Today is perhaps the most difficult day of my life and the most difficult day of my priestly ministry. I was able to see my mother in the hospital last week and administer the Apostolic pardon and last Sacraments of the Church. 

 

The reason we mourn today is because my mother was a gift to us from God. Our first reading from the Book of Proverbs speaks about a worthy wife and, in that capacity, she was many things to my dear father. Loving, kind and generous, she truly was. 

 

For those who knew my mom, you know that she faced her own challenges and struggles, physical and emotional, even from her youth. She battled depression and a whole host of physical health issues for many years. For more than 20 years mom suffered from limited vison because of detached retinas in both eyes. She retained limited vision in one eye, which caused not only her retirement from the profession of nursing which she loved so much, but also my own father's retirement from his profession as the manager of the unemployment office out of love for her. Indeed she was a worthy wife, and she certainly was blessed with a worthy husband.

 

We had a beautiful celebration of Mom and Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary on May 15, 2015. but shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Covid-19 hit and, like so many elderly, the isolation caused deterioration and in the end, her body just couldn’t take it anymore. My dad remarked recently on his gratitude that mom’s physical sufferings were over.

 

Mom was convicted of the reality of God and in the last decades of her life she grew even deeper in her faith. In the last several months, although she may not have understood what God was doing, she still prayed. 

 

Our second reading from St. Paul to the Ephesians 4: 22-32 is a passage found in the Liturgy of the Hours which, as members of the Secular Franciscan Order my parents prayed faithfully everyday. Ephesians 4 struck them so much that they memorized it and would recite it often as part of their daily prayer. We hear in that passage a caution about being disciplined in our speech in relationship to one another in order to build-up the Holy Spirit within our families and communities, a beautiful tribute to my parents shared faith as a Christians.

 

We gather today in the hope of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in hope of eternal life with Him, focusing on the hope we have in Him as we hear in the Gospel passage about the raising of Lazarus. Indeed what we hope for is not just a physical resuscitation of our physical bodies but I hope that we will share in the resurrection of our Lord himself. In the Nicene Creed that we recite at every Sunday Mass we recall our hope in the resurrection of the body, and we know from the text of sacred scripture and the tradition of the church that the nature of our resurrected bodies will be after the pattern of our Lord's own resurrected body. That is the spiritual truth of the hope we have today.

 

When we face challenges, doubts and the weakness that comes from our own sinful condition, we may be tempted to run far away from Jesus and the Church that He founded. We could ask “Why, God?” Why did my mom have to be sick and suffer so much? Why did she have to leave us? Why this pain, this grief? Why did God let this happen? It’s not wrong to ask why. (And I’m saying this to myself as well.) Look at the Gospels. Even Jesus Himself, on the cross, suffering and in pain and about to die, asked, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Why did our sinless Lord choose a path of suffering to redeem us? Because he knew that we would suffer and He loves us.

 

Jesus asked why, and He is perfect, so it’s okay for us ask why as well. The problem is that many times we can’t find the answer to that question. Perhaps a better question is: “What now?” What should we do now? Let me urge all of us to stand on two eternal mysteries:

 

1. Stand on the truth that God is good. Scripture tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father” (James 1:17). So, when you think of the good times and the good things about Phyllis, know that these came from God. Every bit of the good in our lives is ultimately a gift from God. 

 

God is good and yet my mom spent part of her life sick, illnesses that caused her to miss out on many things, that limited her in even the basic tasks of life. God did not cause this. Illness, sickness, and disease are a result of the fall of Adam and Eve, the sin of our first parents. Even death is a result of the fall, for God has always desired us to live with Him forever.

 

Jesus Christ became man, took on flesh and came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free. One day God will wipe away every tear, all sickness, evil and pain. Then all who have trusted in the Lord Jesus will live together in total perfection, with no more sickness, no more pain, no sorrow, no sin, no shame, living forever in Heaven with Jesus Christ. Until that day, life can be extremely hard, but we must stand on the truth that God is good.

 

2) Stand on the truth that God loves you, personally. Blessed Solanus Casey said, “Have confidence in our dear Lord’s infinite love.” “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger people. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.” Perhaps the most popular verse in the Bible, John 3:16, reminds us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

 

When something terrible happens, when our loved ones die, it’s easy to think that God doesn’t love us but He does love us. God the Father has shown it in many ways, but the greatest way was when He sent His Son Jesus to die in the cross for our sins. Jesus became part of our human family. We recall this now especially that we are in Christmas. 

 

Both St. Alphonsus Ligouri and St. Teresa have said that most souls are released from purgatory on Christmas Day (not All Souls Day!). It seems the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord is when purgatory is least populated. 

 

“In full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and ‘because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins’ she offers her suffrages for them.” Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective. (CCC, 958) 

Their prayers for us, and for others, become more powerful. St. Thomas Aquinas called this “accidental glory.” And the lesson here is to never stop praying for the dead.

