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Hundreds flock to cemeteries for annual observance
Hundreds of faithful parishioners descended on the Chalan Kanoa cemetery to remember their departed loved ones in a rosary and Church service Sunday and Monday for All Saints› Day and All Souls› Day, respectively.
Parish priests, Mt. Carmel School›s National Honor Society, and the San Antonio Parish youth choir joined the island›s Catholic community in prayerful silence as Diocese of Chalan Kanoa Apostolic Administrator Fr. Ryan Jimenez presided alongside Fr. Ike Ayuyu and Fr. James Balajadia.
In his sermon, Jimenez reminded parishioners that in death “we are all the same.”
“In life we use human worldly criteria that makes each one of us different from each other: the rich, the poor, the prominent, the known and the unknown,” he said. “When we die we are all the same. In the eye’s of God, even when we are still living, we are equal. We are all children of God.”
Jimenez urged those in attendance to see their peers and neighbor›s without judgment and with equality during life and after they pass.
Balajadia, who preached at last year›s service, said that All Saints’ Day is a time for people to ask those who have departed to pray for them so that “we may imitate them and follow in their example of mercifulness.” On All Souls’ Day, he added, people pray for the souls who are not in the final destination: heaven.
“We pray that they reach the promise land,» he said.
Youth, he explained, should especially observe this time of the year with reflection and prayerful silence.
“In struggle we have to persevere. We should never give up. That is real faith,” he said. “ We must pray for a life of joy and happiness. We pray to experience the kind of joy and happiness with God that no person or creature can take away from us.”
Flowers decorated the graves of departed loved ones Sunday while the island is still recovering from Typhoon Soudelor. At the end of the service, Jimenez expressed his appreciation on behalf of the diocese to several community organizations that assisted in cleanup efforts and preparation for one of the island›s largest celebrations.
