The feasts of All Saints and All Souls have turned our eyes toward heaven, we’re coming to the end of the Church year, and the Mass readings lead us to think about final things.  This is an ideal time to visit a cemetery on a nice fall afternoon.  If you’re lucky enough to live near a cemetery with the grave of a loved one the visit will have extra meaning, but either way, it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead and it just helps everyone in your family become more comfortable with the topic.

• Sometime during the month of November, visit a cemetery.  Walk among the graves with your family, and discuss how the souls of the dead are now with God.
• Visiting a cemetery is a very biblical thing to do; Jesus visited the tomb of his friend Lazarus, and Mary Magdalene was on her way to visit the tomb of Jesus on Easter morning.
• Remind your children that those in heaven are praying for us and encouraging us, and those in purgatory appreciate our prayers and sacrifices offered on their behalf so they can be released from purgatory earlier.
• During November 1-8 the Church strongly recommends we visit cemeteries to pray, but praying for those who have died is a good and holy thing to do at any time.

How can you make this visit successful for your family?

PREPARE YOUR KIDS  Remind your family that a cemetery is a holy place and that appropriate behavior is important.  Out of respect, it is a custom that we do not walk on the graves.  We also do not climb on the tombstones.

PREPARE AN ACTIVITY  If you plan to clean up someone’s grave site you’ll want to bring a few supplies such as a scrub brush and some water, maybe a rake or a small trowel for weeding. Gardening gloves could be helpful if you need to right a tilting statue or just do some general yardwork.  You could bring flowers or some kind of decoration. But be aware that some cemeteries have regulations about what can be left behind so it’s good to check before you make plans.  An easy way to preserve a memory of your visit is to choose a tombstone and make a rubbing.  Put white copy paper over the tombstone words, and rub the edge of a crayon over the paper.  The words will be imprinted on the paper.

PREPARE FOR PRAYER  There are many ways to pray in a cemetery, both informal or with more traditional prayers.  Some families like to pray a Rosary or a Divine Mercy chaplet during a cemetery visit, either walking up and down the rows, or just sitting or standing at the gravesite of a particular loved one.   You may want to take holy water, and sprinkle it on the grave as you pray.   The most common prayer for the faithful departed is the Eternal Rest prayer.  Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.  And let the perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.  And may their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

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