It’s easy to do without really thinking about it. Whether it’s in a cemetery and walking past the rows and rows of headstones with unfamiliar names on them, or skimming past the newspaper obituaries and not recognizing anyone listed in them, it’s easy to forget that each and every one of these people — at most of their lives or some point in their lives — were a loved one.
They were loved, now they’re gone, and in many cases, they are still loved.
It’s easy to walk past or skim past the names and not reflect on the joy that was once in their lives and those around them — especially if it’s a small headstone or a one or two-line obituary.
It’s easy to not realize the pain and mourning that each of these deaths brought on during these days listed, and in the days following.
It can be overwhelming if you consider the combined thoughts, prayers, and emotions that came about from one whole cemetery row or one whole obituary page.
Especially in the case of the obituary page, depending upon where you live and the frequency of your local newspaper, there may be a new one every day with new names and faces.
If you’ve recently lost a loved one, and seen one of these pages, you can ponder to yourself “You mean dozens of people every day are going through what I’m going through now?”
Yes.
Now I don’t want to downplay the joy of the Resurrection that can come after death, but there are still a lot of prayers needed in the meantime.
An everyday necessity
Nothing is stopping death. It’s happening every day. People that once were are no longer, and those around them have no choice but to carry on.
These are tough situations, some of them tougher than others, so a lot of people need prayers.
First, always pray for the dead — those you know and those you don’t know.
Apparently, allegedly, if you pray for someone in Purgatory who has no one else to pray for them, and your prayers help them get to Heaven, they will intercede for you in Heaven.
That’s a pretty good deal if you think about it.
A lot of people have died during the time of humans. How does one narrow it down? Well, you don’t necessarily have to. There are lots of prayers for the “souls in Purgatory”.
You can also pray for your own loved ones recently deceased or otherwise.
You can pray for the recently deceased at your parish. Most of them keep an ongoing list throughout the year.
If you’re feeling ambitious, you can hang onto some obituary pages and pray for them. Even if they have a plethora of family members praying for them, why not the more, the merrier. There’s no such thing as too much prayer.
Those left behind
Don’t forget to pray for the family, friends, etc. who are now dealing with the loss of someone.
Everyone handles loss differently, and some may need all the help they can get.
In many instances, you have people who aren’t quite sure what they’re doing in regards to the loss and what, logically and spiritually, has to happen next.
Unless you have a large and aged family, no one is really “good” at preparing for death and planning funerals.
So pray for everyone dealing with those life scenarios now. Emotions are high to begin with and they’re giving 110 percent more than they have.
Pray for those who will die today
There are people who will die today.
Some are expected, some are not.
Either way, their time on Earth is ending and they’re about to be called to eternity.
In the name of mercy, they need our prayers today.
Those around them need prayers too, as this is a challenging time.
In case you haven’t grasped the main idea, it’s “Pray, Pray, Pray”.
Death can’t be stopped or avoided, but it can be prayed for.
There is a lot going on around each case, a variety of things need to be prayed for.
Can you help?