We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
about those who have fallen asleep,
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
(1 Thes 4:13-14)
We are still within the Octave of the Faithful Departed (November 2-9), and we will continue to remember them throughout the month of November. This Sunday we have this wonderful reminder from Saint Paul about those who have fallen asleep in the Lord. As Christians we have called the places where we bury our dead, “cemeteries” literally “sleeping places,” where their bodies sleep until the Resurrection. Today's photo is of Magnolia Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama.
Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.
(Eph 5:14)
Johann Sebastian Bach used the Parable of the Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) as the basis for his cantata, Wachet Auf (Sleepers Awake!), ca. 1731.
