Archbishop Banda urges faithful to embrace love, forgiveness and reconciliation as the Church remembers departed Clergy and Religious
Archbishop of Lusaka, His Grace Most Rev. Dr. Alick Banda, has called on the faithful to make love, forgiveness and reconciliation a priority in their daily lives, reminding them that human life is limited and that no one knows how much time they have.
The Clergy, Religious men and women, and the faithful gathered at Kasisi Cemetery for the 2026 Day of Remembrance for Departed Clergy and Religious.
In his homily, Archbishop Banda described the occasion as a moment of both sorrow and gratitude, saying the Church remembers its departed co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord with heavy hearts because of their absence, yet thankful for the gift of their lives and the service they rendered.
“Our hearts carry two things together – tears and thanksgiving. We miss our brothers and sisters, co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord. We feel the emptiness they have left behind. But our grief is also evidence of our love. If we did not love them so deeply, we would not remember them so affectionately,” he said.
He emphasised that Christian mourning should never be characterised by hopelessness, but rather by faith in God’s promise of eternal life.
“Remembering our departed reminds us that Christian grief is not hopeless grief. We mourn, but with faith. We weep, but our tears are held by God. We remember, we pray, and we entrust our loved ones once again into the hands of the One who loves them, even more than we do,” Archbishop Banda said.
The Archbishop further observed that although death takes away the physical presence of a person, it cannot erase the values, virtues and legacy they leave behind. He encouraged the faithful to preserve the good works and teachings of the departed by putting them into practice in their own lives.
“Death can take away a person’s body. Death can silence their voice. Death can remove their physical presence. But there is something death cannot take away, namely, the values these brothers and sisters believed in and shared with us,” he said.
He added that the lives of the departed continue to bear fruit through the people they influenced and the values they imparted during their service to the Church and society.
“Their bodies may rest in the soil of Mother Earth, but their goodness continues in our hands. Their voices may be silent, but their wisdom still speaks volumes through our choices,” he said.
Archbishop Banda urged the faithful to allow the virtues of kindness, courage, faith, and love demonstrated by the departed clergy and religious to remain alive through their own actions.
He also highlighted the enduring bond of love shared in Christ, noting that death does not bring an end to the spiritual relationship between the living and those who have gone before them.
“Our prayers become a bridge between the visible and the invisible, between memory and eternity,” he said, encouraging the faithful to continue remembering the departed through prayer, sharing their stories and passing on the values they stood for.
Concluding his homily, Archbishop Banda challenged the congregation to reflect more deeply on the brevity of human life and the need to live meaningfully, rather than continually postponing acts of love and reconciliation.
“We keep living as though we have unlimited and endless time to ourselves. But the reality of the matter is, we do not know how much time we have. Therefore, let us not postpone love, forgiveness and reconciliation,” he said.
The annual Day of Remembrance provides the Archdiocese with an opportunity to honour the memory of departed priests, religious men and women who dedicated their lives to the Church’s mission, while offering prayers for the repose of their souls.
The celebration also serves as a reminder that beyond the years of service and ministry, the greatest tribute to those who have gone before is to continue living out the faith, love and values they shared with the communities they served.
