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Why the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed?

11/7/2019

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There are several certainties in our life as human beings. One such certainty is the reality of our eventual death. This experience of dying embraces family members, friends, and eventually ourselves.  In the cycle of life, both birth and death are part of the natural order.  As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states, “Death is the end of earthly life. Our lives are measured by time, in the course of which we change, grow old and, as with all living beings on earth, death seems like the normal end of life. That aspect of death lends urgency to our lives: remembering our mortality helps us realize that we have only a limited time in which to bring our lives to fulfillment.” (CCC, 1007.) 

The “urgency” that this “limited time” for living presents, can make us aware each day of the importance of family relationships and friendships, the pursuit of meaningful work, the necessity of outreach to others and the primacy of our spiritual life of faith. As Christians, our future mortality should inspire us to live in the anticipation of being eternally with God.  

In his book, The Spirituality of the Psalms, Walter Brueggemann says, “the Book of Psalms provides the most reliable theological, pastoral, and liturgical resource given us in the biblical tradition. In season and out of season, generation after generation, faithful women and men turn to the Psalms as a most helpful resource for conversations with God about things that matter most.” (p. 15.)  Psalm 16 is a song of trust in God which speaks about the fullness of living in God and seeking His path of love in our lives as we approach each day and ultimately our own death. Saint John Paul II describes Psalm 16 as follows: “these words fit perfectly into an interpretation that broadens the prospect to the hope of communion with God beyond death, in eternal life.” (General Audience, July 28, 2004.)

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.
  I keep the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
    my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
    or let your faithful one see the Pit.

You show me the path of life.
    In your presence there is fullness of joy;
    in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

(Psalm 16: 7-11)

This faith and trust in God has the power to transform our understanding of death and places it within the context of the redemptive, salvific mercy of God as revealed in Jesus Christ who is as Pope Francis states “the face of the Father’s mercy”.  (Misericordiae Vultus, Bull of Indiction of The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, 2015.)  The Catechism expresses this truth in the following way: 

CCC, 1009 “Death is transformed by Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, also himself suffered the death that is part of the human condition. Yet, despite his anguish as he faced death, he accepted it in an act of complete and free submission to his Father's will. The obedience of Jesus has transformed the curse of death into a blessing.”

CCC, 1010 “Because of Christ, Christian death has a positive meaning: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."  The saying is sure: if we have died with him, we will also live with him.  What is essentially new about Christian death is this: through Baptism, the Christian has already "died with Christ" sacramentally, in order to live a new life; and if we die in Christ's grace, physical death completes this "dying with Christ" and so completes our incorporation into him in his redeeming act.”

Jesus did not choose to take his life nor hasten his death in order to avoid suffering. His obedient surrender to the Father would become the path that would ultimately conquer death itself. At a funeral, the priest offers this final Prayer of Commendation to all who are present, “Before we go our separate ways, let us take leave of our sister/brother.  May our farewell express our affection for her/him; may it ease our sadness and strengthen our hope.  One day we shall joyfully greet her/him again when the love of Christ, which conquers all things, destroys even death itself.” (Order of Christian Funerals, 2016, p. 245.)

On November 2, the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, (or more commonly known as the Feast of All Souls), we do not go our separate ways but rather come together to celebrate and remember in prayer those who have died. This universal day of prayer within the life of the Church allows those who mourn the death of a loved to be comforted (ref. Matthew 5:4) and to be strengthened in faith and hope in the promise of everlasting life that comes to us through Christ. Our human death may be a certainty but through, with and in Christ, it receives new meaning. 

