Click here for audio from Mater Dei Radio

Session Seven:

This is Fr. Ron Raab, host of On the Margins, with a moment of mercy

 

The Corporal Work of Mercy: To bury the dead

 

We are called to treat each person with dignity until they are one with Christ Jesus. Burying the dead is an act of mercy since we live in the belief of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. Standing at the gravesite of a loved one recalls the dignity of each person and our yearning for our home in heaven.

 

In our parish community, we attend to the funerals of about forty people during a year. Every family grieves differently and every family’s relationship with their loved one is different.

 

Some family members do not want the Church to be involved in the funeral. Others depend on faith to get through the pain. Standing at the gravesite is always a graced moment for me, lifting up in prayer the person who has died and standing close to the family who struggle in grief. Death usually teaches us all how to live in the present, how to love in the moment and how to forgive the past.

 

Mary, the Mother of Jesus received the body of Jesus from the cross. Mary and some of the disciples buried the body of Jesus. When a loved one dies, we all wait at the tomb for the resurrection of Jesus, for our place among the saints in heaven.

 

Discover more at ronaldraab.com

Please know of my pray for you in this Year of Mercy