Here is the text of the homily I preached today for the celebration of the Mass of Resurrection in memory of one of our parishioners who has now completed her earthly journey.
Funeral homily for
Edda Ursitti
Dear
friends, today’s is an unexpected meeting.
Until a few weeks ago, Edda would come through the doors of this church
and sit in one of the pews toward the back of the assembly. Here she would pray, along with the gathered
community. She would sing songs of
praise, she would utter words of supplication, she would approach the altar and
receive the bread of life, and then she would go back to her daily routine of
cooking and sewing, of visiting with friends, of loving her two daughters and
their respective families and of striving every day to demonstrate her
unfailing love for all those who were privileged to call her a friend.
Today’s
is an unexpected meeting for us. Edda is
here with us in this assembly, but today we are here to commend her into the
loving embrace of our God. Today’s
meeting affords us an opportunity to thank God for the gift that Edda has been
to all of us, even as it allows us a moment to realize that each and every one
of us is a beloved child of God, endowed with the spiritual inheritance of
eternal life.
The
book of Wisdom reminds us today that each one of us will one day have to stand
before the Lord, and when we do, our virtue, our merit will be judged not by
the number of years we have spent on this earth, but by our ability to
understand the struggles that others have faced, and our willingness to help
each one who has called out for our assistance to come to realize that we are
all precious in the eyes of our God.
Today, we give thanks to God for the many ways in which Edda was able to
greet the challenges of life with deep compassion. Throughout her life, she was devoted to her
husband Vincenzo and to their two daughters.
When Clara and Lisa married and had families of their own, Edda welcomed
Graham and Brian into the family, and she rejoiced in the lives of her
grand-daughters Alida and June. Whether
a family member, a co-worker, a friend or an acquaintance, everyone was
welcome. Despite the trials she may have
faced in this life, she always tried to listen as Jesus would listen, to speak
as Jesus would speak and to assure others of the grace and mercy that await us
when our earthly pilgrimage is done.
Today, it’s our turn to ask ourselves: do I try always to listen
compassionately when others need my help?
Do I try always to speak words that will comfort and reassure them?
The
Apostle Paul reminded the Christian community at Rome that everyone of us who has been
moved by the spirit is a child of God.
I wonder how often Edda paused in silent prayer to ponder this
reality? I wonder whether she ever
doubted the fact that she was and is a beloved child of God? Yet, the
spirit which we all received at our baptism makes us children of God, and
therefore we can call God our Father, Abba – daddy. In the days and weeks ahead, when you find it
most difficult to comprehend that our sister will no longer call on the
telephone or be waiting for you with a meal ready to nourish you, consider that
she is now in the loving embrace of our God, that she is smiling down upon you
with the tenderness of one who has come to know the tender love of a God who
allows us to refer to him as daddy. The love with which God welcomes her into
heaven is the same love with which he holds all of us who now mourn for her
loss. Allow him to hold you as Edda once
held you, warm and comfortable in his loving embrace.
We
who have been convoked here today are witnesses of a special moment
indeed. This is the moment at which Edda
receives her spiritual inheritance: the eternal life for which she has always
longed. While Jesus lived on this earth,
he tried to teach his disciples what this eternal life would be like. He spoke of it as the reward for those who
are poor in spirit: the ones who have
practiced the art of giving of themselves out of love, purely for the good of
others. The life Jesus spoke of is the
prize inherited by those who learned the power of gentleness in our relations
with others and with ourselves. It is
the promise made to those who mourn sincerely the loss of those they have loved
in this life, even as we look forward to the day when we will be reunited with
them. Inspired by the words of Jesus,
let us pause just for a moment and consider the ways in which he has invited us
to be instruments of justice especially for those who cannot speak for
themselves, to show the face of mercy instead of judgment because we believe
that there is a higher calling for each of us to be a brother or sister to the
one who we meet along the road. Be aware
of the ways in which Jesus invites us all to be single-minded enough about our
belief in the power of his love to chase away from our hearts any sign of
hatred or desire for revenge and to replace it with pure intentions for the
good of those we are called to serve.
Give
thanks with me today for the gift of this beloved woman, this child of God who
we now commend to the mercy of God, and celebrate with me the spiritual inheritance
that she has bequeathed to us, the promise of life which she now experiences in
its fullness, and the promise of hope which we carry in our hearts until we see
her again in the kingdom of heaven.
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