Here is the homily I prepared for the funeral of one of our city's artists. We entrust his soul to our loving God and pray that his family will be held in the comforting arms of the One who welcomes him home. The scripture readings chosen for this liturgy included Wisdom 4:7-15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Luke 23:44-24:6.
Ronald’s journey of faith did not begin in this place of prayer, but we are privileged to be the ones who pray him home today. Today, we give thanks to God for all the blessings He shared with Ron throughout the years of his earthly life: the joys he shared with family and friends, the many talents he discovered, developed and shared with others and the memories he created by weaving his story of faith with the stories of so many other people.
No amount of time is enough when it is spent with those we love. The Book of Wisdom reminds us today that length of days is not what makes age honorable, nor number of years, the true measure of life. Whether we knew Ronald for a short period of days or for a long period of years, our memory of him will be spoken of in terms of the fact that throughout his life he sought to please God, and because of this we are here today to celebrate the beginning of his eternal life in heaven, surrounded, even held by our God, who first loved him into existence, who was present to him throughout the joys and tribulations of this world, and who welcomes him into his eternal reward.
Today, it is fitting that we should remember and give thanks also for the example of faith that Ronald and his siblings experienced, the gift that was entrusted to them by their parents Leo and Agnes. They were the ones who first introduced them to the person of Jesus. Even as children, Ronald and his siblings heard the story of the man from Nazareth who called fishermen to follow in his footsteps, about how he performed miracles, how he cured the sick, how he shared bread and wine with his disciples at the Last Supper, and how he washed their feet and instructed them to wash one another’s feet. They also heard about how this man suffered at the hands of those who tortured him, nailed him to a cross and stood by watching as human life drained from his body, yet never once did he utter a word of judgment against them.
When Ronald was diagnosed with cancer, I wonder whether these stories from his youth came back to him. He certainly didn’t allow the disease to stop him from living, from sharing in the important moments of joy and accomplishment in the lives of his children and his grandchildren. This is what Jesus would have done, it is what we all should do.
Just a few days ago, when the pain became unbearable, it might have seemed as though darkness came over the whole land, but even in his darkest hour, Jesus had cried out to his Father, to our Father: Into your hands I commit my spirit. With these words, we will all one day follow him into the loving embrace of our God, when our time here on earth is complete. In the meanwhile, we must imitate the example of love and concern that was modelled for us by Joseph of Aramathea, who took the body down from the cross, wrapped it in a shroud and put it in a tomb. These are the gestures of one who had known Jesus, who had loved him. Like Joseph, we must now take Ronald’s mortal remains down from the cross. His suffering is no more, so we wrap him in the Church’s prayer as we commend his soul to God.
Saint Paul reminds us in the words he wrote to the Thessalonians that we should not grieve for Ronald as if we had no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus. This is the reason why this assembly is not gathered in sadness, but rather, this is an encounter filled with hope. We stand at the threshold of heaven, knowing that God now reveals the fullness of life to his servant, and from this day onward, his soul will live with the Lord forever.
This is the truth of our faith, the truth that was revealed to the women who went to the tomb on that first Easter morning and discovered that the stone had been rolled away …. that the body of the Lord Jesus was not there. This is not a truth that has been revealed to us through human reasoning. It is a truth that we have learned through faith. Because we believe this truth about Jesus, we can and should also believe that the same is true for Ronald.
In the days ahead, there will be occasions for us to recall all the memories of the life we have shared with Ronald, and as we tell the stories, let us pray for one another. Let us ask Mary who stood at the foot of the cross and watched her son in agony to sustain us with her prayer and let us ask the angels of God to watch over us too, until the day that we can repeat the words they spoke to the women at the tomb: He is not here, he is risen!
Funeral homily for Ronald Fournier
Ronald’s journey of faith did not begin in this place of prayer, but we are privileged to be the ones who pray him home today. Today, we give thanks to God for all the blessings He shared with Ron throughout the years of his earthly life: the joys he shared with family and friends, the many talents he discovered, developed and shared with others and the memories he created by weaving his story of faith with the stories of so many other people.
No amount of time is enough when it is spent with those we love. The Book of Wisdom reminds us today that length of days is not what makes age honorable, nor number of years, the true measure of life. Whether we knew Ronald for a short period of days or for a long period of years, our memory of him will be spoken of in terms of the fact that throughout his life he sought to please God, and because of this we are here today to celebrate the beginning of his eternal life in heaven, surrounded, even held by our God, who first loved him into existence, who was present to him throughout the joys and tribulations of this world, and who welcomes him into his eternal reward.
Today, it is fitting that we should remember and give thanks also for the example of faith that Ronald and his siblings experienced, the gift that was entrusted to them by their parents Leo and Agnes. They were the ones who first introduced them to the person of Jesus. Even as children, Ronald and his siblings heard the story of the man from Nazareth who called fishermen to follow in his footsteps, about how he performed miracles, how he cured the sick, how he shared bread and wine with his disciples at the Last Supper, and how he washed their feet and instructed them to wash one another’s feet. They also heard about how this man suffered at the hands of those who tortured him, nailed him to a cross and stood by watching as human life drained from his body, yet never once did he utter a word of judgment against them.
When Ronald was diagnosed with cancer, I wonder whether these stories from his youth came back to him. He certainly didn’t allow the disease to stop him from living, from sharing in the important moments of joy and accomplishment in the lives of his children and his grandchildren. This is what Jesus would have done, it is what we all should do.
Just a few days ago, when the pain became unbearable, it might have seemed as though darkness came over the whole land, but even in his darkest hour, Jesus had cried out to his Father, to our Father: Into your hands I commit my spirit. With these words, we will all one day follow him into the loving embrace of our God, when our time here on earth is complete. In the meanwhile, we must imitate the example of love and concern that was modelled for us by Joseph of Aramathea, who took the body down from the cross, wrapped it in a shroud and put it in a tomb. These are the gestures of one who had known Jesus, who had loved him. Like Joseph, we must now take Ronald’s mortal remains down from the cross. His suffering is no more, so we wrap him in the Church’s prayer as we commend his soul to God.
Saint Paul reminds us in the words he wrote to the Thessalonians that we should not grieve for Ronald as if we had no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus. This is the reason why this assembly is not gathered in sadness, but rather, this is an encounter filled with hope. We stand at the threshold of heaven, knowing that God now reveals the fullness of life to his servant, and from this day onward, his soul will live with the Lord forever.
This is the truth of our faith, the truth that was revealed to the women who went to the tomb on that first Easter morning and discovered that the stone had been rolled away …. that the body of the Lord Jesus was not there. This is not a truth that has been revealed to us through human reasoning. It is a truth that we have learned through faith. Because we believe this truth about Jesus, we can and should also believe that the same is true for Ronald.
In the days ahead, there will be occasions for us to recall all the memories of the life we have shared with Ronald, and as we tell the stories, let us pray for one another. Let us ask Mary who stood at the foot of the cross and watched her son in agony to sustain us with her prayer and let us ask the angels of God to watch over us too, until the day that we can repeat the words they spoke to the women at the tomb: He is not here, he is risen!
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