Newry Cathedral Parish recognise the importance of ongoing pastoral support for the bereaved at this very difficult time in our history. Traditionally, we have celebrated one Mass in November for all those who died in our parish during the past year. However, this year we are celebrating four Masses, so that family and friends can attend together.
Families will be invited to one of the services on the 14th, 15th, 16th 17th November at 7.30pm. A candle will be placed on the altar of the Cathedral with your loved one’s name on it and they will remain on the stand for the four Masses. The names of the deceased in the last year will also be displayed on the side altar and members of the Bereavement Ministry will be present each evening. We recognise that it has been a very challenging year for many of our parishioners, all and more challenging for those bereaved as visits from family members, neighbours and friends were difficult and at a time when they were most needed.
From the earliest days of the Christian religion the Church has honoured with great respect the memory of the dead. The whole month of November is a time of prayer in the Church as it is filled with many important feast days and it includes the days on which we commemorate all the saints and all the faithful departed. During November we pray for those who are in mourning. May they find real hope in the conviction that God is the God of the living. Pope Francis says, ‘the remembrance of the dead, the care for graves and prayers of repose are a witness of the confident hope, rooted in the certainty that death is not the final word on the human fate, since man is destined to a life without limits which has its roots and its fulfilment in God’.
Belief in the resurrection of the dead is an essential part of Christian revelation. It implies a particular understanding of the mystery of death. Death is the end of our earthly life, but ‘not of our existence’ since the soul is immortal wrote St Ambrose. Our lives on earth are measured by time, in the course of which we change, grow old and, as with all living beings on earth, death seems like the normal end of life. Seen from the perspective of the faith, death is the end of our earthly pilgrimage, of the time of grace and mercy which God offers.
On behalf of Archbishop Eamon Martin, the Dominican Fathers, the Priests, Deacon Carlos Esteban Rojo, the Parish Bereavement Team and the parishioners of our parish, we take this opportunity to express our very sincere sympathy to all our bereaved families of the last year on your recent bereavement. We assure you of our ongoing prayers at this time and in the days and months that lie ahead.
We would be grateful if you would contact the Parish Office (Tel: 02830262586) to confirm your attendance at one of the services.