NOVEMBER is the eleventh month of the year.
My friend Rosse G. said, “Let’s you say this as if no one knows it’s the eleventh month.”
I replied, “I had to start somewhere.” And now that we’re here, I can truly start.
Eleven is the month we remember our departed loved ones (Nov. 2) and the saints (Nov. 1). St. Paul did call the living Christians in his time “saints.” He meant “the holy ones” and “the people of God.” We have been made holy through the sacrificial death of Jesus.
All Saints’ Day is a good feast that honors the memory of departed loved ones and celebrates the value of friends and loved ones who still walk in the land of the living.
We all know the ABCs of remembering departed loved ones.
We bring fresh flowers to place on the tombs of family members or friends who have gone ahead of us. The flowers represent our love. They also represent the fragility of life. It reminds us to prepare for the next place we are going to when we die.
Another way we honor the “dearly departed” is with food. People commemorate a loved one’s “passage to the other life” with family dinners. A great amount of food is placed on the table. People do not find it unusual to devour food in honor of someone’s memory.
The fellowship of the living brings ties closer and dearer. It is a mystery how the death of someone can bring people together. I am always amazed how people “have to come home” to bury a dead loved one. It is strange that many years pass with this same person not going home. But when a parent or a close cousin dies, he or she “must come home and please wait for me, I want to be at the burial.”
Why do we wait long before we show love? I am not here to share with you what I further think of this mystery. It is for all of us to unlock come Nov.1. We can use Nov. 1 this year by also celebrating the life of people who are still with us.
On All Saints’ Day, give your living relatives flowers. Tell them how much you love them and what they mean to you. Thank them in words and deed.
Of what significance are golden messages when the recipient is gone? Of what use are the flowers when the departed can no longer inhale the fragrance or appreciate the colors and shapes? Of what value are the expensive clothes they were? At most, it is for the eyes of the mourners and the stories to share by those who never knew the departed.
Life is fragile. The time to say I love you is now. The time to give something of value is now. The time to say thank you is now. Make Nov. 1 a time of sharing good memories of departed loved one. But most of all, make it profitable and significant to the living.