The dead have “been there, done that.” They possess the voice of experience. “How will I ever feed them?” We certainly contain and nurture the legacy of the dead in our culture, in our very bodies, but is there any form of continuing relation with the dead as discrete entities who remain other than ourselves? Do the dead still exist somewhere, and can we still be in relation with them? In both the Odyssey and the Aeneid, the hero descends to the underworld to speak with the dead and get their advice. Bill Holm, a Minnesota poet, has noted the strong resemblances between his own living and dead:
And we carry their DNA inside our bodies. We still use the language they invented, live in the houses they built, learn from their wisdom, pay for their sins. On All Souls Day (November 2), we call the dead to mind with stories, mementos, photographs, and rituals. We do not pray for the dead as those without hope, but trusting that the faithfulness of God will bring them to the completion and bliss for which every human soul was created. We pray for the dead, believing that, as they are drawn nearer to God, they are enabled to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God, in the service of God, and in the joy and fulfillment of God’s renewing love. We turn to one another for help and support regardless of which side of death our relatives are on. Our experience shows us that death does not break our kinship bond.
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