The Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Dear brothers and sisters,
Too many of us think we have not received any particular talent from the Lord to be used for the building up of his kingdom. Too many of us are like that servant whom the master in the parable called “wicked” and “lazy” because he kept the single talent he received to himself (cf. Matthew 25:26). The day of his master’s judgment was not a pleasant one for that man.
When “the day of the Lord” comes for each of us “like a thief in the night” – that is, unexpectedly – what will our own time of judgment from the “Master and Teacher” be like (I Thessalonians 5:2; cf. John 13:13)? It will undoubtedly depend on the manner in which we will have used our talents in this life for the building up of the Body of Christ.
The authority of our Master, Christ Jesus, is founded on love (cf. I John 4:8). Christ the Teacher teaches us the manner we love we are each to have and commands us to imitate his love (cf. John15:13; 13:34). If you think you have no talent to offer to God and to your neighbor, you are very much mistaken; in Baptism, each of us has received the gift of God’s charity, of his love, that was given to us to share.
The Christian knows well that when the Master and Teacher returns,
…he will wish to see the fruits of his love in us. Charity is the fundamental good that no one can fail to bring to fruition and without which every other good is worthless (cf. I Corinthians 13:3). If Jesus loved us to the point of giving his life for us (cf. I John 3:16), how can we not love God with the whole of ourselves and love one another with real warmth? (cf. I John 4:11). It is only by practicing charity that we too will be able to share in the joy of Our Lord.[1]
Yet the Christian also knows that he fails to love every day in ways both large and small. This is why, at the death of her sons and daughters, “The Church, through its funeral rites commends the dead to God’s merciful love and pleads for the forgiveness of their sins.”[2]
While we often think of death as a sort of severance in the relationship with the deceased, the Church knows differently. Indeed,
At the death of a Christian, whose life of faith was begun in the waters of Baptism and strengthened at the Eucharistic table, the Church intercedes on behalf of the deceased because of its confident belief that death is not the end nor does it break the bonds forged in life. The Church also ministers to the sorrowing and consoles them in the funeral rites with the comforting Word of God and the Sacrament of the Eucharist.[3]
The Church prays for the dead and entrusts them into the mercy of God because, having been joined together in the Body of Christ, we always belong to with those who have been baptized into Christ Jesus.
The Church’s funeral rites take place in what we might call three separate stages: the vigil, the funeral, and the committal. Each of these separate rites is important and, all things being equal, should not be neglected.
Although colloquially usually called the visitation, the vigil is so called because it is supposed to take place not immediately before the funeral, but the evening before. It is becoming more common for the family to choose to have the vigil just before the funeral because it takes less time for them. This may be an important consideration in rare circumstances, but doing so takes away the opportunity for those who cannot attend the funeral to show their sympathy and love to the family who is grieving.
Even if the friends of the deceased have all already dead, the family still has friends who wish to show their love for them. The vigil is a very important moment for the parish and friends of the deceased and the family to show “concern and support for the mourners.”[4] We would do well to provide those who wish to show their love for the deceased and the family as much time as possible to do so; let us not take it away from them.
The funeral is never intended to be what is now frequently called a “celebration of life.” Rather, whether it is within the context of the Holy Mass or outside of it,
At the funeral liturgy the community gathers with the family and friends of the deceased to give praise and thanks to God for Christ’s victory over sin and death, to commend the deceased to God’s tender mercy and compassion, and to seek strength in the proclamation of the Paschal Mystery.[5]
The Sacraments are never primarily about the one who receives them, but about Jesus Christ and his great love for us; even the funeral liturgy is not so much about the deceased as it is about the love of the one who desires to say to his sons and daughters, “Come, share your master’s joy” (Matthew 25:21).
Because the Church’s concern is always with the love of her Lord, “there is never to be a eulogy” in any of the funeral rites.[6] The word eulogy literally means “good word,” and refers to words of praise spoken of another. In the Church’s liturgy, the one to praised is God himself.
The third stage of the funeral liturgy is the committal, “the final act of the community of faith in caring for the body of its deceased member. It may be celebrated at the grave, tomb, or crematorium and may be used for burial at sea.”[7] In the act of committing the mortal remains of the deceased to the elements and of again entrusting the deceased to the mercy of God, the Church expresses “the communion that exists between the Church on earth and the Church in heaven: the deceased passes with the farewell prayers of the community of believers into the welcoming company of those who need faith no longer but see God face to face.”[8]
In her funeral rites the Church prays again and again that the love of the deceased will be purified and brought to perfection in Christ so the deceased may hear those longed-for words: “Well done, my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). As prayer for those who have died, let us never cease to strive to live in such a way that our love will always be a reflection of Jesus’ own love for us. Amen.
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