Homily: June 5, 2023, Monday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time (Bury the dead).

 "And I wept. Then at sunset, I went out, dug a grave, and buried him."

I love reading the book of Tobit and the book of Jonah from the Old Testament, especially Tobit, which provides deep moral insights.

Tobit was a righteous man, ever ready to get into acts of mercy. In today’s first reading, Tobit’s meal of ‘many different dishes’ was served. But before he ate, he asked his son to go out to find a poor man to share his meal, a fellow Israelite whom he may not even know personally, he regarded everyone as family.

And when he heard about the Israelite whose dead body was left on the streets, he ‘sprang to (his) feet’ to bring the body back so as to bury him after sunset. His immediate reaction showed how important that work of mercy was to him, an act which took courage and sacrifice.

Tobit and his family were in exile, and to bury a fellow countryman who was killed by the Assyrians will put his life in danger. Yet to leave a body unburied was an act of disrespect to the one who died. Furthermore, to touch a corpse would make Tobit unclean, he would have to go through ritual washing. No one else would want to do it.

In this country, burying the dead is usually not complicated. The funeral homes here are very professional and efficient, they take care of everything. However, in many developing countries, including India, there are no such services. When there is a death, the neighbors and parish communities would come together to help the family of the deceased. 

The support given during such occasion is tremendous, from providing emotional consolation, sharing food and daily prayers to helping the family buy caskets, dig the grave, execute the burial and so on. No family is left alone to manage the funeral event. It is a tradition and culture.

It is not just about supporting the bereaved, it is also about respecting the dead.

Burying the dead is one of the seven corporal acts of mercy. The Church states that the human body is an essential part of a person’s identity, and the body of the baptized person is anointed with the chrism of salvation at baptism and confirmation and nourished by the precious body and blood of Jesus. And we believe in the resurrection of the dead.

Therefore, choosing a sacred place for burial, to let the dead rest in peace, is important. Our Catholic cemeteries stand as a sign to the world that even in death, we believe in life everlasting. The Church demands that even with cremation, the ashes of the deceased are to be treated with dignity.

Recently, an elderly lady was in tears when she shared with me how her grandchildren celebrated their father, her son’s life by putting his ashes in firecrackers and firing them up.

We should be mindful and kind to the grieving family, to support and comfort them through our prayers and presence.

Dead or alive, our bodies are a gift from God, created in His image and likeness. Let us never forget to bless and respect our bodies. Amen.