Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. In the Collect (Opening Prayer) for this Mass we pray: “Lord, you give us Christ, the King of all creation. Open our hearts, free all the world to rejoice in His peace, to glory in His justice, to live in His love.” This great feast, one of the principal celebrations of our year in Christ, marks the last Sunday of the Church year. As our national day of giving thanks occurs this week as well, let us approach the Lord with hearts filled with gratitude for the blessings of the past year. “What return can I make to the Lord for all that He gives to me? I will take up the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord” (Psalm 115:12-13).

Over the past several weeks, I have highlighted the spiritual importance the Church attaches to our praying for the faithful departed. Praying for the dead is one of the seven spiritual works of mercy and should be part of our daily spiritual routine. Already in the times of the Old Testament there is clear evidence of the practice of praying for the dead among the Jews (2 Maccabees 12:40-45). From the very beginnings of the Church, there is ample attestation of prayers for the dead in the pious inscriptions found at the tombs of the Christian dead. For example, in the catacombs of Priscilla in Rome, Italy, we find this Latin inscription at the burial place of a man named Agape: “I beg you, brothers, to pray when you come here and beg the Father and the Son in all your prayers, that they may save for eternity Agape” (ICUR IX, 25962b). In the same cemetery, we read a Greek inscription at the tomb of a fellow named Epictetus: “In the name of eternal hope, you who read (this), remember Epictetus!” (ICUR IX, 26034). Thus, as it was for our ancestors in the faith, visits to the graves or tombs of our beloved dead to pray for their eternal rest should be a regular part of our Christian life. In addition, to bury the dead is one of the seven corporal works of mercy. Whether you personally knew the person or not, I encourage you to pray for and bury the dead by your participation in the funeral rites of the Church – the Vigil for the Deceased (the wake), the Funeral Mass, and the Rite of Committal at the grave or mausoleum. Requiescant in pace. May they rest in peace.

Next Sunday—the First Sunday of Advent – begins a new Church year. Watch your mail for a letter from me about this holy season at Saint Peter’s and our spiritual preparation for the birth of the Savior. Please take special note of a three-part series on prayer that I will be leading. These sessions are on Monday evenings (November 28, December 5 and 19) from 6:30-8:00 pm. In addition to the presentation by me, there will be time for discussion and your questions, plus the opportunity to actually pray together. Some of the matters to be addressed include: “What is prayer?” “Why should I pray?” “How do I pray?” “What are the different kinds of prayer?” “How can I be consistent in my prayer life?” “How do I handle distractions?” “How do I carve time out of my day to pray?” The content of this series should be beneficial for beginners as well as those well advanced along the path of prayer.

Saint Peter, pray for us!