One More Behind Me

One more funeral behind me, one more funeral closer to being able to recline through the entire Mass without having to do all that sitting, kneeling and standing…I contemplated.  Eyeing Father Celestino Say’s simple pine box casket I could not help but be a little envious…envious that I was not more like him, a man of God, a man who finished the race, a man who fought the good fight.   

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.

They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;

and their passing away was thought an affliction

and their going forth from us, utter destruction.

But they are in peace.

For if to others, indeed, they seem punished,

yet is their hope full of immortality;

Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,

because God tried them

and found them worthy of himself.

As gold in the furnace, he proved them,

and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.

In the time of their judgment they shall shine

and dart about as sparks through stubble;

They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,

and the LORD shall be their King forever.

Those who trust in him shall understand truth,

and the faithful shall abide with him in love:

Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,

and his care is with the elect.   Wisdom 3:1-9

8/8/15