One of the most moving visits we made in Rome was to a portion of the Vatican museum which held the earliest Christian artifacts.  The sarcophagi were decorated with biblical symbols from the Old and New Testaments and engraved with prayers beseeching God for the eternal rest of the Christians buried within. Often these were inscribed by visitors to the catacombs as they offered their prayers for the deceased.   

It's a powerful thing to run your fingers over those crude inscriptions knowing that nearly 2000yrs ago other hands touch that same scold stone, hastily engraving blessings in a world hostile to faith. In November we carry on with these ancient prayers, remembering our own, now gone.