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Meeting death at home

Funeral homily stories

Pope John Paul II was a champion of life and insisted that its sacred dignity be protected at every turn. But when he reached the end of his own life, he was wise enough to recognize that it was time to go. He stayed home from the hospital and met death faithfully in his own bed.

respect life death

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Exploring the word

05 Oct 2014 - Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

MOST OF THE TIME, most of us are happy to be alive. At least in comparison with the alternative, the gift of life seems like a great deal, if not an absolute bargain. All of us woke up this morning. That’s a plus. Whatever happens with the rest of the day, that we are here right now puts us ahead of the game. God regards life as preferable to all alternatives: non-existence, death, extinction. We know the mind of God on this because of decisions like Creation, Resurrection, and everlasting life. God creates life and wants it to grow, expand, progress—to be fruitful and multiply. But not everyone shares the divine assessment of life’s beauty and infinite bounty. The ruthless tenant farmers in the parable value personal profit over the life of another person. If getting rich involves the “collateral damage” of the death of the heir, then so what. Life is cheap when it’s not theirs. If nasty tenants only lived in parables, we wouldn’t have a problem. But they’re legion in every generation. Some rulers crave power more than the welfare of their people. Some bosses choose fatter paychecks over the well-being of their employees. Some parents make lifestyle choices that engage time and resources that should be available to their children. We all close one eye, if not two, to the fate of disadvantaged people we don’t want to take responsibility for. Valuing life as God does is a lot more complicated than making narrow ethical choices in hospitals, prisons, in wartime. Do we value each other—and every other—no matter what their circumstances are? If we don’t, we can’t claim a holy allegiance to life. Prophets walk among us in every generation to remind us what it means to respect life. Take Catherine de Hueck Doherty. Back in the 1930s, before anyone was talking about civil rights, this transplanted Russian baroness opened Friendship House, a place where people of any color could sit and talk to each other. Then there was Dorothy Day, a single mother and social justice pioneer who converted to Catholicism because the gospel was the best campaign for justice she ever encountered. She opened Catholic Worker houses to meet the needs of the homeless, the hungry, the jobless. Jean Vanier is another layperson who started the movement to cherish and learn from our brothers and sisters with developmental disabilities. He created the L’Arche communities to be inclusive shared homes where such interaction is possible. The names of those who show us how to respect life flow like a litany of saints: Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, Edwina Gateley. They remind us that, as a gift from God, life isn’t cheap. It’s free. Related scripture links Vineyard images: Ps. 128:3; Prov. 24:30-34; Sir. 24:17-21; Isa. 16:10; 27:2-9; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 15:1-8; 19:10-14; Hos. 10:1; John 15:1-10 Catechism links Vineyard: CCC 755 Garden of virtues: CCC 1803

Authors Alice Camille

respect life

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03 Oct 2010 - Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

DO YOU LOVE enough? What standard might you use to determine the adequacy of your love? We might agree that love is more than a feeling. It’s more than romance. It’s more than a ring on a finger or what money can buy. On this Respect Life Sunday, the bishops urge on us a motto that is clever and clear (and originally uttered by Saint Francis de Sales): “The measure of love is to love without measure.” The answer to our question, then, is that there is no such thing as loving enough. We’re presented with several wonderful slogans in the readings this weekend as well. “Harden not your hearts,” the psalmist says. “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice,” we hear in the instructions to Timothy. “Increase our faith,” the apostles request—though it sounds more like a demand. Maybe all of these ideas are interconnected and stand together. If the measure of our love is infinite, then soft hearts are the best soil to receive that endlessly prolific seed and allow its roots to grow and spread. There can be no arbitrary shutoff point at which we’ve cared enough, shared enough, welcomed enough, trusted God enough, forgiven each other enough, as the gospel tells us time and again. Seventy-times-seven, anyone? Jesus asks for the moon in every teaching and expects his disciples to come up with the goods. Not there yet? Of course you’re not. No one is. But there’s room for one more slogan: “The vision still has its time,” as Habakkuk is told when his patience with his violent, self-destructing world reaches its limits. Habakkuk is like most of us sitting in front of the evening news, simply aghast at what’s going on in the world and in human hearts around us. Why are people so cruel, bigoted, greedy, indifferent, or just plain stupid? And more to the point: Why doesn’t God do something about it? Surely there’s a breaker-switch up in heaven that could be thrown to stop these villains cold. We might be surprised, though, should such a switch be thrown, who gets frozen in their tracks. Are we quite sure we might not be among the chosen frozen? God agrees with the prophet, by the way, that violence, ruin, and misery are the daily fare and that the world is a mess. The world God intended didn’t originally include the culture of death with its myriad ways to hurt and cause harm. God had a “good” world in mind at the start of Creation. And the vision still has its time. That’s why prophets, sages, and evangelists were urged to write it down, to hold the vision so that we don’t forget where to aim that love-without-measure. Related scripture links Workers in the vineyard: Matt. 20:1-16 Be still and know: Ps. 46:10 (NRSV) Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Gal. 5:22 Another mustard seed: Mark 4:30-32; Matt. 13:31-32; Luke 13:18-21 More on faith: Mark 11:22-24; Matt. 17:19-20; John 14:12-14; Gal. 5:6; 2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 11:1; James 2:14-18 Catechism links Faith: CCC 26; 162; 142-175; 185-197; 1812-16

