When a teacher meets the Teacher

Here is the text of the homily I prepared for the funeral liturgy that was celebrated this morning: a privileged moment during which we commended our sister into the loving arms of our God.

Funeral homily for Jeannine O’Hare

Hugh, Tim and Jennifer, you and your families have come home to North Bay in order to join the rest of the parish family here at Saint Peter the Apostle in praying our dearly beloved sister Jeannine home.  Our gathering here today allows us a precious moment to express our sympathies and condolences to you, and to celebrate with Jeannine as she finally enters into the heavenly homeland that she has always longed for.

God’s people gather to celebrate the Eucharistic banquet here because here at this table, we have a foretaste of the banquet that awaits us in heaven.  In the word of God that we have heard today, we heard Jesus teaching the crowd: I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of the one who sent me (Jn 6:38).  During her time here on earth, Jeannine had many roles: she was a daughter and a sister, she was a mother and an aunt.  In all these roles, she had the privilege also of being a teacher.  Long before she began her formal career in education, she was already teaching others about her faith, about Jesus and about the joy of being one of his disciples.

At a relatively early age, she had already begun to understand the value of the gift of faith that had been entrusted to her by her parents and by others who provided an example for her.  In turn, she would teach others to trust in the promise of Jesus: I will raise you up on the last day (Jn 6:39).  This was the promise spoken by Jesus, the promise he made to the disciples, the promise he has kept even to this day. 

This promise was spoken of even in ancient times.  Long before the coming of Jesus, God has recognized his people’s efforts as we have sought to please Him, and in return, God has loved us (Wis 4:10).   Now that she has completed her earthly journey, Jeannine herself has been carried off so that evil may not warp her understanding or treachery seduce her soul (Wis 4:11).  From her place in heaven, she is now rejoicing in the fulfillment of this promise as she herself is raised up to everlasting life.  She is finally reunited with her beloved son Jamie, and with all those who have gone before us, and from her place in heaven, she now watches over all of us, guiding us along the paths of this life until the day when we will see her once again.

Que devrons faire pour que nous entrions un jour dans ce paradis?  La premiere lettre de Saint Jean nous rassure: Le Pere nous a aimes pour que nous puissions etres appeles enfants de Dieu (1 Jn 3:1) et puisque nous sommes tous enfants de Dieu, c’est lui-meme qui nous montrera le chemin qui nous conduira chez Lui.

In a little while, we will leave this place of prayer and enter once again into the world.  If we had a crystal ball, we could try to foretell the future, but as it is , we are all children of God, but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed (1 Jn 3:2) but we can be assured that on that day we will see him as he really is, and on that day, we shall be like him.  Let us therefore strive every day to recognize this great gift: that we are all children of God, precious in his eyes, and destined for heaven.