BURY THE DEAD
In Christian tradition burying
plays an important role. It is a farewell to the person with whom we have
shared some of our times on earth. When the corpus is buried the body returns
to the mud from where it originated. It is from mud we came and unto the
mud we shall return. It is from there we would rise again. Burial serves as
a preparation for our resurrection. When Jesus died “the tombs also were
opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.” (Mt
27:52). 
Jesus too was buried by Joseph of
Arimathea, according the custom of Jews people. He was buried in the tomb,
“Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his
own tomb, which is hewn in the rock” (Mt 27:59&60). On the third day he
rose again from the dead. The one who was buried is risen again. Jesus raised
Lazarus from the tomb (buried). After our death we are buried with the hope
that one day we would rise again with the body and spirit.
Through death the souls are abiding
in him. By burying the dead we are preparing for the resurrection of the person.
We are paving a way for the eternal life. One day we also need to be buried.
That day is not far from now. Today so many bodies are left on the roadside
without burying. Can we bury those bodies? Whenever somebody dies will we be
there to pray for them and accompany them to the burial. Let us pray to Christ,
our Redeemer that He may grant us a grace to be merciful to our departed
brothers. Let us not neglect or excuse ourselves from taking part in the
funeral services. Let we be the first ones to accompany our brethren.
PRAY FOR THE LIVING
AND DEAD
Prayer is the most powerful
weapon in this world. Through prayer anything can be achieved. The dead can be
raised and the living can be blessed. Prayer is a spontaneous activity. By
repeating the traditional or structured prayer we may not find meaning. In that
situation let us create our own prayer. Through prayer we are appealing to God
for the graces that are necessary for our day to day life. Prayer is not
restricted to time and place. At anytime and from any place we can offer
prayers to the Lord.
It is our Christian belief that the
brethren who have departed from this world may need our prayerful support in
order to enter into heaven. The departed souls need to rest in the Lord. Heaven
is place to rest and a place to prepare oneself for the resurrection. It is
midway between death and resurrection. One day we also may go there. Today, if
we pray for the souls in purgatory, tomorrow somebody will pray for us. The
highest grace that we can ask through prayer is eternal life. By praying for
the dead we are asking the Lord to grant that highest grace for the departed
souls.
We all are journeying towards
heaven. On our way we need to help each other. Apart from doing corporal works
of mercy, the best spiritual work of mercy that we can do is, praying for our
neighbours. Our prayers should be selfless and at the same time it should not
be for fame and publicity. As Jesus said, “whenever you pray, go into your room
and shut the door and pray to the Father who is in secret; and you Father who
sees in secret will reward you.” (Mt 6:6). Jesus went to the solitude place and
prayed alone. He is our model. Let us imitate Him.
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