You will find on this page a few of my own reflections that I have used at Funeral's

THE EMPTY TOMB

A number of years ago I lead a pilgrmige to the Holy Land where we were met by a wonderful Jewish woman who traveled with us as our tour guide. It was a few day's into the trip when I began thinking to myself, "Why isn't she a Christian?" She knows all the stories of our faith that speaks about the life of Jesus and his apostles. I learned a great deal about the life of Jesus and his followers through what she was sharing with us. She spoke with a passion in our voice about their lives that would lead anyone to think she was a Christian if they didn't know otherwise.. It wasn't until we made the way of he cross that I came to the relization as to why she is not a Christian because there was one part of the story that she left out.

The day we made the way of the cross we came to the Tomb of Christ. I recall going into the tomb with a priest friend who was with us. The tomb is a very small area, only a couple could enter at a time. As the two of us entered the tomb we were greeted by a Coptic priest who was saying to us, "Touch the tomb of Christ." He handed each of us a candle and said to us, "Light a candle at the tomb of Christ." As he was saying this he was pointing with his other hand to a donation box for the candle that we were about to light. (Typical priest, asking for money.) We lit our candles, said our prayers and went out to the rest of our group. I told those in our group what they were about to encounter and suggested to them that if they light a candle they might want to bring it out with them otherwise it may be sold to the next person that goes in.

After everyone in our group went inside the tomb we gathered together and our tour guide said to us, "Ok, everyone on the bus. This is the end of todays tour." It was then that I relized, she doesn't know the full story, for it was not yet over. There was one more station to celebrate and pray. Inside that tomb all we found was a coptic priest asking for donations for our candles. The tomb was empty!

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Funeral Homilies

Author:
edited by Liam Swords

WE MUST DIE TO THIS WORLD TO ENTER THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM

One of my favorite passages to preach on at a funeral is John 11:32-45, the raising of Lazarus.

There are occasions when a persons dies people begin to question God, "Where were you when I needed you?" "My loved one was sick and near death and you never came." There are times when people are upset because the priest never made it to give the Anoining of the Sick, still thinking that it is the "Last Rites." But then we have the story of Lazarus. A close friend to Jesus. There were those times when Jesus went to home of Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary. He would have dinner with them and share in conversation. Why didn't Jesus rush to his side when he was sick? He took his time to get there and by the time he got there he had died.

I love the emotions Jesus expresses when he arrives. He became "perturbed and deeply troubled" and he also "wept". Those tears of Jesus express his "humanity", his being pertubed express his "Divinity."

When Jesus wept, its a reminder to us all that when God created us He never intended for there to be death in the world. Evil entered into humankind and so there is death. We don't die because we are evil, we die because of sin. But God always gets the final say and that's why he was "perturbed." Should he bring Lazarus back to a life in this world or let him go on to the Kingdom that is promised him through salvation that comes through His own death. He must now use this moment to let the people know that in the end God's Kingdom reigns, there is no death for those who believe. In time everyone must leave this world to move on. Jesus brought Lazarus back, but he didn't live in this world forever, he is no longer with us. As time goes on we must all let go and trust in the God who gives eternal life for all who believe and places their trust in Him.

So God was with Lazarus when he was sick and dieing. He was preparing Him to enter into the Kingdom of eternal life but the only way he could make it there is when everyone was willing to let go so today as we pray for the one we love who has died, let us pray that we too can let go.

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There have been many occasions where a person of a different faith has asked if they could have a Catholic funeral after attending one our funeral celebrations. The catholic funeral mass is filled with beautiful symbols and traditions of our faith. I like to point these symbols out on occasion.

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Word In and Out of Season, The: Homilies for the Major Feasts, Christmas, Easter, Weddings and Funerals

Author:
Richard Viladesau

After the Funeral

Author:
Jane Loretta Winsch