On the chilly Saturday morning of Nov. 2, Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre celebrated a special Mass in Calvary Cemetery, 1600 Newburg Road, in honor of the dead.
About 75 people congregated under a tent in the cemetery’s priest section, amid the headstones of clergy.
“There are those who might think it foolish to be here,” said Archbishop Fabre, noting the cemetery.
“But the ties that join us in life do not unravel with death, and if there’s any reason we are here this morning, in the end, it’s because of love,” he said. “Love for Jesus and love for all our beloved dead, for those who rest here, for those who don’t rest here.
“It’s the ties of love that bring us to this place this morning full of hope, full of faith to be challenged by the words of Scripture and to be nourished by the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he said.
‘If there’s any reason we are here this morning, in the end, it’s because of love.’
— Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre
When a loved one dies, it’s faith that consoles those left to grieve, said Archbishop Fabre.
“Perhaps some of you have been coming here for a long time,” he said to the congregation. “Perhaps for some of you, your grief is fresh and your tears still fall.”
The archbishop said he hopes the special liturgy, which is organized annually by Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Louisville, serves as consolation.
“I hope you will know that hope will not disappoint us. That our Lord Jesus Christ, who conquered death, gathers the dead unto himself and we gather because the ties that bind us in life do not unravel with death and love is victorious even over death,” he said.
