BURIAL MASS

 When someone in your family dies and leaves you alone, you feel very sad. Rather we should be happy when we bury or cremate and join them with our ancestors. Because they are not somewhere in a state of emptiness or darkness. But they are in another life together with your holy men and women who were ancestors and praying and interceding for you so that you may also reach that place one day. 

The idea of a decent burial was important in most ancient cultures, especially the Jewish culture. This idea came strongly after their worst experience during the exile in Egypt and Babylonia. It is because many of their ancestors were left unburied and vulnerable to animals and birds of prey, and the Israelites considered it shameful. It was the time  the people of Israel started to have burial practices. Some of their usual customs are here... 

1. Quick burial: Burials were usually completed quickly after death, even in the same hours of the deceased’s passing because of hygiene purposes. The cremation was believed to be a pagan practice, the Jews did not cremate their dead. There was also a superstition that the soul could feel what was done to the body. So, Mosaic law dictated that Jews bury their dead, not burn the dead bodies, as such burning was reserved for punishment or judgment. 

2. Preparing the Body: After death, the body was laid out, either on the ground or over sand and salt. The eyes and mouth were securely closed and the body was washed. The hair and nails were trimmed, and then the deceased was anointed with oils and ointment. Finally, the body was dressed. Sometimes the body was wrapped in linen with spices enclosed. 

3. Archaeological discoveries say that human remains like bones were discovered beneath the floors of mud-brick houses. People were buried inside their homes. Ancestral tomb: It was especially desirable to be buried in one’s native land and, if possible, with one’s ancestors. 

Ancestral tomb: In Biblical times, they used to have ancestral tombs that were kept only for a particular family or clan. For example, at the time of his wife’s death, Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah at Hebron to be her burial site. When Abraham died, he was buried in the same tomb. Later, Isaac, Abraham’s son, was also buried there, and Jacob, Isaac’s son, was laid to rest there. 

The idea of burying together as a family tells the value of unity and prayer of ancestors. "Where two or three gathered in my name there I am". Jesus prayed in John 17:21, "They may all be one as I and Father are one". It was not easy for Jesus to make them one, because of their different personalities and intentions of vocation. But Jesus went to the extent of giving His life to make us one. The real devil is in the form of a division maker. Sometimes the patron of the house gives his life to make them one.

Wake Mass: There are classifications of death, often based on legal, medical, and cultural perspectives. Here are some of the main types:

1. Immediate Death: Resulting from natural causes such as age or disease. Accidental Death: Occurring due to an unforeseen event, like a car accident or a fall. Undetermined, 

2. Casual/slow Death: Resulting from a person intentionally causing their own death.

These classifications help in determining the cause, manner, and circumstances of death, which are important for legal, medical, and social reasons.

Several saints are known for having endured prolonged suffering and slow deaths, often due to persecution or torture. Here are a few notable examples:

1. Saint Lawrence: A deacon in Rome who was martyred in 258 AD. He was reportedly roasted alive on a gridiron over a slow fire. According to tradition, he maintained his faith and even made a remark to his executioners, asking them to turn him over as he was "done" on one side.

2. Saint Sebastian: A Roman soldier who was martyred for his faith around 288 AD. He was initially tied to a tree and shot with arrows, but he survived this ordeal and was later clubbed to death.

3. Saint Agnes: A young Christian martyr who died in Rome around 304 AD. She was tortured and executed at the age of 12 or 13, enduring multiple forms of suffering over a period before her death.

These saints are venerated for their unwavering faith and courage in the face of prolonged and agonizing suffering. Their stories have been passed down through the centuries as examples of extreme devotion and endurance.

Happy/serene death:  In Christian tradition, a "happy death" is often considered a peaceful and holy death, ideally in a state of grace and in the presence of loved ones. Several saints are renowned for experiencing such a death. Here are a few:

1. Saint Joseph: He is considered the patron saint of a happy death because he is believed to have died peacefully in the arms of Jesus and Mary. His death is seen as an ideal model of a holy death.

2. Saint Francis of Assisi: Known for his profound spirituality and closeness to God, he died in 1226 surrounded by his followers, singing hymns of praise to God. His death was peaceful and joyful, filled with a sense of divine presence.

3. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: Also known as the "Little Flower," she died in 1897 at the age of 24 after a long illness. Despite her suffering, she remained joyful and at peace, expressing her deep love for Jesus until the end.

4. Saint John Vianney: The Curé of Ars, who died in 1859, was known for his piety and dedication to the sacraments. He died peacefully after a long life of pastoral work, confident in God's mercy.

