians, too, Scripture and the Magisterium are not an archive to be consulted, but doors wide open to the daily encounter with the Risen One who speaks to us in the Word, in the Eucharist and in the poor.

The ‘school of the little ones’: the style of St. Vincent

St. Vincent de Paul reminds us of a simple and liberating criterion: listen to the least. He often asked for advice from his most humble brothers and sisters: a doorman, a cook… It is a typical feature of charism: the Spirit loves to pass through the voices that are not obvious, those that often do not count in the eyes of the world. Therefore, in these days, let us choose to listen to families in mourning, to the elderly who are alone, to those who carry hidden wounds: through them too, the Lord rekindles hope.

Uncomfortable prophets and evangelical truth

The history of the Church is studded with ‘unconventional’ figures who have called everyone back to the essentials of the Gospel. It is not fame that makes the truth, but conformity to Christ. Let us be challenged by those who, perhaps misunderstood, have witnessed to the Gospel with clarity. The 2nd of November also asks this of us: to recognise the traces of God where we would not expect to find them, in order to rediscover the path.

‘Ecce Homo’: the power of authenticity

At the school of Jesus, we learn a style: no spiritual masks. The Lord revealed himself in the fragility of “Ecce Homo” and in the humble gesture of washing feet. For the Vincentian Family, this translates into concrete, sober service, capable of bending down. Mourning and death remind us that only love remains: therefore, our truest worship is active charity.

Eucharist: a foretaste of resurrection

The Eucharist is the place where the promise becomes present: here we learn that life is ‘transformed’. Celebrating for the dead is not a magical act, but a trusting adherence to a process of Easter that already concerns us. For St Vincent, the Eucharist always flourishes in service: what we adore on the altar we recognise in the wounds of the poor.

Concrete proposals for communities and groups of the Vincentian Family

In the week leading up to 2 November

• Visit to cemeteries with a short liturgy of the Word and suffrage. We bring a Word of consolation and a simple gesture (a flower, a candle, a prayer together).
• Collection of names: in the parish and in homes, we ask for the names of the deceased that families wish to entrust to the community’s prayers. We provide a register that is visible during the liturgy.
• Listening and closeness: Daughters of Charity, Missionaries, A.M.M., Young Vincentians and lay people coordinate short visits to families in mourning. It doesn’t take much: a rosary, a cup of hot tea, a moment of listening.

During the celebration on 2 November

• Heart of the celebration: we emphasise the Preface for the dead (‘life is not taken away, but transformed’), linking it explicitly to the Eucharist as a pledge of resurrection.
• Grateful remembrance: let us include the intentions gathered in the Universal Prayer; at the Presentation of the Gifts, a simple sign (the register of names, a lit lamp).
• Brief testimony: if possible, a lay person should give a 2-minute account of how Christian hope sustained them during a time of mourning. Simple, authentic language.

After the liturgy

• A gesture of charity ‘on behalf’ of our deceased: as a Vincentian Family, we choose a concrete service (suspended shopping, support with a bill, visit to a sick person). Each faithful person can join in with a contribution or an hour of volunteering.
• “Mourning & Hope” programme: we start (or relaunch) a small monthly listening and spiritual support group, with the collaboration of a Daughter of Charity and a lay person trained in accompaniment.
• Adoration and intercession: an hour of Eucharistic adoration during the week, with simple songs, plenty of silence and intercessions for the deceased and those who suffer.

For young people and families

• Walk to the cemetery (previous Saturday): a prayer journey in stages, with short psalms and a moment of personal silence; delivery of a word of hope to take home.
• Catechesis in 15 minutes: ‘Why do we remember the deceased?’ – clear language, a symbol (a candle), a question for the week: What gesture of love can I do in memory of…?

A common commitment

This year, as a Vincentian Family, we want suffrage to become concrete charity: each home, community and group should choose a face to serve (a widow, a lonely elderly person, a family in difficulty) ‘on behalf’ of their deceased loved ones. It is the most evangelical way to say that love does not die.

Hoping together

Let us enter 2 November with the steps of those who trust. Let us not seek perfect words; let us ask the Lord for true hearts. May the Risen One transform our nostalgia into consolation and our memory into service. And as we pronounce the names of our loved ones, let the promise resound within us once again: ‘To your faithful, O Lord, life is not taken away, but transformed.’

May St Vincent and St Louise obtain for us a humble gaze and a ready step: where death seems to have the last word, we want to serve life.