Written by Bishop William McGrattan for Faithfully, November 2019
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Most Reverend W. T. McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary
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A vision of care for our loved ones

7/11/2019

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Photo courtesy of Anne Marie Brown.
One of the oldest Catholic churches in Calgary sits atop a sacred space that will eventually hold the cremated remains of 5,000 people. Located in two calmly-lit rooms of a formerly nondescript basement at Sacred Heart Church, each columbarium is lined with clear-glass shelves. The individual niches hold from one to four urns, and while most are empty, others display Reserved signs. A growing number of the niches include urns alongside name plates, photographs, rosaries and crucifixes. While many of the cremains interred here are placed in niches chosen by the individuals, others were selected by those who mourn. All give a physical presence to the spirit of Psalm 23:6, “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.”
“You do not have to be Catholic to be interred here, but most are,” says Deacon Paul Kennedy, who manages the columbaria at Sacred Heart. Kennedy knows that many Catholics are uncertain about what the Church teaches about cremation. And that’s why he takes his job so seriously. Kennedy knows what the Church teaches. He is also convinced that many who visit Sacred Heart’s columbaria will leave with a new understanding of why a growing number of Catholics will choose cremation—and a columbarium—in the years to come.
Catholic teaching
According to information from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Roman Catholic church lifted its prohibition against cremation in 1963. Twenty years later, the option was coded in canon law. Over time, Christian Funeral Rites were altered to set the parameters for when cremation can take place before a Funeral Liturgy. 
 The rites detail where cremated remains are placed during the Funeral Liturgy (never on or immediately in front of the altar). They also spell out the need for all of the cremains to be placed in a secure vessel.

Fr. Edmund Vargas, a former pastor at Sacred Heart, first talked to Kennedy about establishing a columbarium in 2005. When the first of the 3,000 niches went on sale about five years later, the church-based facility was one of the first—and possibly the first—in Canada. Then-Bishop Fred Henry blessed the first columbarium at Sacred Heart on May 13, 2011, with the first interment that same month. The second columbarium opened in 2013.

Accessible by elevator and stairs, visitors enter the columbaria through a locked door. Mourners receive a punch key code that allows them to visit the indoor space 364 days of the year. “The only day we are closed is Boxing Day. I know some people come here every day to spend time with their memories,” notes Kennedy. “On the second Saturday of each month, we also host a special memorial service in the church. Those are always well-attended, and many people visit the columbaria after that mass.”
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A columbarium at Sacred Heart Church, Calgary
A sacred space 
The hallways inside the columbaria are adorned with 13 stained-glass windows. Purchased from a Catholic church in Buffalo, New York, the 150-year-old windows were painstakingly restored and framed. “We’ve backlit the windows, and the effect is beautiful. Visitors feel like they are walking past actual windows. You lose any sense that you are in a basement,” explains Kennedy.

Once inside, visitors can rest on comfortable benches upholstered in an elegant shade of burgundy. Recessed ceiling lights contribute to the calming hue of the muted-yellow walls and ceilings. A lack of adornment inside the columbaria keeps eyes drawn to the niches.

“Father Edmund chose very meaningful names for the columbaria,” adds Kennedy. The first columbarium is called the Holy Land, and its sections are named after Holy Land locales, like Bethlehem and Mount Herman. The Galilee section includes smaller areas named Grace, Hope, Joy, Peace and Serenity. A special section in the Serenity area holds the cremains of stillborn babies and others who died soon after birth. 

Most of the niches in the Holy Land are single niches, “but people can reserve two single niches, side-by-side, as long as they are available,” says Kennedy.

The second columbarium, with more niches designed for two or four urns, is named Holy See. Each of its sections references a Holy See location. Again, families can purchase several niches in an area.
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Learn more
People interested in touring the columbaria can reach out to Kennedy at Sacred Heart. He’s also available to speak with groups, including parish-based groups like the Knights of Columbus and Catholic Women’s League. Those interested will receive an Estate Planning Guide from a Catholic Perspective. 

“People have a lot of questions, and I’m here to answer them,” says Kennedy, who’s already secured a Sacred Heart niche for he and his wife. 

While he’s learned not to guess what questions people will bring to their first conversations about the columbaria, Kennedy’s accustomed to how the meetings end. “There is comfort in knowing what will happen after you die. After people choose a niche, their response is typically the same. They tell me, ‘I feel relieved.’”

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Written by Joy Gregory for Faithfully
Columbarium photos courtesy of Sacred Heart Church.

​Visit ​http://www.columbariumcalgary.ca
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