Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR B ALL SAINTS & ALL SOULS - 1/2.11.03 The Veneration of Ancestors These are two feasts that resonate and convey meaning in all cultures from time immemorial. The desire to honour heroes and ancestors goes beyond Christianity and is linked with the ancient periodic rituals performed by the living people on behalf of dead members of their family: these rituals were conducted subsequent to funerals, with visits to the tomb and offerings of flowers, food and drinks, and were intended as memorials of the Ancestors by family and friends. Across Mesopotamia and in Ancient Egypt, the veneration of the dead was celebrated with rituals, presentation of food and libation of water, to enforce in people the conviction that the dead as spirits maintained an on going relationship with the living. While the funeral ritualized the process of separation from the deceased, the veneration of the dead stressed the continuity of kinship between ancestors and family members. This understanding towards Ancestors has been strong also in Ancient Israel and in Christianity, even if its logic and mind set created confusion between honour and veneration to ancestors and the total absolute duty to worship God alone. The writings of Old and New Testament, the comparative studies of contemporary ancient societies and the discoveries of archaeology give abundant evidence that peoples of all cultures and times have felt strongly the need to venerate their ancestors, through organized rituals. In the course of centuries, the interpretations of such rituals have received a variety; of adjustments and new meanings according to changing social awareness and different theological perspectives. The veneration of the dead is found in the Bible, with laments, mourning, monuments to the dead, memorial tombstones and concerns for possessing family-shrines (Terapim), private family shrines and shrines to the saints When it comes to honouring the dead with family shrines and specific rituals, the Israelites continued to share many beliefs with their surrounding pagan nations, despite the denunciations made by the prophets against exaggerations which would put at risk the worship due to God alone: Yahweh. In the same way Christianity gave prominence to the vernation of the Martyrs, not as Family Shrines and tombs to one's ancestors, but as memorials to Saints and Martyrs of the household of faith. From the beginning, the Church venerated the dead heroes of faith, and even the empty tomb of Jesus was a type of shrine (Śweli) for the early Christians, who came to celebrate the Resurrection, through the Eucharist memorial meal and prayers of thanksgiving. The veneration of the dead in Christianity followed the pattern set by Judaism: just as the Jews honoured the tombs of the prophets, so Christians honoured the tombs of Martyrs. Their shrines were a compromise between the traditional veneration of ancestors by all pagan cultures and the new theology of Judeo-Christians. In some cultures even the veneration of Ancestors remained as a family affair, aimed at continuing the relationship of kinship between the living and the dead and validating the status of the deceased within the family structure. In Roman times, memorial meals and libations were prescribed on special days: third, seventh, ninth, thirtieth and fortieth day after death. These chronological numbers are remarkably close to the customs that are observed even today by some people, indeed the sequence of appearances of Jesus follow a similar pattern. This the Annual Rituals to honour deceased righteous family members (Parentalia) has in time given rise to the feast of All Saints and All Souls. ______________________________________ |
