STRATFORD—On a chilly overcast All Souls Day, the faithful gathered under a tent at St. Michael Cemetery to pray for their deceased family members and friends—for parents, husbands, wives, children and relatives.
The Mass, celebrated by Father Peter Adamski, pastor of St. James Church, assisted by Deacon Joe Koletar, was in the shadow of the Priests’ Circle, behind a majestic marble and bronze depiction of Christ’s crucifixion with the Blessed Mother, St. John and St. Mary Magdalen at the foot of the cross.
“We gather here today to remember all of the faithful departed who are buried here and elsewhere,” Father Adamski said. “The souls in purgatory need our intercessory prayers as they are purified.”
Masses were celebrated in six cemeteries throughout the diocese on November 2 and offered for the repose of the souls of all the faithful departed. Traditionally, Catholics visit cemeteries on All Souls Day to remember the dead and pray for their souls, and November is the month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
Father told the congregation he is a widower who entered the priesthood at 65 after his wife Kathy died after almost 41 years of marriage.
“It’s more than a providential coincidence that the Church observes both All Saints Day and All Souls Day as fall turns into winter in this hemisphere, and signs of death in nature serve as powerful reminders of our frailty and mortality, but also of the destiny of saints in eternal glory,” he said in his homily.
Believers should look at death squarely but not be burdened with grief for the poor souls in purgatory because, he said, they are saved. However, we should continue to pray for their enlightenment and purification, recognizing that we should be like the souls in purgatory, who have their eyes firmly fixed on Christ as their final goal.
Father called to mind a story about St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, who while she was on her death bed overheard her family quarreling about where she should be buried. She interrupted their argument and told them, “Lay this old body anywhere. Just promise me this—that you will remember me at the altar of the Lord.”
Similarly, we should bring our departed relatives and friends to the altar at Mass.
“Death and life are not separated by an impassable chasm,” he said. “No, they are very much united by a bridge of love and prayers.”
Saying that he and his late wife were lovers of opera, he called to mind the famous aria “Nessun dorma” (“Let no one sleep”) from Giacomo Puccini’s “Turandot.”
Set in China, Prince Calaf, who is being pursued by his enemies, falls in love with the cold-hearted Princess Turandot and answers three riddles to win her hand, but she still refuses him. Risking his life, the hunted prince then reveals his name to the princess.
“He does this even though it will cost him his life,” Father said. “As he does so, she is transformed by his self-sacrificing love and is able to return that love to him. In that moment, Calaf conquers not by his wit, not by his power, but by his love.” And when others ask his name, the princess proclaims, “His name is Love!”
Father compared the two characters to God and the poor souls in purgatory, where he said every soul is confronted by the overpowering greatness of God’s love.
“That is the lesson we pray each of us will learn,” he said. “And until that happens, we echo Calaf’s plea, ‘Nessun dorma! Let no one sleep.’ Let no one in Heaven, let no one on Earth, let no one under the Earth sleep until every member of Christ’s Mystical Body learns that his name is Love.”
Quoting the Roman poet Virgil, he said, “Love conquers all…and let us, too, yield to love.”
He urged that the commemoration of All Souls “teach us not only that love conquers all, but that every human being needs to give in to love” so that “the God who is love will be able to conquer both us and the holy souls, thus making us all co-conquerors with him.”
After Mass, Father said that he was going to visit his wife Kathy’s grave in Hackensack, NJ. Last month marked the seventh anniversary of her death on October 10. He said their son John, “in whom I am well pleased,” received his doctorate in theoretical mathematics and now teaches at Fordham University.
He was assisted at Mass by Deacon Koletar, who recently was named chaplain of the Stratford Fire Department, along with their colleagues from St. James—acolyte Barbara Seymour, lector Ginny Rogers, director of music and organist John J. Masi Jr., and cantor/soloist Dante DiFederico.
More than 60 people, including a delegation of sisters from the Missionaries of Charity, turned out for the Mass.
Deacon Koletar said, “Just the fact that all the major cemeteries are hosting this All Souls Mass speaks volumes about its importance. Countless families and friends are buried here. There are so many legacies. And it touches my heart as chaplain to think of all the firemen who are here.”
Mary Lou Strickland of St. James said that most of her family is buried at St. Michael’s and added, “They are all smiling down and saying thank you for coming.
Three women from St. Margaret Shrine, Giuseppina Fontana, Tomasina Scaccia and Rita Nicolia go to the cemetery weekly to visit their husbands’ graves, and they come to the Mass every year because they believe in the importance of praying for the faithful departed.
Barbara Chop and Joyce Birch, both of St. James, said they lost their husbands within the past 13 months and were glad they could attend the Mass for the repose of their souls.
“This is my third time here,” Joyce said. “The first time I came I was in awe of the Mass. I pray every day that all the souls leave purgatory and get to Heaven.”