 

 A few suggestions:

•           Offer your Christmas Mass, holy Communion, and indulgence on that day. Stop at the manger and implore the Infant Jesus to intercede for the most abandoned souls. Those of priests and consecrated religious. 

•           At home, say a decade of the rosary with family members in front of the Nativity scene. In simple words, explain to members of the youngest generation why the family is doing this.

•           In church or at home, light a votive candle for all who have passed away, but perhaps especially those who have died since the previous Christmas. The burning candle is a sign of our prayer, a bright silent intercessor for the holy souls.

•           Say the Eternal Rest Prayer before and after meals throughout the Octave of Christmas. 

•           Join your prayers with the intercessions of the holy souls in purgatory who are praying for their grieving loved ones on earth. (No, the holy souls can’t pray for themselves but, yes, they can, and do, pray for us still on earth!)

•           Offer up the stress of the holiday season as a prayer for the holy souls.

•           Find out about having Masses celebrated for a loved one who has died.

•           On Jan. 1, the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, join Our Lady in praying for the holy souls. Here’s what St. Faustina, another saint who received revelations, wrote:

 “I saw my Guardian Angel, who ordered me to follow him. In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid. The flames which were burning them did not touch me at all. My Guardian Angel did not leave me for an instant. I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God. I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in Purgatory. The souls call her “The Star of the Sea.” She brings them refreshment.” (Diary, 20) 

 

God created us to be in relationship with Him, and he entered into our world and into our individual lives through humility. As close as my Mom was with her family, so happy to be surrounded by them, God wants us to be even closer with Him. That is the gift of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar as St. Francis wrote:

“The whole of humanity fears, the whole universe trembles and heaven exults, when on the altar, in the hand of the priest, there is Christ, the Son of the living God. O wonderful favor! O sublime humility, that the Lord of the universe, God and Son of God, so humbles himself as to hide himself for our salvation, under the low form of bread.” 

 

Nothing is more important than that, because we must get ready to leave this world. My mother went sooner than we would have desired. This reminds us how fragile life really is. We sometimes take it for granted, but every day is a gift from God. 

 

That is why, despite the sadness and the sorrow, we can say like Blessed Solanus Casey, “Blessed be God in all His designs” – even if we don’t understand those designs. 

 

Our vision is so limited; we struggle to look with the eyes of eternity. Today, let us refocus on eternity. In sorrow and sadness, in pain and sometimes even frustration and anger, let us not forget that there is more than this life. Let us remember that this earthly life is temporary and that all of us have been created to live in eternity with God. Let us remember that, even if we don’t understand, God’s has a plan – a great plan, because He is worthy of our trust, He is faithful, He is good, He is loving.

Believing in Our Lord’s resurrection is the core of Christian belief. It is the basis of our Christian faith. There would not be a Gospel without the resurrection; would not be Christianity, the Church, the priesthood, the sacraments without the resurrection. There would not be hope without the resurrection.

 

We would not have the resurrection without the death of Jesus Christ. We can’t get flowers, fruits and trees unless the seed is sown. The seed has to die in order to germinate a new plant. Therefore, St. Paul preached not only the resurrection but also the crucifixion of Christ.

 

We are the followers of Christ who is risen from the dead. St. Paul reminds us that the death is not the end of human existence. The preface for the dead in the Roman Missal tells us that the life of a faithful follower of Jesus is not over; it is changed. When our earthly dwelling is turned to dust, an eternal dwelling is made ready for us in heaven.

 

So, death is the doorway to the new life. Every person in this world has to go through it. Jesus, the Son of God, also did not escape from it. He accepted to die for you and me. He accepted death and gave us the rewards of eternal life. Those who believe in Christ--God will also raise them up.

 

Our beloved mother believed in Christ. She was baptized in Christ. She nourished her body with the Most Holy Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ when she participated in the Holy Eucharist. She was anointed by the holy oil that the apostle James speaks of in his epistle, and Mom was confirmed in the Holy Spirit. She received the sacrament of penance regularly. She received Christ through these sacraments He instituted and gave Jesus to all of us through her love.

 

She was the most wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend to most of you. She chose to be a nurse, a profession that deals with sickness. She took great care of so many people, she reached out to you when you were in the most difficult situations; she stood by you. One of her former patients from the psych unit was at the calling hours last night and told me Mom was instrumental in his return to faith and the Catholic Church. 

 

Mom toiled and worked especially for her children so that they could stand on their feet. Every mother, when she dies, carries with her all her pain and sorrow which she leaves behind with the legacy of motherhood.

 

As we thank God for her life and for her profound faith as a Christian, let us place her in the hands of Our Blessed Mother. Our Lady, who stood at the foot of the Cross and understands our pain and suffering. May Our Lady of Sorrows intercede for Mom and for us now and forever.

 

Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen. Hail Mary.. –Fr. Joseph Tuscan, OFM Cap, CFP Spiritual Guardian