Last night I went to my parish’s blessing of the graves.
The main reason I started to attend this specific parish was that it is the only parish in the Diocese with its own cemetery. Thus this is where my wife is interred. It is such a comfort to be able to go to the cemetery after Mass to pray the Divine Mercy there. Since then I have come to love this parish along with the parishioners.
Originally I had intended to leave after the blessing since I had already gone to Mass in the morning. Ended up going to the Mass they had afterward to pray for my daughter.
At the end of Mass, they started calling out the names of parishioners who had died within the last year. Family members would then go up as a group to receive a candle. After all the names were called out we processed to the cemetery while we chanted the Litany of the Saints. After this, our Parochial Vicar prayed the Office of the Dead. This ended with us singing Salve Regina, which I am glad that I memorized last year.
This was really quite a wonderful experience and a chance to pray for others who have lost loved ones. I also loved the aesthetics of the nighttime walking out to the cemetery with candles while chanting the litany.
