Dead List

Like most churchgoers I already got an envelope from the parish where to enclose the list of departed loved ones. As November draws near the Holy Church invites her children to remember those who have gone before. I tried to jot down some names...my grandparents, aunts, uncles (from both sides of our huge family, including my in-laws), etc. I haven't completed it yet and I hope that when I do, I won't forget anybody. In a busy world that we are, we oftentimes shun looking back. We always want to move forward. November is the month devoted for the souls of the dead. It won't hurt if we allow ourselves in bringing back to mind the people who, when they were alive and healthy, have supported us to what we are now.

My first encounters with praying for the dead began when, as a child, I often wondered why my late grandparents would pray aloud: "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord..." everytime we pass by a cemetery. This is more evident on our trips to Ilocos Norte which is a 10-hour drive from Manila. Surely there would be innumerable graveyards along the way.

Another encounter was paying respects to the dead during the wake ('lamay'). The wake, strangely, can become a noisy and 'happy' occasion with 'sakla' and drinking spree around.

Death, no matter how we conceptualize it, can be a devastating moment. I once paid my last respects to an old woman who used to be our neighbor in Gagalangin. Her elderly husband was shaking his head in disbelief as he looked at his dead spouse. He later shouted "Hintayin mo ako!" (Wait for me!). It didn't take a year when he too died.

Death can be compared to a house that has shut its door, but has opened its window. As a friend (whose mother died) once told me, "Napahinga na si Nanay." (Mother is already at rest.)

Remembering the dead is our way of thanking them for their kindness and generosity. It is also an act of hope on our part wherein we look forward to be reunited with them in our true home. Finally, it is an occasion for us to think of and prepare for death which will ring its toll on us at an unexpected time.

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Birthday blessings to Miko Silvallana (27th Oct) and Charity Montero & Msgr Mario Enriquez (28th Oct). Miko was my former classmate and colleague in UST who is now based in the US. Auntie Charity was the one who introduced me to the Apostleship of Prayer in Gagalangin. Msgr Mar is the priest who inspired me in my first years serving God's People.