Meditations for an unexpected meeting

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.