--- title: Whispers from the Grave description: Kathryn Swegart describes how her recent pilgrimage to Ireland reinforced the importance of praying for the dead. image: https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/20231114%20KSwegart%201.png --- [![catholic-mom-logo-v2](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/images/catholic-mom-logo-v2.svg "catholic-mom-logo-v2")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) [![search-icon](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/search-icon.svg)](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/whispers-from-the-grave#) [FAITH](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/tag/faith) # Whispers from the Grave Nov 14, 2023 8:30:00 AM  |  by [Kathryn Swegart](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/kathryn-swegart) ![featured image](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/20231114%20KSwegart%201.png) *Kathryn Swegart describes how her recent pilgrimage to Ireland reinforced the importance of praying for the dead.* --- November is a stark time of year here on our small farm in Maine. Trees are stripped bare by blustery winds. Maple leaves, once bright and golden, cover the ground, now made brown and slimy by cold rains. Garlic and tulip bulbs lie buried under the hard soil, planted with the hope of new growth in the spring.   Oh yes, how perfect to pray for the dead in gray November. I was struck with this thought on a recent pilgrimage to Ireland. On the first day of our trip, the bus rolled into the parking lot at Glendalough, an early medieval monastic settlement built in the 6th century by St. Kevin.    ![null](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/20231114%20KSwegart%203.png?width=1080&height=1080&name=20231114%20KSwegart%203.png)   The landscape of western Ireland is dotted with sheep, stone walls, and monastic ruins. Among the architectural wonders are round towers built hundreds of years ago by monks using limestone from local quarries.  I wandered through the cemeteries, reading the messages etched on gravestones. It felt like the dead were talking to me, asking for my prayers. Messages were etched on the gravestones: In your kindness, pray for me. All the markers faced toward the east in expectation of the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of time. Never had a walk among gravestones conveyed this powerful feeling. Cemeteries are a place of waiting. One day Jesus will come again and there will be a resurrection of the dead.  Every Sunday I say the Nicene Creed in which I express my belief in the resurrection of the dead. Have I really thought about what that means? The resurrection of the dead will precede the Last Judgment. Here is what the *Catechism* says.  > This will be the hour when all who are in the tombs will hear the Son of Man’s voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. (CCC 1038)    ![null](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/20231114%20KSwegart%204.png?width=1080&height=1080&name=20231114%20KSwegart%204.png)   Imagine what these holy grounds looked like back in the heyday of St. Kevin’s monastery. It was a bustling community of workshops, guesthouses, an infirmary, farm buildings and dwellings for monks and a large lay population. Now they all lay buried, waiting for the sound of trumpets at the Second Coming.    > [Click to tweet: > Every Sunday I say the Nicene Creed in which I express my belief in the resurrection of the dead. Have I really thought about what that means? #CatholicMom](https://ctt.ac/2MSZ5)   In this somber month of November, let us all pray for the holy souls in Purgatory. May they rest in peace, through the mercy of God. Amen.    ![null](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/20231114%20KSwegart%202.png?width=1080&height=1080&name=20231114%20KSwegart%202.png) --- Copyright 2023 Kathryn Swegart Images: copyright 2023 Robert Swegart, all rights reserved, used with permission ### Share this article [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwhispers-from-the-grave%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwhispers-from-the-grave%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwhispers-from-the-grave%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Whispers%20from%20the%20Grave) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwhispers-from-the-grave%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2Fwhispers-from-the-grave%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ** #### About the Author ![Kathryn Swegart](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/Kathryn%20Griffin%20Swegart%202025.png) ### [Kathryn Swegart](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/kathryn-swegart) Kathryn Griffin Swegart is an award-winning author of Catholic books for children. Kathryn and her husband raised three children on a small farm in rural Maine. She is a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order and contributor to *Magnificat*. Visit her website at [KathrynSwegart.com](http://kathrynswegart.com). [**](https://twitter.com/kswegart) ## Related Blog Articles [ War of the Weeds Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/p172414) [ Resurrection: A Creative Depiction of the Truths of our Faith Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/resurrection-a-creative-depiction-of-the-truths-of-our-faith) [ Hero of Prison Camp 5 Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/hero-of-prison-camp-5) ## Comments ## Donate now [![Support Catholic Mom](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545) [![CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png?width=1806&height=731&name=CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png "CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) ##### Subscribe to Catholic Momcast on iTunes or Spotify [![itunes-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/itunes-logo-black.svg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-momcast/id1362352357)[![spotify-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/spotify-logo-black.svg)](https://open.spotify.com/show/15CoipHL7z61IDcYErV0b8?si=hqaQJSxDQgq7S1hxCwsoxQ) ##### CatholicMom on Social Networks [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) ##### About Catholic Mom [Who We Are](https://www.catholicmom.com/about-us) [Contact Us](https://www.catholicmom.com/contact) [Support CatholicMom.com](https://www.catholicmom.com/support-us)   ##### Associated Links [Holy Cross Family Ministries](https://www.hcfm.org/) [Family Rosary](https://www.familyrosary.org/) [Family Theater Productions](https://www.familytheater.org/) [Congregation of the Holy Cross](https://www.holycrossusa.org/) [Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C.](https://www.fatherpeyton.org/) [The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life](https://www.peytonfamilyinstitute.org/) ### **Stay connected!** Don’t miss a thing! 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