Each fall my family visits the cemetery to place flowers on the graves of our relatives. My brother grows the flowers and we make bouquets for the 15 graves we visit.
Usually one or two of us go, but this year there were three generations of us. My brother and sister-in-law, my nephew and my great-niece came with me. My great-niece Ava is 15 and this was our chance to introduce her to four generations of our family. We shared memories of our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as stories we had heard about the great- and great-great-grandparents whom we had never met. It was a beautiful day in so many ways, making memories of our own.
November 2, All Souls Day, we remember our deceased friends and family members especially. Our community asks anyone to send in names they wish to be put in our book of remembrance. They will be included in every evening prayer for the month of November. In the past several years over 1,000 names have been sent. We are honored to remember all of them.
We hold all of these loved ones in prayer as members of the Communion of Saints. Their memories live in us as we recall their faces, their voices and the wisdom they have shared. May they rest in eternal happiness and peace.
