Sincere thanks for your kind expression of sympathy, for your prayer and for your presence in spirit or in person at the removal, the wake and the funeral of my brother, Joseph .  It meant much to me and the family. 

    Church of St John the Baptist, Carrigart, 25^th January 2006  

          To those who have faith in Him, Christ promises eternal life beyond the grave.  On the last day He promises to empty our cemeteries and give life and glory even to our mortal bodies.  As we come together to pay our final respects to my brother Joseph, to commit his body to the earth and pray for his immortal soul, our Christian hope in the words of Christ and in eternal life give us consolation in our sorrow.  Since the first Easter morning, when Christ rose victorious over sin and death, the light of his Resurrection shines over every Christian burial.  

          It is natural that the sadness of loss and separation should afflict us for a while – even Christ himself wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus , who had died.  But the light of our faith and the hope of future glory give peace to the mind and heart of everyone who believes.  “For your faithful people, (we read in the Preface) life is changed, not ended.  When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death, we gain an everlasting dwelling-place in heaven”.  

At times like this, when death separates loved ones and the bonds of physical presence are broken, we appreciate more deeply the value and power of our faith.  What would it be to go through life and think there is nothing after death?  The thought is almost unbearable.  St Paul refers to such people as “those without hope in this world.”  Surely such things as truth, love and goodness last beyond the span of our small existence in this life?  We believe with the sureness of faith that Christ will be there to lead us when we pass through the gates of death to our real homeland where we shall all be united forever in his peace.  

Death is an enigma and terrifies us.  Yet it is the passageway to eternity, to life, to fulfilment.  A great Saint of early times, St Ambrose , in the sermon he gave at the funeral of his own brother, described the benefits that come from even death itself.  He said:  “The world has been redeemed by one man’s death.  Christ need not have died unless He had willed it, yet He did not think a shameful death a thing to be avoided, nor that there was any better way to save us than by dying.  So his death is every man’s life… Is it, then, a thing to be mourned when it is the cause of universal salvation?  Shall we fly from it when the Son of God did not despise it, did not fly from it?” (Breviary, 2 Nov).  

All these truths, however, do not deny the fact that death brings sorrow and loss.  The untimely death of a dear husband, or father, or only brother or good friend is particularly sad.  I did not think I would have to celebrate my brother Joseph ’s funeral Mass on my birthday.  The Lord’s ways are not our ways, and He talks to us in many ways and through all kinds of events, signs and coincidences.  The death of a person we knew and loved and admired is a rude reminder of our earthly condition.  We can become happy with our lot here below, even though it be ‘a vale of tears’.  Death calls to mind the words of Jesus :  “You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Lk 12:40 ).  

Dying or death is part of our life here below, until finally in the end, when death seems to destroy all, life takes over and blossoms into fulfilment.  We die as we live;  a good life prepares a happy death.  As some unknown person once wrote:  “I believe that each day we are creating our own death by the way we live.  For those with faith, death is not extinguishing the light;  it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come”.  

It is this faith that sustains us in our loss.  With the passing of Joseph the whole community and the parish have lost an active, reliable and trusted member.  Above all, the family and the people of Murlog suffer a very deep loss.  At the time of death, people reminisce about the good qualities of the one who has died – good qualities that we took for granted during life, but that seem to stand out in greater relief when the person is taken from us.  As one person said to me:  “I have known him for over 30 years, but never heard him say a bad word, or an unkind word about anyone, not even about those whom he did not agree with.  He never hurt a soul.  A great way to have lived.”  

The appreciation of all is seen in these days of his wake and burial.  Joseph was known to many people through his work, first in the shop, then in various other employments, and latterly in the position of supervisor in FÁS (Community Employment Scheme) in Rosguill.  He always had time for you; he was generous and helpful.  The FÁS workers themselves wished to dig his grave as a sign of gratitude.  Colleagues in the Sheephaven Credit Union, of which Joseph was a founder member and first treasurer, spoke of his accuracy in making the accounts tally, down to the last penny (cent), at the end of each month.  His experience doing up the accounts in the grocery shop before the days of calculators made him able to tot up figures with speed and accuracy while he smiled gently at those who had to spend time pushing little buttons on calculators to get the same figures. He also gave a trusted hand in the parish’s finance committee and will be missed in the congregation of daily Mass.  

Many prayers were offered up for him in the days of his last illness.  Although very ill, he was given the grace of a positive outlook and of hope for the next day.  He never complained and, when asked, he invariably said he was fine.  He passed away quietly fortified by the last Sacraments of the Church.  

Difficult as it may be, we have to believe that it was the best thing for him, and also for us, in the mysterious ways of God’s providence.  In God’s holy Will , all will be well.  We are asked to bow before the designs of God’s plans, even when we are afflicted, for the hand that wounds is the hand that heals.  

And let us not think only of our loss.  Let us remember with gratitude what we had for years in Joseph .  St Augustine prayed, when his mother died:  “God, I do not ask why you took her; rather, I thank you for having given her to me”.  Similarly, we can say:  “Lord, we do not ask why you took Joseph away;  rather, we thank you for having given him to us over the past years.”  

We prayed a Novena for him during his final days (through the intercession of Mother Julia , Foundress of The Work of Christ). On the last day of the Novena which happened to be the day before his death, there was the phrase:  The Blessed Virgin “ Mary draws our attention to the final union with the Lord, when we shall be with Him for all eternity, for his honour and glory, in a perfect union of love”.  

May that be a reality for Joseph now, and may Our Lady lead him into Paradise .  May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.