Here is the text of the homily I prepared for the funeral we celebrated today: a celebration of the life of one of the people who have been part of the fabric of this parish family for many decades.
People who come to pray in this church are used to gathering around this table at noon on Thursdays, but we have come to sit together at a different time of the day. On this day, the family of faith sits here with the family of our beloved sister Lena. Together we sing God’s praises, we listen for his words, we thank Him for all that we have lived with Lena and learned from her over the past eight decades and we entrust her soul into the loving arms of Jesus who welcomes her into her eternal home.
God separated Natalina Kennedy and her beloved husband Wally many years ago when he called Wally home. The dreams they had of living their lives together, of watching their children grow, of celebrating the significant moments in their lives together ... never did all come true. Instead, Lena raised her children without the presence and influence of their father, she marveled at the gift of her grandchildren and spent many happy years with them. Together with her siblings and her extended family, she celebrated moments of joy and taught others, many others, that faith can help us all to face the moments of difficulty and trial that life sometimes unfolds.
Even in the moments when the weakness of disease was confining her to bed, she was always concerned for others. With the voice of one who truly meant business, she could still send people running through the halls of the hospital, seeking those who needed help. It seems strange that such a woman would ever be indecisive, yet when faced with the questions of human mortality, some questions do leave us speechless. It is at times such as those that we need to listen more closely than ever before for the words of Jesus: Do not let your hearts be troubled; trust in God still and trust in me. Jesus has already crossed the threshold from death into life, so we too can be sure that when our time comes, he will be waiting, reaching his hand across the way, ready to walk the journey with us to the Father’s house where a place is prepared for each of us.
Everyone who experiences the pain of separation from someone we love will ask the same question that Thomas asked on that day: Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way? … but we learn to walk this way every time we sit at this table, every time we listen to the story of Jesus and recognize within it a part of our own story, every time we take part in the banquet that is prepared in this place. At this table, we receive the food of eternal salvation, a taste of the banquet that awaits us in heaven. Here in this place, we come to know Jesus as a friend, a confidante, the source of our hope, the reason for our joy.
Anyone who knew Lena would recognize her favorite phrase: I know what I’m talking about. She knew what she was talking about when she taught her children the lessons of life that have formed them into the people we know today. She knew what she was talking about when she taught her children and grandchildren how to talk with Jesus. She knew what she was talking about when she introduced them to our heavenly mother Mary and taught them how to turn to her in times of need. Trust that even now, she knows what she is talking about when she says to each of you, to each of us: Jesus died and rose again, and it will be the same for us … I will be watching over you, ready to guide you even from heaven until the day that we meet again.
Funeral homily for Natalina (Lena) Kennedy
People who come to pray in this church are used to gathering around this table at noon on Thursdays, but we have come to sit together at a different time of the day. On this day, the family of faith sits here with the family of our beloved sister Lena. Together we sing God’s praises, we listen for his words, we thank Him for all that we have lived with Lena and learned from her over the past eight decades and we entrust her soul into the loving arms of Jesus who welcomes her into her eternal home.
God separated Natalina Kennedy and her beloved husband Wally many years ago when he called Wally home. The dreams they had of living their lives together, of watching their children grow, of celebrating the significant moments in their lives together ... never did all come true. Instead, Lena raised her children without the presence and influence of their father, she marveled at the gift of her grandchildren and spent many happy years with them. Together with her siblings and her extended family, she celebrated moments of joy and taught others, many others, that faith can help us all to face the moments of difficulty and trial that life sometimes unfolds.
Even in the moments when the weakness of disease was confining her to bed, she was always concerned for others. With the voice of one who truly meant business, she could still send people running through the halls of the hospital, seeking those who needed help. It seems strange that such a woman would ever be indecisive, yet when faced with the questions of human mortality, some questions do leave us speechless. It is at times such as those that we need to listen more closely than ever before for the words of Jesus: Do not let your hearts be troubled; trust in God still and trust in me. Jesus has already crossed the threshold from death into life, so we too can be sure that when our time comes, he will be waiting, reaching his hand across the way, ready to walk the journey with us to the Father’s house where a place is prepared for each of us.
Everyone who experiences the pain of separation from someone we love will ask the same question that Thomas asked on that day: Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way? … but we learn to walk this way every time we sit at this table, every time we listen to the story of Jesus and recognize within it a part of our own story, every time we take part in the banquet that is prepared in this place. At this table, we receive the food of eternal salvation, a taste of the banquet that awaits us in heaven. Here in this place, we come to know Jesus as a friend, a confidante, the source of our hope, the reason for our joy.
Anyone who knew Lena would recognize her favorite phrase: I know what I’m talking about. She knew what she was talking about when she taught her children the lessons of life that have formed them into the people we know today. She knew what she was talking about when she taught her children and grandchildren how to talk with Jesus. She knew what she was talking about when she introduced them to our heavenly mother Mary and taught them how to turn to her in times of need. Trust that even now, she knows what she is talking about when she says to each of you, to each of us: Jesus died and rose again, and it will be the same for us … I will be watching over you, ready to guide you even from heaven until the day that we meet again.
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