Mass of Easter Sunday

2^nd Sunday of Easter: Mass at St. Conval’s Cemetery, Barrhead

1. My dear brothers and sisters, today we gather again in St. Conval’s Cemetery recognising this sacred place as the ground in which the mortal remains of our loved ones have been lain to rest as they await the resurrection of the dead. Some, perhaps many of you, have been coming here year on years. For some, bereavement may be more recent. To you especially, I offer sympathy and condolence. All of us are here in response to a duty of love and of respect. We remember loved ones with affection and thanksgiving. We pray for them that they may enjoy the peace of eternal life and of the vision of God. We want this cemetery to be a peaceful and worthy place as the resting place of those we love. The risen Lord is among us and greets us as he did his disciples behind closed doors on that first day of the week: Peace be with you. The gift of the risen Lord to all of us, living and dead, is his peace.

2. Shortly we will together profess the Creed. We will say we believe in the communion of saints. We recognise a spiritual union between the saints in heaven and those like us who still walk by faith until we too come to Father’s house. The Church in its fullness includes both the saints in heaven and the faithful here on earth. Together we glorify God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We know that Mary, the ever-virgin Mother of God, the angels and the saints can help us with their prayers and intercession as we journey here in faith towards eternal life. How many rosaries have been said for our departed loved ones and for the comfort of the bereaved? How many times have our Blessed Mother, the angels and saints been invoked in prayer for these intentions?  My dear brothers and sisters, this spiritual and mystical communion is powerful enough to extend also to the realm of the dead, to those who have died in Christ. Together with the heavenly Church, we implore God that the faithful departed will come safely to their heavenly home. For me, and I hope for you too, this has always been a comforting vision of the heavenly and earthly Church united in Christ, offering praise, prayer and intercession.

3. The Eucharist, the Sacrifice of the Mass, this Mass is a focal point in the communion of the saints in which we are graced to participate through faith. At Mass the whole Church in heaven and earth gives thanks and praise to God, and pleads the Sacrifice Christ for the living and the dead. In his recent document on the Eucharist, Sacramentum Caritatis, the Sacrament of Love, Pope Benedict wishes to “remind all the faithful of the importance of prayers for the dead, especially the offering of Mass for them, so that, once purified, they can come to the beatific vision of God” (SC 32). I am sure that we are fully convinced of that mystery. I am sure that we have Mass offered for our deceased relatives and friends at different times in the year. This is indeed a holy and devout practice. As the Pope goes on to say, this practice will sustain us too on our journey and comfort us in our hope of glory.