I know all of us have someone in our life
Who has passed on to the next world,
So it’s a special day for each and every one of us.
Your parents, your grandparents,
Maybe your children, siblings, whoever it might be—your friends.
So I just want you to know,
I guess I’m going to try to speak
From my heart to your heart,
Because I can’t see you all watching this,
But I know again you’re grieving this day,
That you’re not alone in your grief.
That God is very much with you
And He is very much pleased with the souls
Of your loved ones who’ve passed on.
So just know that.
Death is hard.
It’s hard to make sense of.
It’s painful.
There’s nothing we can say to kind of wipe it away
Or make it any easier,
But only to know that God does hear the cry of the poor.
And like we saw in our Gospel here,
He had pity on this widow who had lost her only son
And He healed her and raised him from the dead.
He touched the boy’s coffin,
Which would have made Jesus unclean,
But He didn’t care because this was the right thing to do.
So you see, I’m holding a prop here.
Yes, I did bring a prop for the Homily.
A dear friend of mine gave me this
Maybe about a year and a half ago, two years ago,
But this plant, and this is a real plant,
It’s not a fake plant.
It started off as just a tiny little stick.
And this friend of mine, he gave it to me.
Now this little stick, this little twig,
He basically said this was from a plant that a friend of his had had,
And his friend who had that original plant
Has since died and is with Our Lord in Heaven.
So it was kind of like a continuation of his friend,
But he was entrusting me with this sapling.
Now, my friend, I think, didn’t have too much faith in me,
And I’m proud to say here it is.
Look how much it’s grown.
I didn’t kill it.
I won’t say who this friend is.
I’ll just give his initials, S.D.
Well, that might be too obvious.
Scott D.
No, that’s too obvious.
S. Donahue.
Anyway, so this doubting Thomas didn’t think I could
Care for this plant, but here we are.
No, he did.
He entrusts me.
It was a very precious gift,
But as I take care of this plant,
Obviously, full disclosure here,
I really don’t take care of it.
I give it to the ladies in the Church to take care of it.
That’s why it’s not dead.
But when I look at this plant
In our Church at St. Paul of the Cross,
It’s in a special place in our Sacristy.
Not only do I feel connected to my friend,
Father Donahue, who gave me this,
But I feel connected to his friend who is in the afterlife,
And his friend, I won’t say who,
But I didn’t know personally,
But you see how the life goes on.
And then, you know, Father Donahue,
Even though he’s going to live to 150 years old,
But, you know, he’ll pass on one day,
And I’ll still have this plant.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll give it
To some young priest,
And then he’ll continue on.
And you see how we go on.
This plant will grow here on this Earth,
But in a way we’re connected now to Heaven.
And there are many other, not just plants,
But other things that we have.
So your loved one is with you in your soul forever.
And the ultimate plant or the ultimate sapling is your Faith.
Every time you receive the Eucharist,
Every time you connect to God in your Spiritual life,
Every time you do a good deed in the Name of Jesus Christ,
It’s like you’re holding the plant of eternity, if you will.
You’re connected.
And that connection fills us with Love,
Fills us with meaning,
Fills us with Hope,
That, as we’re going to hear in the Prayer coming up,
That life is not ended,
But only changed with Death.
And like we heard in the First Reading,
Our loved ones at the time of their Visitation
Will shine like sparks in the stubble.
Our loved ones are shining right now.
In fact, they’re the real stars up in the sky,
All of us together.
And so we praise God for giving us life.
And may all the Souls of the Faithful Departed
Through the Mercy of God rest in Peace.
Amen.