“The pastor should visit the cemetery as often as he is able. This is wholesome for him personally, for his preaching, for his spiritual care and also for his theology.”
To enjoy the wholesomeness of Easter, may I suggest that you take this advice from the noted theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer? Visit a cemetery during the Easter season, even if you aren’t a theologian.

Cemeteries remind us of death and are places most of us want to avoid as long as possible. So why do this?

When I was a child, it was a family custom to drive to the cemetery around Easter and visit the graves of our relatives. The lessons this taught were fruitful for dealing with life and understanding the joy of Easter.

First, it taught us that even though deceased relatives weren’t with us, they aren’t forgotten. We learned to pray for those who had touched our lives and endowed us with their beautiful spirit. That spirit may have been the laughter of an uncle we find ourselves imitating, the kindness of a grandmother we rely upon as an example or the wisdom of a grandfather we try to live by.
Instead of feeling that they were gone forever, they were seen as a living part of us.

As a priest, I give retreats in places that often have a cemetery nearby. On one retreat I was experiencing some depression. The Benedictine monastery there had a cemetery. As I walked through it and viewed the names on the gravestones, I suddenly experienced a peaceful, reassuring calmness. Later I realized that I was facing death; doing so had a way of “airing out” my fears.

Now when I meet a person who is down, I advise him or her to take a walk through a cemetery. Many people who have done this have told me later that it was the perfect remedy; it restored their peace of mind. Facing death helped them to see life in its entirety and to realize that problems aren’t that bad when we realize the life that we hold so sacred isn’t the most sacred life we possess.

A wonderful practice while visiting our beloved dead is to meditate on what it must be like to be on the other side now. We pray, “May they rest in peace.” What is that peace like? Is it just resting quietly, free of all anxiety, or is it more? Is the absolute peace for which we pray found when finally we are with Christ in heaven?

The greatest joy on this earth is to be in love with a significant other. Beyond this life, what will it be like to be with the most significant other of all, God?

Easter is a time to reflect on our final resurrection with Christ. What better way to do this than to start with death, the doorway to eternal life and happiness?

Father Eugene Hemrick, is a priest of the Joliet Diocese in Illinois, and currently works with the U.S. Bishops’ Conference in Washington, D.C. He has served as a consultant to the Brooklyn Diocese on several projects.