The blessing of the graves

LordSutch

We were driving through Shankill village in south Dublin yesterday afternoon (Sunday), & the traffic was at a standstill, with hundreds of cars jammed from the N11 right through the village! > I guessed that it was possibly the annual Horse Show in Shanganagh fields, so I rolled down the window & asked the Garda on traffic duty, and she said that it was the blessing of the graves!

But what is the blessing of the graves?

keano_afc

Beat me to it Camelot! I was trying to take my niece to the playground in the park and ran into the traffic just as it was finishing. It was kind of eerie, they had a PA system set up and as the priest finished they played "hymns" in a monotone mantra.

Any Catholics care to explain what its all about?

therealme

Once per year the Priest goes into the cemetry & says prayers for all the deceased buried there. Relatives/friends of the people go stand beside their loved ones plots & pray too. Am ashamed to say it's prob one of the only times I go to relatives graves! Thats it!

dvpower

I go to the one in Dardistown every year (first Sunday in July iirc). All it is is a big outdoor mass (a mass mass) in remembrance of the deceased in the cemetary.
In Dardistown they have to have a pause every fifteen minutes or so while an aircraft takes off or lands.

suzannebell

sorry but i go to that mass every year, and i've never heard or seen the mass stop for planes taking off or landing, the priest has speakers scattered around the grave yard so you can hear the planes slightly but not bad enough that they stop the mass...

Knight990

I went to one up in Carlingford when I was much younger, it was nice to see everyone outside together. I was too young to fully understand the occasion, but I was old enough to appreciate it.

It's just a big mass, big speakers and such. There was only a village full of people at the one in Carlingford (back when it was still a village), but I imagine that one close to the city could cause a lot of jams alright

ISAW

Please!
It is NOT a Mass. Well not necessarily.
It is an annual prayer service conducted in each cemetery.
There are also similar "blessing of the boats" ceremonies.

It may be accompanied by a Mass. It is unusual for a Mass to be outdoors and they are usually in a church but "Pattern Days" in the Summer are exceptions. So the mass is usually in the church and then an additional service is conducted at the gravesides.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern_%28devotional%29

They are not exclusive to Ireland. Celtic France for example has "Pardons"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon_%28ceremony%29

Pardons also have a mass.

They would be Catholic (I include Anglican/Orthodox in this) rather than Evangelical Protestant as they involve Saints.

baalthor

Where I grew up the "Blessing of Graves" started in the 1980s.
Before that rural graveyards were often untended wildernesses with graves located haphazardly, many of them unmarked.
The 80s were a time of high unemployment so the government employed locals through FAS to help tidy the cemeteries. However parishioners were told to tidy their family plots. The annual ceremony was introduced by the church to encourage this, each family had to stand beside their plot so an untidy grave would cause embarrasment.

mariebeth

I always thought the blessing of the graves was in November - at least that's when they always do it down in Cork.

Attie

Anyone know what time the blessing of the graves is in Louth village today.
Thanks
Attie

Rasheed

mariebeth wrote: »

I always thought the blessing of the graves was in November - at least that's when they always do it down in Cork.

Ya same in our parish, round All Souls day, but the neighbouring parishes have it round now, dunno why!

We don't have mass either, just prayers and The Rosary said.

We were always told it would help any souls stuck in Purgatory and reduce our time, if we are to do any, in Purgatory.

Cardinal Richelieu

mariebeth wrote: »

I always thought the blessing of the graves was in November - at least that's when they always do it down in Cork.

Different times all over the country, mainly June in NCD. The Blessing of the Boats use to be another major day.

tommy2bad

Usually it's the feast of whatever saint the parish is dedicated to, ours is the Church of the Assumption so our pattern is the 15 of Aug.
Reminds me I must go tidy the graves, pattern is a big deal in our parish, graveyard could outdo Bloom or Chelsea.