Wind whipped through a large white tent on the grounds of Mount St. Mary Cemetery, Flushing, as hundreds joined Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio for the annual Field Mass on All Souls’ Day, Sunday, Nov. 2.
“Tradition has it that the Spirit of God is present in the wind,” Msgr. Michael Reid, spiritual moderator to the diocesan Catholic Cemeteries, told the faithful. “Well, He is certainly here today.”
Hosted annually by the diocesan Catholic Cemeteries Office, Field Masses were held at several diocesan cemeteries that morning, including Holy Cross, Flatbush; Most Holy Trinity, Bushwick; St. Charles/ Resurrection, Farmingdale, L.I.; St. Mary Star of the Sea, Lawrence, L.I.; and Mount St. Mary, where Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio was the main celebrant of the 10:30 a.m. Mass.
Established in 1862 during the Civil War, Mount St. Mary Cemetery was consecrated by Bishop John Loughlin, Brooklyn’s first bishop. Among those interred there are Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop Edmund J. Reilly and the first three leaders of the Sisters of St. Joseph in the diocese: Mother Austin Kean, Mother Baptista Hanson and Mother Teresa Mullen.
“We come today to commemorate the souls of all who have gone before us,” the bishop said.
Recognizing that even with the greatest faith, no one knows exactly what happens after this earthly existence ends, Bishop DiMarzio assured the faithful of the hope and promise of eternal life.
In his homily, he spoke about the well-publicized accounts of a young boy and a neurosurgeon, both of whom claim to have visited heaven during near-death experiences.
“We tend to believe eyewitnesses and that is why we’re so intrigued by these near-death experiences,” the bishop said, explaining that these accounts help us make sense of “our belief in the life to come … these eternal realities” of heaven, purgatory and even hell.
However, the bishop reminded the faithful that Jesus is the “best witness we have. He is the greatest witness to the life to come and resurrection over the death.”
He referenced Jesus’ words in the morning Gospel from St. John and His triumph over death.
Something Greater
“We don’t know what’s there (beyond this life), but we believe and we know something greater than this world has been prepared for us,” the bishop said.
“So today is a day of hope, a day of communion with those who have gone before us … so that we who are the baptized on earth, those awaiting God’s presence (in purgatory) and those in heaven form the one body of Jesus Christ – the Christ who died to give us the hope of the resurrection and guarantees it” with His Body and Blood.
Virginia Reyes, a parishioner at St. Gerard Majella, Hollis, embraces that hope every day.
Though her mother Teofista Bukalan died in 2008, she still talks to her mother, prays for her and visits her every Sunday at the cemetery after attending Mass and bringing Holy Communion to the homebound. She finds peace in knowing that one day she will be interred in the sacred ground alongside her mother until the promised day of resurrection.
When the final blessing was bestowed, the faithful emerged from the tent to greet the bishop, Msgr. Reid and cemetery staffers, who personally thanked them for coming to Mass.
Attendees then went their separate ways, braving chilly winds as they ambled along paved strips or made their own paths and ascended grassy hills to the sites of their loved ones’ sacred repose.
Rodolfo Simancas flew in from Orlando, Fla., with his wife Ingrid Rojas to observe this solemn feast with his mother Hilda Palacios.
Together, they walked to the grave of Cecilia and Francisco Palacios, Hilda’s parents, where they knelt and prayed the Our Father and Hail Mary in Spanish.
Simancas placed two red roses before the stone and kissed the stone and the grassy earth under which his grandparents lie.
Through the years, Simancas has prayed for his beloved grandparents and also asked them for help. He believes that God made a way for him to get back on his feet during some hard times through his grandparents’ intercession.
“My grandparents were the most beautiful people in my life,” Simancas said, tears in his eyes. “I love them, and I pray for them always.”