Bishops: Day to visit cemeteries is Nov. 2, All Souls' Day

Published October 27, 2011 2:30pm

Church officials reminded Catholics that the proper day to visit their deceased loved ones in cemeteries is on November 2, All Souls' Day. In an interview over Catholic station Radio Veritas, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz said the practice of most Filipinos to visit cemeteries on November 1, All Saints' Day, is wrong. It has been a long-standing practice among Filipinos to go home to their provinces to pay their respects to their departed loved ones. Buses and airlines usually increase the number of their trips to accommodate the large volume of passengers. However, the bishops noted that most people flock to cemeteries on All Saints' Day, a holiday in the Philippines and also a Catholic feast for honoring all saints, both the known and the unknown. On the other hand, the day designated by the Catholic Church for remembering the dead is on November 2, All Souls' Day. Reunion with families Meanwhile, Catholic officials lauded the practice of Filipinos to hold reunions with their families during Undas (All Souls Day and All Saints Day). In an interview over Radyo Veritas, Bishop Broderick Pabillo said, â€œAng reunion ng magpapamilya dahil sa mga yumao natin ay isang magandang pamamaraan kung saan nagkakatagpo-tagpo ang mga buhay na dapat nating palaganapin." Pabillo also reminded Catholics to uphold the dignity of deceased persons. He said the practice of celebrating Halloween or "All Hallows' Eve" (eve of All Saints Day) with scary costumes is inappropriate. He said it is wrong to depict deceased people as scary creatures. Kalookan Bishop Deogracias IÃ±iguez, meanwhile, said, â€œDapat iwasan sa paggunita ng Undas ang sobrang pagsasaya na nahahantong sa inuman,sugalan,kantahan,mga ingay at sobrang kasiyahan sa sementeryo." He said the day for remembering souls must be marked by reflection and prayers for the deceased. Catholic teaching On the other hand, Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said, it is important for Catholics to understand the teaching behind the two feasts â€” All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Bastes said All Saints' Day gives importance to the "communion" of the saints, or the oneness of the:

triumphant church in Heaven;

suffering Church in purgatory, and the

militant Church in the world. Bastes said the "militant Church on earth can help the suffering Church in purgatory." On the other hand, the "triumphant Church in heaven can help both the militant Church in earth and the suffering Church in purgatory," he said. He explained that "only in purgatory they cannot help themselves, therefore both heaven and earth are helping the poor souls." He said "the only ones who cannot be helped are those who are in hell, they are no longer members of the Church, they are perpetually excommunicated." According to CatholicTradition.org, "an indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed." The site said a plenary indulgence is granted for visiting the cemetery any day from November 1 to 8 every year. An partial indulgence is also granted for visiting the cemetery on other days of the year. In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment for sins that have already been forgiven. - VVP, GMA News

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