When the Vatican recently declared changes to the plenary indulgences available during November I got quite excited.  In light of the challenges the world is facing, Pope Francis has extended the timeframe for the indulgence associated with visiting a burial ground and offering prayers for the dead. 

This year you may now receive the indulgence anytime during the month of November rather than just the octave of All Saint’s Day.  Not only this but he has stipulated that the visit may be conducted “mentally.”  This is the part that made me excited.  If I’m not able to physically attend a cemetery this month then I can tell you, I sure ain’t gonna mentally visit the boring old graveyard closest to where I live when there are far more glorious cemeteries around the world to spiritually link in to. 

Quite by coincidence, when the news came in I had just finished reading a blog post written by my photographer brother about the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.  Et voila!  My cemetery visit was suddenly sorted.  It also got me thinking about all the other burial places I have been to in the world and the two in particular which stand out in my mind: the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs and the ancient Roman graves underneath St Peter’s Basilica.

When archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the nearly intact tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings he unearthed over 5,000 artifacts that had been carefully selected to be buried along with the king in 1325BC. 

It was customary for the ancient Egyptians to place inside burial tombs those items deemed necessary in the next life as well as what was needed to help the deceased person along the journey to get there.  Baskets of food and pieces of furniture lay next to swaths of expensive clothes and jewels in the tombs of the kings.  Tutankhamun was even buried with board games.

Hop over to Rome where, as in much of the ancient world, it was customary to offer libations for the dead.  Alcohol was poured out onto burial sites in a gesture of care for deceased loved ones and to offer them sustenance in the next life.  The Romans took this practice to the next level sometimes building small houses over the graves where they could include their deceased relatives in festivities.  Libation tubes allowed them to pour alcohol directly down to the bodies rather than have it seeping through the earth.  

The afterlife in the ancient world sounds kinda fun, don’t you think?  But as they were still centred on material needs I’m not convinced it would have been all that much happier than this life in the end.  

We Christians have no need to be buried with anything and have no cause to be concerned for our material well-being in the next life.  We are reassured by scripture (Rev 7:16-17) that packing our bags for heaven serves nothing because we will have all that we require in God who will shelter us. 

In heaven we will live alongside the Holy Trinity who offers us the most perfect existence and one where we will be in good company with the Blessed Virgin Mary, the angels, and the saints (those souls who have been justified). 

In heaven we are no longer tempted by sin.  In fact, evil is no longer even an option.  Every one of our deepest human longings will be fulfilled by God meaning we will not even have the slightest yearning for anything other than him.  Material luxuries and self-indulgent behaviour will no longer have any hold of attraction over us.  Puny treasures such as those of the pyramids, and indulgences like alcohol poured into libation holes have no place in heaven because in that life there is already the most glorious happiness beyond our comprehension.

There is no guarantee that we will reach heaven though.  We must want and seek union with God and be accepting of his gracious gift of love in our lives.  On Earth we do this by living according to the Gospel, growing in virtue, and being nourished by sacramental grace and the Eucharist.  And even then, should we be saved (God willing) there’s Purgatory to pass through.  Although Purgatory is a good thing because it means that we are saved and that our entry into heaven is guaranteed, it still means we will undergo pain caused by spiritual fires of purification.  As Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us, this suffering comes from not yet possessing the Good which we desire and long for in a way that surpasses anything experienced in this life (see Summa Theologiae, III Sup. 91.) 

This is where your visit to the cemetery comes into play.  The Church, united as it is in heaven and on earth, acts as one and so just as we will souls to be saved on earth so too do we will those not yet in heaven to reach the eternal kingdom without delay and we accompany them spiritually as they wait.  This is charity in its essence, to will what is of God to return to him.  Praying for the holy souls brings us closer to God as well by prompting us to live more meritorious lives so to  lessen (or perhaps even avoid) our own time spent in Purgatory.

And so as you wander in spirit the avenues of the Père Lachaise cemetery praying that the wretched souls of the faithful deceased may soon be in God’s embrace, remember that some day, by the grace of God, the Church will pray the same for you.  

~ Fiona Bradley

Fiona Bradley is a PhD candidate at the Australian Catholic University researching the role of charity in the soteriology of St Thomas Aquinas.

All of the amazing photos from this post (aside from King Tut) are by ALEXANDER J.E. BRADLEY.