Friday, October 28, 2022
What do I tell you about mom? How do I help you remember her?
I was going to start by telling you about mom‘s early life growing up in Del Carbon, Colorado with her large family in a very small two bedroom coal mine home. A home so full of love they apparently never realized they were poor.
But then I was going to talk about how hurricane Camille took most of her worldly possessions and reminded her how truly unimportant material things were.
But then I thought the best approach to telling you about her would be to tell you about the people she truly admired in this world, like Shirley Gilles, my dad‘s sister. She was truly a saint.
Where to start.
Perhaps with what was most important to her. As most of you know, mom had great devotion to her faith. She strongly believed in the foundation of the church, the parables, the sacraments, the love and forgiveness god has for all of us. In her most recent years she prayed the rosary every day. She mostly prayed for her family. That we all will have the wisdom to make the best choices in life, choices that enshrine our happiness.
Do you know the meaning of the word Beatitudes? It means “Blessed are”. Do you know the eight beatitudes? They describe the blessedness of those who have certain qualities or experiences similar to those belonging to the Kingdom of Heaven. Why do I bring them up now? Because Mom exemplified many of these traits. That means she is in Heaven now.
* Blessed are the poor in spirit. …; They who mourn…; the meek…;They who hunger and thirst for righteousness…; the merciful…; the clean of heart…;the peacemakers…; they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.
Over five years ago at Dad’s funeral, I stood here and told you about what Dad taught me. More on that latter, but for now here is what mom taught me. This is not me preaching to you, but her preaching to you through me. Listen to her now. She always said,
Believe In yourself.
You can do anything if you believe you can. Good things come to those who work hard and strive for their dreams. Never give up. Stay humble about your success, your silence in this matter will allow it to fulfill you.
Believe there is something good in everyone you meet.
Anyone can find the dirt in someone, be the one that finds the gold. There is a reason God had you meet that person. Search for that reason. Every person can teach you something.
Share your faith in God.
Don’t discard your faith because of the wrong doings of some of the leaders of that faith. They do not represent your faith — You Do! So live it and be proud of it.
Why should we pray?
Not for material things, for they are truly unimportant. For forgiveness? Yes it is always important to seek redemption. To repent for our sins. For good health, Yes, especially if for the good health of others. But the most important thing to pray for is Wisdom. Our wisdom and the wisdom of all other humans. Wisdom is what will help us make the proper choices in our lives. It is true wisdom that will help prevent wars and bring peace. It is wisdom that will help us accept and continue to love God and all our neighbors even when we are suffering various calamities of life. Pray for Wisdom throughout the world.
Ok, I said I was going to briefly return to Dad’s eulogy. Specifically “One of the things he taught me.” He said,
You become the person you are because of the things you celebrate. Celebrate family. Celebrate friendship. Why do I bring this up now? This statement defines Mom. She was all about family and friends. Let us all commit here today that we will continue this legacy. Embrace each other. Yes do it now! Turn to the person next to you and give them a big hug. You are now making Mom and Dad very Proud.
In closing I have a few comments, just for Mom.
Mom, When you got to those pearly gates and Peter asked you
“Looking back, what stands out most in your life…what are you most proud of, what did you work hardest at, what have you done the best”…I hope you stated being a mom. — because you have been amazing to me.
Fred
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