Embracing the elements for Cemetery Mass reveals the power of enduring love, writes Fr Martin Delaney
A somewhat cryptic question to begin. What outdoor event in Ireland this summer will have attracted more people than Ed Sheeran, the Galway Races, the Irish Open and Electric Picnic combined? Answer: The Cemetery Mass (or in some parts of the country simply the ‘Blessing of the Graves’).
This week we have celebrated the fifth Cemetery Mass in our parish and the combined attendances must come close to 2,000 people. Despite a very unpredictable summer, weather wise, we had only to retreat to the church for one of the Masses. I have often reflected on why we have such a fascination with and commitment to ‘the Cemetery Mass’.
Having lived in the US for a few years I was always impressed by the celebration of Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year. Thanksgiving has not been hijacked by commercialism, but is simply about family getting together.
Family members and groups of friends travel for hours just to share a meal together and then travel away again.
The Cemetery Mass and the Blessing of the Graves seems almost the Irish equivalent. Parish phone lines are busy for months with queries about the date of such and such a Cemetery Mass as people plan their summer holidays around the date.
The Cemetery Mass is of course a religious event as we pray for the repose of the souls of those buried in the cemetery and yet for many of those who attend it may be their only Mass of the year or at least one of the very few.
The hundreds of thousands who flock to Cemetery Masses in all weathers come for reasons other than religious. These annual gatherings are also important community events. Liam Swords has beautifully described the cemetery as “the repository of a community’s past… here, stretching deep into the earth, are the roots of the community”.
The annual Cemetery Mass or blessing of the graves is a unique community celebration and indeed a ‘thanksgiving’ for those who have gone before us.
Perhaps even more profoundly the Cemetery Mass is an intimate personal encounter with a loved one who has died. When we stand by the grave of a loved one we remember the day when we carried or followed the coffin into that space and it marks the spot where we said our last formal public goodbye. And yet while death is such a painful parting and experience of loss, the one thing that death cannot do is take away the love we shared with the one who has died.
That love, I believe, is the most powerful reason for traveling miles and maybe even standing in the rain at the annual Cemetery Mass.
Decisions A group of male drinking companions were in the pub chatting about life when the conversation turned to wives. They all had something to complain about except this one man who explained that everything was fine in their home as they had decided early on in their married life to share responsibility for the making of decisions. He went on to explain how it was agreed that he would take all the big decisions while his wife would look after all the small ones.
“And how has it worked out?” enquired one man in admiration of this enlightened approach. “Oh great, no problem at all,” replied our hero. “So far there have been no major decisions!”
Special days at Ladywell
Ladywell is a holy well situated on the Laois/Kilkenny border close to the town of Ballinakill.
Like many such holy wells around the country, there is a long historic tradition of people coming here on pilgrimage.
Ladywell has been developed during the last few decades by a very hardworking and dedicated committee of local people.
Every year for the nine days leading up to Our Lady’s birthday on September 8 hundreds of people travel to the well each evening for prayers and devotions.
www.ladywell.ie
