Dancing Dearly Departed...

Yesterday my family and I attended the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival hosted by St. Mary's Basilica.  We had such a good time, we vowed to go back next year and arrive earlier to really take advantage of the festivities. As an adult I'd never really sought to celebrate All Saints Day in a festive way, the way they celebrate it in Mexico or the Philippines (a cultural tradition of the Spanish influence). Instead, I've adopted the American way of observing the Holy Day of Obligation:  reverent and somber. We attend mass and pray the rosary, asking the Blessed Mother to intercede for our dearly departed.

When my husband and I lived in San Diego as a young couple with no kids, we'd enjoyed similar festivals in Old Town San Diego. But we didn't plan it. We just happened to be in the area for dinner. We enjoyed the music, watched the Mexican dancers, marveled at the colorful art and craft work, and stuffed ourselves with enchiladas. Since then I've lost loved ones.  All Saints Day and All Souls Day became merely painful reminders that I must live life without my grandma, papa, and two brothers whom God called home all too soon.
Yesterday, as I scanned the memorial tables filled with pictures of loved ones, I looked at their beautiful faces.  Their stories seemed to come alive as if I was scrolling through their lives.  I felt their love, their joy, their pain. Each and every one deserved to not only be remembered.  They deserved to be celebrated!

The Holy Spirit taught me a valuable lesson.  If we truly believe in God, the existence of Heaven, that souls live on after death, and that our priority on earth is to get to Heaven, then why shouldn't we throw a party for the people we love who have reached the ultimate goal?  They're in Heaven! Woohoo!!
In the Philippines, there's a Catholic tradition of going to the cemetery on All Saints Day and literally partying with the dead.  When I visited relatives in Manila as a twelve-year-old, I remember they brought me to our family mausoleum to pray for our dearly departed. Then they brought out the picnic, played music and danced. They told wonderful stories about them that I felt so connected to family who died before I was even born. We had so much fun!  I remember thinking it was so unorthodox, but I could feel the spirit of our ancestors laughing and dancing with us.
Tonight, join me at St. Benedict's Mass of Remembrance at 7:00pm. Bring pictures of your loved ones who have fallen asleep in Christ. Then take them home and pray the rosary. Unless you think they'd prefer an evening of dinner and dancing!
In His Service,
Cecyll LoBue
SGC President 2019-2020
SGCPresident.98@gmail.com