Authors Alice Camille

Love respect life

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Faith and life

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Occasion: Respect Life Sunday Readings: Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10 THE COMMON THEME running through all three of today's readings is faith: enduring, abiding, hope-sustaining faith. In Luke's gospel the apostles ask Jesus to "increase our faith." And Jesus responds that with faith the size of a mustard seed one could command a bush to uproot and be cast into the sea, and it would be done. To the traditional lament "O ye of little faith" one might respond, "That's OK. A little faith can work wonders." In our second reading Paul reminds Timothy to "rekindle the gift of God that is within you"—the gift of faith. God's indwelling Spirit gives power, love, and self-discipline to the believer. So, "hold [fast] to the standard of sound teaching that you have learned." But the prophet Habakkuk, in our first reading, cautions against impatience, self-righteousness, or a presumption that God will obey our every command (that is, "do it our way"). The vision, God's will, the way things ought to be, will inevitably triumph, but in God's own good time, not ours. These readings seem to be providential for this Respect Life Sunday. Concern for the inherent and abiding dignity of each human life—from the womb to the tomb—is at the core of our Catholic Christian moral code. Christ came that we may have life, and have it more abundantly. So, in this final month of election campaigning, each of us must discern issues, candidates, potential laws, and policies related to life, liberty, and human dignity. Then, as our readings today suggest, we must act boldly though not self-righteously. I confess I'm ill at ease, though respectful, of those pro-life advocates who model their actions on Jesus overthrowing the money changers in the temple; or on Jesus calling the scribes and Pharisees a "brood of vipers" and "whitened sepulchers." Yes, once (or twice) upon a time Jesus got angry—righteous anger. But far more often Jesus listened, remained silent, or engaged his audience in lively, respectful dialogue. Jesus seems to me to be more of a pacifist than a just warrior, more patient than cocksure, more nuanced and accepting of complexity than simplistic or self-righteous. In short, he seems to be the model of faith-abiding, enduring faith. Our first reading concludes with the words, "The righteous live by their faith." I might add "and not by their might or wrath." No candidate, no political party, no partisan platform captures the fullness of what Christ and the church teach about a "seamless garment" or a "consistent ethic of life." No candidate, no political party, no partisan platform captures the fullness of what Christ and the church teach about a "seamless garment" or a "consistent ethic of life." So I suggest we be wary of anyone who tells us differently, especially if they are impatient, angry, negative, condemnatory, or tinged with self-righteousness. When it comes to war-and-peace questions, a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable, a focus on the unemployed and underemployed, care for the environment, and opposition to capital punishment—all core Catholic issues—one might rightly tilt toward one of the major political parties and its candidates. If, however, one is more concerned about the right to life of the unborn, the primacy of heterosexuality, and curbing the downhill slide to assisted suicide and euthanasia, one would rightly promote the other major party and its candidates. Some, displeased with the uneven views and track records of both parties, might rightly opt for a lesser known party or candidate, or even opt not to vote as a way of casting a protest vote. None of these seems to me to be the Catholic answer. Nor are any of these neatly anti-life or a sinful choice. Also, we must consider the very real Catholic distinction between morality and civil law. No, they're not opposites. What you believe morally you should champion in the public arena. But two life-respecting citizens—equally opposed to unnecessary killing, to abortion, to euthanasia, to war, and to the death penalty—might still disagree as to how best to incarnate these concerns in civil legislation. Should laws in a given area be punitive, or should they promote and reward good conduct? Moral agreement need not mean neat-and-tidy agreement about how best to legislate in a pluralistic society. So, on this Respect Life Sunday, I find scripture challenging and yet cautious. With faith the size of a mustard seed we can (and should) speak plainly, boldly, and prophetically . . . but also lovingly and patiently, aware that God's truth is clear, but not simple nor simplistic. Weigh all the life, love, and justice questions. Prioritize them as you deem best. But be careful not to assume that your synthesis is automatically God's Way. Discuss and debate the issues and candidates fully but with mutual respect for the beliefs and arguments of others. Then, in November, vote (or withhold your vote) wisely. Accept the outcome graciously, patiently. As our first reading concludes: If God's reign "seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come"—in God's own good time.

Authors Father Richard Sparks C.S.P.

Special occasion Respect Life Sunday Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 Luke 17:5-10

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