Recently we experienced some wild weather which caused much disruption and damage across the state. The College was affected by a number fallen trees and a power outage. Three hours without electricity in a school is not an experience we are subjected to often, and the challenge certainly had a major effect on the school day. It’s amazing the things we take for granted and how difficult it is to respond effectively to such events.
Life presents many parallel experiences, including the loss of loved ones. As we move through November we remember those who have passed away and how their absence affects us.
Our modern lives rely on electricity. When the power goes out it is not simply the lights and the power points that don’t operate, nowadays there are so many other things we depend on. Friday’s blackout revealed that heating, hot water services, computer networks and systems also do not operate when the lights go out. Without preparation, the loss of these services makes teaching almost impossible. Thankfully, the outage was resolved by the end of recess and we were able to make a cup of coffee before period three.
Everything in our lives requires energy in all its forms. Light, sound and every function in our body requires energy, or the transformation of energy, to occur. Without energy there is nothing.
Most forms of energy can be measured with relatively simple tools but quantifying the spiritual energy that exists is more elusive. Love that is given to another person is tangible but difficult to calculate. We can describe how love makes us feel, but measuring the transfer of love from one to another is difficult to calculate.
In November we remember those who have passed from this earthly life into eternal life. We remember the love received and the love we gave in return. These relationships continue after our loved ones have entered heaven. Love is endless and transcends what can be measured.
Light is a lovely metaphor for this human experience. The electromagnetic spectrum contains so much that we can see and feel, and also much that, as humans, we cannot. Infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths are experienced in various ways but it is visible light that we experience most obviously. Light allows us to see. The first thing we do when the power goes off is to check the lights. Without light our experience of the world is limited. When we remember those we have loved our memories are vivid and clear. We can see and experience our loved ones and they bring joy and light into our day again.
Visible light does so much more than simply illuminate our world. Light is made up of various frequencies in which we detect as colours. When we remember those who have passed away we experience their presence in a similar way. We remember them completely. We can hear their voices. Certain smells can bring them back to us. Songs and sounds bring back other memories that otherwise would be lost. Most importantly we can feel their love in a real and actual way. This love is similar to infrared light, it’s invisible to the human eye but we feel its warmth. Although no longer with us on earth we know without doubt our loved ones are near.
We believe that spiritually we are connected with those who have died. This spiritual connection is limitless and perfect as love is the universal truth of existence and this love emanates from the source of all love. We believe that in heaven all the saints are with God. The Saints that the Church has approved and the “small s” saints, who lived and loved in their earthly lives. Our loved ones are saints. They live eternally in heaven with God.
Through death and the mercy of God they have been made whole and perfect again and live forever in a perfect relationship with him. Knowing this we can make sense of death and the lives we live without the physical presence of those we love. We know that their physical absence is painful and that grief has is a non-linear process. But we also truly know that they eternally live in our hearts and have returned to God where they can watch over and intercede for us.
During November take time to remember your loved ones who have died. Be observant and become more aware of the ways in which you can feel their presence. What sounds, smells and thoughts help you connect with them? How are you surrounded by their love and how does this knowledge bring consolation? Pray to them. Your saints live with God eternally and they will ‘watch over you’ by interceding and ensuring that God responds to their prayers for you.
As we clean up following the storm, there is much that we can gain from considering how nature can help us understand life more clearly. Just as we have a job ahead of use to clean up our grounds we all have grief that needs attention.
Remember your loved ones this month and be sure to make time to pray for all those people who died alone or abandoned by society or those who once loved them. These souls are especially loved by God and whom we can also offer love for. We will be saints and we can pray to all of the saints. They pray for us. We are in communion with the saints, we always will be and have forever have been.
May God bless you will peace and love this month.
May you feel the love of those who have passed away,
And may you always hold joy in your heart.
Brendan Nicholls is Liturgy Coordinator at St Ignatius College, Geelong, Vic.