These saints are often invoked in prayers for a happy death, and their lives and deaths serve as examples of how to live and die in faith and trust in God.

Our Lady of Assumption

 First Reading: John, the Evangelist, is writing about the seven signs (he gets visions on Badmu island) which will happen at the end of the world. Today’s first reading is only the first sign. John had a vision of the following picture; that is a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown with twelve stars. You would think it refers to the mother Mary, but actually, it refers to Israel according to the scripture references (even though John knew well about Mary). 

Do you remember Joseph’s dream in Genesis chapter 37? "Joseph had a dream in which the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him.” This dream is a metaphor in which Jacob was the Sun, Racheal was the moon, 12 children/tribes are the 12 stars and all are bowing to him who is representing Israel, Sion or Jerusalem. All the other stars and the sun and the moon gathered around him and bowed down. This was a prophecy of what was to happen when they would come to Egypt and find him in power. So the other stars were his brothers, and the sun and the moon were his father and mother, through him the salvation was going to come home, as later through Mary. 

Mother Mary has not come to the world by accident, she is not a creature that just decided to be born in history in the time of Jesus Christ. She governs history and she is present throughout the world. Every aspect of priestly/religious formation can be referred to as Mary as the human being who is better than anyone who has corresponded to the vocation of God. She has become the servant and disciple of the Word until conceiving in her heart and in her flesh, the Word made Man in order to give him to humanity. With her example and through her intercession, the Blessed Virgin continues watching over the development of vocations and the priestly life of the Church. To her, the Mother of the Eternal High Priest, we want to entrust our priestly vocation, with which we are given the unmerited gift of being Alter Christus.

Second Reading: Corinth was a rich area full of merchants. Paul stayed there for more or less 18 months and preached. Paul wrote the letter regarding the major issues and problems in that church especially that of the resurrection. Why? The OT did not have a good understanding of the resurrection. According to Judaism, the dead people live either in hell or in Sheol. The concept of resurrection is different after Jesus and the proclamation of the NT. The Corinth people knew the philosophy of Plato very well. According to Plato, the body is mortal and the soul is immortal. Only by destroying this body can we receive life. I want this world and my body for my life and activity on this earth. Only with the help of this body and world can I reach salvation. Mary is an example for all of us. Assumption Day commemorates the belief that when Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, died, her body was "assumed" into Heaven to be reunited with her soul, instead of going through the natural process of physical decay upon death. Our constitution is asking for healthy and robust people for the mission of the Church. This formation is the foundation of all the priestly religious formation. The human formation, being the foundation of all priestly formation, promotes the integral growth of the person and allows the integration of all its dimensions. 

God’s salvation plan includes Mary’s special role as the mother of the Church. Mary attends to the growth of His mystical body (the Church), just as she attended to the growth of Jesus' physical body.

St. Joseph, the Worker's day

 President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos is leading the celebration of the 121st Labor Day and launched major job fair activities to provide local and overseas job opportunities to Filipino workers.

People are going to protest for wage increases, decent work, and rights to freely unionize as they take to the streets of the capital Manila on May 1. They will gather more than 10,000 workers and march from near the presidential palace in Manila on Labor Day. 

Every year the unemployment rate is increasing… 

1. Work is a vocation of Man: Man is called to work from the beginning. Work is one of the characteristics that distinguish man from the rest of creatures,

Genesis 2:15 – “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” After the human beings committed sin, God cursed them, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground”

Through WORK man must earn his daily bread by his work.  

And work means any activity by man, whether manual or intellectual, whatever its nature or circumstances; 

Work is a vocation, a part of the plan of God. When we work, we are collaborating/participate in the creator’s work. Work as a sharing in the creating activity of God. (தொநூ 1:27, 2:5, 2:15, எபே 2:10) God is creating out of nothing. We create out of something. 

Work involves the whole person; When we work, our body, mind/heart and spirit should be involved. Work cannot be reduced only to manual work. Thomas Aquinas spent his long work only in the library, while Francis of Assisi never spent his life in the library. 

Spirituality of work: work will help people to come closer to God. 

There is a right to rest. In the first place, this involves a regular weekly rest comprising at least Sunday, and also a longer period of rest, namely the holiday or vacation taken once a year or possibly in several shorter periods during the year. Do not be a work alcoholic, take proper rest, God rested on sabbath day, Especially in the modern age, the spirituality of work should show the maturity called for by the tensions and restlessness of mind and heart.