Dear Parishioners,
Last Saturday I concelebrated
a funeral Mass. It was a very difficult time for all involved. Katie
was only 33 years old. She left behind
her husband Todd and three little
girls, Natalie, Kelly and Marley Mae (7,
6 and 4). Katie's mother Lisa had worked
for me in my last assignment as the parish secretary. Katie, like her mother, usually had a huge
smile on display to greet whomever she met.
The smile on Lisa's face was conspicuously missing. The inexpressible pain could be seen in her
eyes.
No parent expects to lose a
child. It is not the way that things are
supposed to happen. We usually bury our parents--as sad as this may be--not the
other way around. I could not even
imagine the grief that Katie's parents, Lisa and Brian, were experiencing. Todd's face had just a blank stare of
unbelief.
The funeral Mass congregation packed St. Joseph Church in Somers Point. I was told the viewing the night before went
on for hours, with a line of people around the block. People were extremely supportive and empathetic. There are just no words appropriate for times
like these. People just feel the sadness and pain.
The Catholic funeral Mass
tries to bring a sense of hope to the
situation. Jesus' salvific action is
once again made present on the altar. We
are reminded of His Resurrection from the dead.
We, as believers, are told that death and the grave are not final--life is changed, not ended.
As I looked into the
congregation from the altar, I saw two other mothers who had experienced
the loss of their sons not too long ago.
I had been pastor there at the time of both of these funerals. I knew that these mothers knew all too well what it was like to go through this pain. Somehow their slowly-healing wounds get ripped open once again. Courageously,
they were there to support this newly-grieving family.
In the front pew sat the three
little girls, too young to realize just how tragic this situation was for them, now and into the unforeseen future. Where's mommy? Somehow children are remarkably resilient. They looked like little angels--pure,
innocent and holy. Thankfully, they had
each other to hold on to as they watched their newly-born baby cousin, also there with them. The circle of life continues.
We are all reminded, at times
like these, just how brief and how fragile life is. Things can change too
quickly for any of us.
Personally, I don't know how I
would survive without faith in Jesus
Christ and His Resurrection form the dead.
I know that He knew what it is like to die so young. Wasn't He also approximately 33 years old at the time of His tragic death?
I
have once again seen the pain in the eyes of a grieving mother, reminiscent of
what it must have been like when Mary met her Son on the road to Calvary, when
she saw her Son hanging from a cross.
There
really are no adequate words for such times.
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
Katie
