The death of the grave

As part of Halloween fun, my family and I were quite proud of the grave that we created in our front yard, complete with a partially exhumed zombie seemingly clawing at trick-or-treaters on their way to our door.



It seems, as we move now to the Catholic feasts of All Saints (today) and All Souls (tomorrow), that there is some concern about graves not being taken seriously and what that means to our spiritual and psychological well-being. Deutche Welle has this interesting piece on the matter. Here is an excerpt.

"The church remains critical of such changes in burial culture. Joachim Wanke, Bishop of Erfurt, who is himself responsible for questions of congregational policies, put forth this reservation at the German Bishops' Conference.

'It used to be that dead were at the center of funeral ceremonies,' he said. 'Now it's also those of us who are left behind who need a ritual.'"