Here is the reflection I shared with those who gathered to celebrate the funeral of a long-time resident of the town of Temagami. She has now completed her journey; may she be rewarded for her faith.
Funeral homily for
Shirley Gauvreau
In the few days that have passed since we received the
shocking news that our dear friend Shirley’s days among mortals had come to an
end, everyone has been gathering to express our condolences and our closeness
to Shelly, to Raymond and to their families.
Shirley has been a part of the fabric of this town for most of her
life. She was known and loved by many
and we will all now carry an ache in our hearts because she will no longer be
here to share with us her great love for the outdoors and for each and every
one of us.
At moments such as these, we seem to be filled with
questions, but the world around us cannot offer any answer that seems to
satisfy our quest for this kind of knowledge.
The reason for this is that the questions that are raised are beyond the
realm of human reasoning, so we must turn to faith. Faith was an integral part of Shirley’s
life. Her parents and others who played a
part in teaching her the lessons of life made sure to include the stories of
Jesus in the wisdom they passed on to her.
This wisdom helped her not only to celebrate moments of great joy, like
the day of her marriage to Gerald and the arrival of their children. She also gave thanks to God each day for the
blessings of each of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When trials arose, she looked to Jesus to
help her; today, as we face this moment – which she (and we) always knew would
one day arrive – we too must rely on Jesus to help us remember that this is not
the end of the story for Shirley.
In the readings we have heard proclaimed today, we have
listened to the word of God, a word that he shares with us in order to guide us
as we make our way through life, toward the eternal life that he promises. Jesus himself reassures us: anyone who hears my word and believes him
who sent me has eternal life (Jn 5:24).
Shirley heard the word of God proclaimed in this place many times. Throughout her life, she did her best to
believe what she heard, and now we must do our best to believe that the promise
of eternal life is being fulfilled for her, that she is now reunited with
Gerald and with her beloved Tracy.
In just a few days, we will celebrate Easter. We will recall the final days of Jesus’ life
here on earth and we will celebrate his triumph over death. Since
we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that through
Jesus, God will bring Shirley and all those who have died to live with him for
all eternity in heaven (cf 1 Thes 4:14).
Even in the days following Jesus’ crucifixion, his disciples
were not all quick to believe the good news when the women came from the tomb
on Easter morning to tell them that he was risen. We too might find it difficult to accept the
fact that Shirley has risen from the dead; after all, we are human, we believe
what we have seen, but we also strive to believe what we have heard, especially
what we have heard about Jesus. He
reassures us that the souls of the
virtuous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them now
(cf Wis 3:1).
Today, we offer this Mass, asking God to welcome Shirley
into heaven. Let us also ask Him to console
us and to strengthen our belief that she is now in a place where her body can
no longer be weakened by fatigue and disease.
May Mary our Mother welcome her at the gates of heaven and escort her
into the presence of God while the angels sing their song of praise.
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