November 2nd.  They gathered at the parish early in the morning to start their pilgrimage to the cemetery on November 2nd.  Men, women and children, all who had lost a dearly beloved family member or close friend made the short journey, and it was the company of the others that comforted them.  John had recently lost a son in an accident, Paul’s son had been killed during an armed robbery while Mavis’s daughter had succumbed to AIDS.  Jos in his old age, mourned the loss of his son to Covid. “Why him and not me,” he kept asking himself.  As parents they came to share their grief and offer one another support.  Fr George prayed a special prayer for grieving parents and reminded them of the support offered by The Compassionate Friends. 

Scripture: Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.   Psalm 116:15.   “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelations 21:4  Pope Francis:  We cannot fail to offer the light of faith as a support to families going through the experience of a death of a loved one.  To turn our backs on a grieving family would show a lack of mercy, and mean the loss of a pastoral opportunity and close the door to other efforts at evangelisation. AL 253