Unlike the Japanese who treat their dead ancestors as gods, we Filipinos do not. Instead, we revere our dead relatives as saints and martyrs who died for the cause of Christianity. We firmly believe that they remain in existence in another realm in the form of spirits, enjoying an eternal bliss with our Creator and living an existence that is free from pain and misery. They are in God’s Kingdom indulging Him with songs and praises. Yet, we also believe that some of them may not be fortunate. Some are in purgatory and some are in hell. Yes, as much as we believe that there is heaven, we also believe that there is purgatory and hell.
Hence, to cleanse the sins of our departed loved ones, we pray for their souls in much the same way that we petition them to pray for us. We implore them to please mediate in our behalf so that we who are sinful will be found worthy of our reward of eternal life when we die. We need to communicate with our dead relatives for these intentions. It is for this reason that the celebration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day all the more become significant. It is a day of remembrance, a day when we remember our dead and communicate with them in prayer. How do we do it?
Traditionally, every Nov. 1, we troop to cemeteries, ossuaries, and burial grounds to light a candle or incense. We bring the whole family along, prepare a short meal, and spend the entire day lolling around graves, uttering the good deeds that the departed did when they were still among us. It is a big feast, a reunion of sorts, not only for the dead but more so for the living. It is an event worth looking forward to.
Not this year, though.
The Inter-agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has barred us from visiting the tombs of our dead. We cannot go to cemeteries and observe the Undas with our friends and relatives. It’s a no-no, asserts the IATF because to allow us to celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day the traditional way will necessarily entail a gathering. Any gathering is a favorite breeding ground of the virus that causes the Covid-19.
This Covid-19 is truly a kill-joy. It not only ruined our lives; it also had the temerity to deprive us of the chance to remember our dearly departed loved ones. It violated not only the rights and privileges of the living, but also that of the dead.
Yet, we must not allow the pandemic to dampen the importance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. It remains to be the day of remembrance. While we are prevented from remembering the deeds and virtues of our dead fathers, mothers, children, brothers, and sisters in the various places where they were laid to rest, we can do so within the confines of our homes. It will make no difference. We can still light a candle, we can still say a prayer, we can still have food served on the table and we can still chant messages of remembrance to honor them. The only difference is that we cannot be physically present at their final resting place. Who cares, anyway? If we cannot visit them, surely, they will visit us.
April 25, 2024
