F 0 R E W 0 R D 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Cemetery is a symbol of our Faith in the Resurrection of the 
     
     Dead and Life Everlasting. As Christ died and rose from the dead, so 
     
     too will all die and rise again. ”In Him Who rose from the dead, our 
     
     hope of resurrection dawned.” (Preface No. 1 of Christian Death) 
     
    
   
   
    
     Sorrow accompanies death, but ”the sadness of death gives way to 
     
     the bright promise of immortality.” The Cemetery, then, is the exten— 
     
     sion of the Church. It is the sacred 'place where ”those who have gone 
     
     before us marked with the sign of faith” are laid to rest. We read 
     
     in the Preface of the Mass for the Dead: "When the body of our earthly 
     
     dwelling lies in death, we gain an everlasting dwelling place in heaven." 
     
    
   
   
    
     In the cemetery, our departed parishoners are remembered and honor- 
     
     ed by the monuments and inscriptions which silently and ceaselessly 
     
     proclaim this Dogma of our Faith: "I believe in the resurrection of the 
     
     body and life everlasting.” (Apostles Creed) 
     
    
   
   
    
     As tribute to the love and honor which the people of St. Colwnba 
     
     Parish show toward ”those who have gone before us”, this present book 
     
     has been prepared. Herein are listed the names of those who are buried 
     
     in St. Columba Cemetery, and are entered in the Parish Records. The 
     
     Parish dates back to the early 1800's. Although the Baptismal Records 
     
    
   
   
    
     begin in 1836, there are no death records until 1880, and there is an 
     
     unexplained 'absence of death records for the years 1891 to 1910. Many 
     
    
   
   
    
     grave stones have not survived the ravages of time. This book, it is 
     
     hoped will help to recall those, upon whose lives, labours, and example 
     
    
   
   
    
     has been built the foundation for the Faith we cherish, and is being made 
     
     available to the Parishoners to mark the l370th Anniversary of the death 
     
     of Saint Columba, our Patron Saint, who died on Nov. 23rd, 615. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Father in Heaven, we keep forgetting all those who lived here 
     
     before us. We may not have known of those who lived in this 
     
     community. We may forget those who sang Hymns in this Church 
     
    
   
   
    
     before we were born. We drink from wells we did not find. We 
     
     eat food from land we did not develop. We worship in Churches 
     
    
   
   
    
     we did not build. We visit villages that we did not establish. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Turn then our thoughts to those who lived in another day, and 
     
     under different ways, so that we can be aware of their Faith 
     
    
   
   
    
     and work. Today we feel a oneness, not only with those of a 
     
    

    
     recent age who lived here, but those of every generation and 
     
    

    
     place. And may their Faith and Works enrich our lives. Amen. 
     
     /£Z' éfi:%7/AE} Z: .d‘1 — Ancient Portuguese Prayer 
     
     Rev. Robert J. Dollinger - November 23, 1985 
     
    
   
   
    
     Parish Priest 
     
    
   
   
    
          
     
    
   
   
    
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