A sea of white crosses at the cemetery reminded parishioners of Holy Family Mission the reason for their gathering on All Souls Day: to honor the faithfully departed. South of Phoenix lies the Gila River Reservation, home to several missions, one of them being Holy Family Mission.
At all of the missions on the reservation, family members spent days cleaning the graves of their loved ones. Dirt is put back in its place, flowers are rearranged and new candles are put out. Many family members bring chairs to sit and pray with their loved ones after the sun sets on All Souls Day.
Joey Whitman grew up on the reservation and is chief of Holy Family Mission. Whitman explained that families travel to the Mission from as far as far as Tucson, to be with their deceased loved ones who are buried at the Mission cemetery.
“We have two tribes that are buried here, which were the Akimal O’odham, the River People and the Tohono O’odham, the Desert People. We come together as a family, [at] Holy Family.”
Fr. Peter Teresa McConnell, a Franciscan Friar of the Holy Spirit, celebrated the Mass. The Franciscan Friars of the Holy Spirit serve Holy Spirit Mission along with 10 other missions on four different reservations in the diocese.
He asked parishioner’s the question, if we could talk to the souls in purgatory, what would they tell us?
“I think one of the things that they would tell us that…we only have one life…and it is a gift, no matter what our our hardships are.
“I’m sure one of the great pains for [the souls in purgatory] is to look back on their life and just to see the moments where they wasted their time here…and how much sadness must be in their heart to look back and say…I wish I would have loved more…I would have given my heart more to Christ. [The faithfully departed] would remind us… the only tragedy of our life, they would tell us is that if we do not become a saint.”
Fr. McConnell brought up a reading from All Saints Day that recounts John’s vision of heaven where he saw people from every tribe, nation and tongue worshiping God. Those words brought hope to the people of Holy Family Mission.
“You would not be alive if you could not be a saint. God would not have made you if it weren’t possible for you to be a saint…there are men and women from this tribe, from this nation, from this land, who are saints in heaven.”
After Mass, some families set up tents and chairs by the graves of their deceased loved ones, praying for them and spending time with them. As the sun set, candles by gravesites were illuminated, a physical representation of prayers being lifted to heaven for souls who have departed.
Fr. McConnell reminded everyone in his homily that the souls in purgatory are completely dependent on our prayers and it’s evident that the community at Holy Family is dedicated to praying for the deceased.
“The community has a really beautiful devotion to the departed,” Fr. McConnell said. “They’re very intentional about remembering and honoring the memory of their past loved ones. It’s really beautiful to see this part of their piety.”
At St. Francis of Assisi Mission on the Salt River Reservation, just east of Scottsdale, the community also has a beautiful devotion to the departed. Darkness fell over the cemetery on All Souls Day, the last remaining light illuminating the horizon. The darkness mirrored the solemn gathering.
Like Holy Family Mission, many parishioners at St. Francis Mission had spent time cleaning their family members’ graves and were prepared to pray at the cemetery long after the service ended. Dcn. Jim Trant, the Parish Life Coordinator for Native American Ministries for the Diocese of Phoenix led the prayer service.
Dcn. Trant reminded everyone of their role as members of the body of Christ, to pray for those who have departed. He expressed that one way to pray for the deceased is to gain the plenary indulgence issued by the Church by visiting a cemetery and praying for those who have departed. It’s a very tangible way to make an offering to the souls in purgatory.
“Offer that [indulgence] for somebody that’s in Purgatory,” Dcn. Trant said. “You’ll be assisting them, maybe even going directly into heaven.”
Dcn. Trant blessed the cemetery with holy water and asked for everyone’s help to illuminate the cemetery. After partaking in the tradition of lighting candles on loved ones’ graves, parishioners lit the rest of the cemetery.
One by one, people placed candles on those graves that are unmarked, those graves with broken crosses, the souls who normally have no one to pray for them. On All Souls Day, those souls were remembered and prayed for.
Watching parishioners’ devotion to pray for the unknown departed, harkened back to something Fr. McConnell said in his homily.
“We see that there are some crosses that are worn and weathered. And perhaps they don’t have family members coming here to take care of their cross, to paint it, to make it beautiful, to remember them, but they…are brothers and sisters in Christ, and we can never forget them.
“And so…we say, we have not forgotten you. We remember you, and we are praying for you…Maybe your name has been forgotten, but your soul has not been forgotten.”
