In this life, she lived as part of a community of love and faith. Today, we celebrated the beginning of her life in heaven, and gave thanks for the many ways her wisdom has now been passed on to us.
Siamo venuti oggi in questa chiesa per celebrare la vitta della nostra sorella Theresa. Desidero innanzitutto ringrazare Frank, Keith e la sua nipote Bryana per le parole che hanno rivolto all'inizio di questo nostro incontro eucaristico.
We have come to this church today to celebrate the life of our sister Theresa. First of all, I want to thank Frank, Keith and her grand-daughter Bryana for the words which they offered at the beginning of this Eucharistic celebration.
The story that is told by Saint Mark in today’s gospel passage is the culmination of a life that was lived many centuries ago. It is the story of a life not unlike the life that Theresa herself lived, first in her native Santo Stefano d’Aspromonte, and later here in Canada.
The scene recounted in Saint Mark’s gospel places us at the foot of the cross where Jesus has been suffering physical torture for at least three hours. When someone has been suffering for that long, it can feel more like years rather than hours, both for the one who is suffering and for those who stand by and watch. From the depth of his suffering, Jesus cries out from the cross: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani? Some of those who heard this cry believed that he was calling on Elijah to come to his help, but these words are also the beginning of Psalm 22: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Psalm 22 begins with words that portray the suffering of humanity, but ends with words of hope and faith in God: to him shall all who sleep in the earth bow down … and I shall live for him.
Those who knew Theresa in this life can recount stories about her great hospitality and about her ever-enduring smile. Those who knew her best can also recount the details about the ways in which she suffered physical pain throughout her life, yet she never allowed her smile to lapse. She never lost faith; instead she continued to believe: in truth, this man (Jesus) is the Son of God. The centurion needed to witness Jesus’ suffering and death in order to believe this truth, but we believe this truth because we know the rest of the story.
We know that two days after his death, in the very early hours of the morning, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb, carrying with them some spices with which to anoint him. Yet when they arrived at the tomb, they saw something there that surprised them: the stone … had already been rolled back and a young man in a white robe told them: He is risen, He is not here.
Throughout the centuries that have come and gone since that time, the followers of Jesus have always believed that because he rose from the dead, so too will we rise to new life when our earthly life is done. This is the reason why, despite her many years of suffering, Theresa never lost hope. She always believed that the favours of the Lord are not all past, his kindnesses are not exhausted. She was content to wait in silence for the Lord to save.
Now that Theresa has been reunited with her beloved husband Domenico, we who are still on the journey must ask ourselves a few questions. Saint Paul reminds us that the life and death of each of us has its influence on others. What lessons have we learned from Theresa? What life lessons have made the deepest impact? What memories about her do we want to keep alive? What wisdom can we now share with others? How can we help others to believe as she did, that alive or dead, we belong to the Lord? Some day in the future, we will all have to stand before the judgment seat of God. When that time comes, if we have lived life with even a fraction of the passion Theresa lived life, if we have loved others with even a fraction of the warmth she did, if we have attempted to walk humbly with God and with others, we will surely see her in heaven and hear her say: He is risen, He is not here.
Funeral homily for Theresa Suraci
Siamo venuti oggi in questa chiesa per celebrare la vitta della nostra sorella Theresa. Desidero innanzitutto ringrazare Frank, Keith e la sua nipote Bryana per le parole che hanno rivolto all'inizio di questo nostro incontro eucaristico.
We have come to this church today to celebrate the life of our sister Theresa. First of all, I want to thank Frank, Keith and her grand-daughter Bryana for the words which they offered at the beginning of this Eucharistic celebration.
The story that is told by Saint Mark in today’s gospel passage is the culmination of a life that was lived many centuries ago. It is the story of a life not unlike the life that Theresa herself lived, first in her native Santo Stefano d’Aspromonte, and later here in Canada.
The scene recounted in Saint Mark’s gospel places us at the foot of the cross where Jesus has been suffering physical torture for at least three hours. When someone has been suffering for that long, it can feel more like years rather than hours, both for the one who is suffering and for those who stand by and watch. From the depth of his suffering, Jesus cries out from the cross: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani? Some of those who heard this cry believed that he was calling on Elijah to come to his help, but these words are also the beginning of Psalm 22: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Psalm 22 begins with words that portray the suffering of humanity, but ends with words of hope and faith in God: to him shall all who sleep in the earth bow down … and I shall live for him.
Those who knew Theresa in this life can recount stories about her great hospitality and about her ever-enduring smile. Those who knew her best can also recount the details about the ways in which she suffered physical pain throughout her life, yet she never allowed her smile to lapse. She never lost faith; instead she continued to believe: in truth, this man (Jesus) is the Son of God. The centurion needed to witness Jesus’ suffering and death in order to believe this truth, but we believe this truth because we know the rest of the story.
We know that two days after his death, in the very early hours of the morning, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb, carrying with them some spices with which to anoint him. Yet when they arrived at the tomb, they saw something there that surprised them: the stone … had already been rolled back and a young man in a white robe told them: He is risen, He is not here.
Throughout the centuries that have come and gone since that time, the followers of Jesus have always believed that because he rose from the dead, so too will we rise to new life when our earthly life is done. This is the reason why, despite her many years of suffering, Theresa never lost hope. She always believed that the favours of the Lord are not all past, his kindnesses are not exhausted. She was content to wait in silence for the Lord to save.
Now that Theresa has been reunited with her beloved husband Domenico, we who are still on the journey must ask ourselves a few questions. Saint Paul reminds us that the life and death of each of us has its influence on others. What lessons have we learned from Theresa? What life lessons have made the deepest impact? What memories about her do we want to keep alive? What wisdom can we now share with others? How can we help others to believe as she did, that alive or dead, we belong to the Lord? Some day in the future, we will all have to stand before the judgment seat of God. When that time comes, if we have lived life with even a fraction of the passion Theresa lived life, if we have loved others with even a fraction of the warmth she did, if we have attempted to walk humbly with God and with others, we will surely see her in heaven and hear her say: He is risen, He is not here.
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