By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Homily by Archbishop Thomas Wenski at Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery for the dedication of the Mausoleum. August 29, 2015.
“When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.”
So ends the gospel reading today on this feast of the passion, that is, the suffering and death of John the Baptist. Reverence for the dead is found throughout the Scriptures – it is what God-fearing people show, for in honoring the remains of the departed by providing for a dignified burial or interment is not only a gesture of respect for the deceased but also a recognition that those mortal remains once served as a temple of the Holy Spirit.
One of the seven corporal works of mercy is to bury the dead. This work of mercy calls us to “treat the dead with respect and charity in faith and hope of the Resurrection” (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church).
As we make our way on our earthly pilgrimage in this valley of tears, we will have to carry many different and difficult crosses – but grief is one cross that each of us will have to carry. Grief is a heavy cross – for it is the pain of letting go; but, no one should carry such a cross alone.
In our bereavement ministries, the Church mourns with her faithful; she prays with them for their dead; she entrusts departed to God and comforts their loved ones. And this mausoleum and indeed this beautiful cemetery of Our Lady of Mercy exists as a “Work of Mercy” to assist our faithful in their grieving for their loved ones.
Today, we bless this mausoleum as a witness to our faith in “the Resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come”. We will also consecrate this altar on which will be offered the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who in dying destroyed our death and in rising restored us to life.
At this altar then, we come to the font of grace that gave the holy martyrs strength to shed their blood. As we come to the altar today, Christ asks us not to shed our blood as John the Baptist did. (Please God, we would if he did.) But today Christ asks us – at this altar - to shed any resentment, any anger, and any sin that divides us from God or from our neighbor so that, in this way, our offerings will be pleasing to our God.
