Honor and Respect for the Deceased, November 2nd.

 

The Catholic Church, since the time of the first Christians, has always surrounded the dead with an atmosphere of sacred respect. This and the funeral honors that have always been taxed on them allow them to speak of a certain cult of the deceased: worship not in the strict theological sense, but understood as a broad sacred honor and respect for the deceased by those who have faith in the resurrection of the flesh and in future life.

Christianity in its first centuries did  not reject worship for the deceased of ancient civilizations, but consolidated it, prior purification, giving it its true  transcendent meaning, in the light of the knowledge of the immortality of the soul and the dogma of the resurrection; since the body  which during life is "temple of the HolySpirit"and"member of Christ" (1 Cor 6:15-9) and whose ultimate destiny is spiritual transformation in the resurrection has always been, in the eyes of Christians, as worthy of respect and veneration as the most holy things.

This respect has been expressed, first of all, in the very way of burying the corpses. We see, in fact, that in imitation of what they did with Lord Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and the pious women, the corpses were often washed, anointed, wrapped in bandages impregnated in scents, and thus carefully placed in the tomb.

In the minutes of the martyrdom of St. Pancracio it is said that the holy martyr was buried "after being anointed with perfumes and wrapped in delicious canvases"; and the body of Saint Cecilia appeared in 1599, when the cypress ark that enclosed her was opened, dressed in delicious clothes.

But not only is this careful preparation of the corpse a sign of the piety and worship professed by Christians to the deceased, but also material burial is an eloquent expression of these same feelings. This is especially clear in the veneration from the time of the first early Christians was professed towards the tombs: flowers were scattered on them and freed from perfumes on the graves of loved ones.

In the first half of the second century, after having some concessions and donations, Christians began to bury their dead underground. And so, began the catacombs. Many of them were excavated and expanded around the tombs of families whose newly converted owners did not reserve them only for their own, but opened them to their brethren in the faith.

As time went on, the burial areas widened, sometimes at the initiative of the Church itself. It is typical of the catacombs of Saint Calixto: The Church directly assumed its administration and organization, on a community basis.

With the edict of Milan,promulgated by emperors  Constantine and Licinius in February  313,Christians ceased to suffer persecution. They could profess their faith freely, build places of worship and churches inside and outside the city walls, and buy lots of land without danger of being confiscated.

However, the catacombs continued to function as regular cemeteries until the beginning of the 5thcentury, when the Church reburied exclusively on the surface and in the basilicas dedicated to important martyrs.

But the veneration of the faithful focused in a particular way on the tombs of the martyrs; it was actually around them that the worship of the saints was born. However, this very special worship of martyrs did not suppress the professed veneration of the dead in general. Rather, it could be said that, somehow, it was enhanced.

Indeed: in the minds of the early Christians, the martyr, the victim of his unwavering fidelity to Christ, was part of the ranks of God's friends, whose friends of God beatific vision he enjoyed from the very moment of his death: what better protectors than these friends of God?

The faithful understood this and always had as a very high honor to rest after their death near the body of some of these martyrs, fact that received the name of tomb ad sanctos.

For their part, the living was also convinced that no tribute to their deceased could be equated to burying them sheltered from the protection of martyrs.

They considered that this ensured not only the inviolability of the tomb and the guarantee of the rest of the deceased, but also a greater and more effective intercession and help of the saint.

This is how the basilicas and churches generally became true cemeteries,which soon forced the ecclesiastical authorities to put a limit on the burials in them.

 Funerals and Burials

But this did not affect the feeling of deep respect and veneration that the Church professed and continued to profess to her deceased children.

Hence, despite the prohibitions she was forced to avoid abuse, she remained steadfast in her will to honor them. And so it was established that, before being buried, the corpse should be brought to the Church and, placed before the altar, the Holy Mass was celebrated in his suffrage. 

This practice, already almost common towards the end of the 4th century and of which St. Augustine gives us a clear testimony in recounting the funerals of his mother Saint Monica in his Confessions, has remained to this day.

St Augustine also explained to the Christians of his day how external honors would not bring any benefit or honor to the dead if they were not accompanied by the spiritual honors of prayer: "Without these prayers, inspired by faith and piety towards the deceased, I believe that it would be of no use to their souls if their bodies deprived of life were placed in a holy place. If so, let us convince ourselves that we can only favor the deceased if we offer for them the sacrifice of the altar, prayer oralms" (Decura pro mortuis gerenda, 3 and 4).

Understanding it this way, the Church, who always had the concern to give dignified burial to the corpses of her children, toasted to honor them the best of their spiritual deposits. Depositary of christ's redeeming merits, he wanted to apply them to his deceased, taking into practice offering on days on their graves what he so beautifully called St. Augustine sacrificium pretii nostri,the sacrifice of our rescue. 

The Deceased in the Liturgy.

On the other hand, since the 3rd century it is common to all liturgies to remember the deceased. That is, in addition to some special Masses offered by them next to the tombs, in all the other Eucharistic synaxis memory moment of the deceased was made, as is still done. This same spirit of affection and tenderness encourages all prayers and ceremonies of the wonderful rite of the exequias.

Today the Church recalls in a special way her deceased children during the month of November, in which the "Commemoration of all the Faithful Dead"stand out,  on November 2nd,especially dedicated to her remembrance and suffrage for their souls; and the"Feast of All Saints", on the 1st of the month, which celebrates the arrival in heaven of all those saints who, without having acquired fame for their holiness in this life, reached the eternal prize, among which are the vast majority of the first Christians.

May all our faithful departed brothers and sisters especially those who have died of coronavirus (COVID-19) rest in peace. Amen.

Robert., NSINGA