I recently inherited a stack of holy cards saved by my mother over the course of decades. Nothing could be more moving than seeing some of those old cards and the names of long deceased relatives--my mother's aunt who was a Franciscan sister, my father's 25-year-old cousin who fell in the second world war, grandparents and great grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends. The characters from all my mother's old stories spread before my eyes once more.
Having so many prayer cards is a good reminder to pray for the holy souls, and I resolved that our family would pray for one departed family member every day during Advent. After tonight's vigil Mass, we chose our first card--a delicate, yellowed slip of paper with a pen and ink drawing of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and the name "Mary Dunn" on the back. Mary Dunn was my great grandmother and my children's great-great grandmother. I know very little about her, except that she was serious compared to her husband, benevolent Grandpa Jim, and that she once fainted when her youngest son was bitten by a shark. (Yes, you heard right, but that is a story for another day.)
It felt good talking to the children about their great-great grandmother, offering up our prayers for her, and pondering this mother of the not-so-distant past. Not so very long ago, she was living in a brownstone in Harlem with four little children to keep her busy. Imagine the smile that spread across our faces when I read the card a bit more closely and noticed her date of death: November 29, 1953, the same month and day as the First Sunday of Advent this year.
It seems praying for the holy souls is exactly what God wants us to do this blessed season--how kind of Him to let us know!
May the souls of the faithful departed, especially Mary (Higgins) Dunn, rest in peace. Amen.
