At some point in life, we have experienced the loss of a loved one or a friend through death.
And sometimes, out of the pain and grief, arises an anger, and we are angry that God has taken away our loved ones or our friends.
In all these grief and sorrow filled occasions, we are asked to put our trust in God.
We are created to live with God, yet on earth we have to live by faith.
We are created to live forever, but while on earth, we live moment by moment.
When the final moment comes, we depart and go back to God.
As we recall the fond memories and the faces of our departed loved ones, we also recall the moments when God entered into our grief and sorrow to give us His comfort and peace.
The God who spoke in the Scriptures still speaks today. The God who came to earth at Christmas still comes to be with us.
He comes to give eternal life to all who believe in Him as our Saviour.
Our loved ones have returned to God, and we must thank God for granting them eternal life with Him.
As for us, let us continue to believe that our God is the God not of the dead, but of the living.
Today, we will make it a point to go to the cemetery or the columbarium to pay a visit to our departed relatives and loved ones.
Paying a visit to the departed in the cemetery or at the columbarium is a solemn occasion.
We will say a prayer and if possible light some candles there.
My parents will my grandparents' niche.
They will say a prayer and then they will take turns to stand before my grandparents' niche to say something personal.
It is amazing and very moving just to see my parents talking to my grandparents just like as if they were alive and present before them.
That was profound for me because even in death, the bond of relationship is not broken or forgotten.
In death there is a separation but in faith there is a connection.
Because we believe that God is God not of the dead but of the living.
So the departed are alive in God and if they are still in a state of purification in Purgatory then the Church teaches us that we can help them with our prayers and Mass offerings and other works of faith.
Indeed praying for the departed is a profound act of faith because it expresses our faith in eternal life and in the saving love of God.
So, let us continue to pray for our departed loved ones and friends, and live our lives in the hope of eternal life.