Most Rev. Mylo Hubert C. Vergara, DD, MA, SThdphoto by:
Most Rev. Mylo Hubert C. Vergara, D.D. MA, SThD
photo by Lou Echano Dominguiano, Sto. Nino de Taguig Parish
Today, we celebrate the funeral mass for
Kristel Mae which is also a mass of thanksgiving for her. One wonders how two contrasting emotional
moods of grieving and gratitude are possible in today’s Eucharistic
celebration.
In a funeral mass, the emotion of deep
sorrow is experienced because after days of being with the dead body of Kristel
during the wake services in her home, we finally lay to rest her dead body when
she is buried after this mass. How can Jun
and Judy, her parents, thank the Lord for the death of their only beloved
daughter? For all of us gathered here,
she has been a good daughter, relative and friend. How can we express a positive disposition of
thanksgiving when we know that we will no longer see Kristel’s physical body
once the coffin is laid to rest in her grave?
We still feel overwhelming sorrow and pain for the loss of Kristel,
someone dear to us.
Remember what Pope Francis said in
Tacloban and also in the University of Santo Tomas (U.S.T.). He said that during a time of tragedy, all we
can do is weep and be silent. He told us
that we cannot say anything and that it is normal to just cry. For Jun and Judy and for all of us, it is
okay to cry and be silent; it is okay to grieve and to mourn.
However, the Eucharist means
thanksgiving. Every mass evokes from
within us to express gratitude. It is an
opportunity to be grateful to the Lord for all the blessings we have received
in life. In this sense, the Lord invites
Jun and Judy, and all of us, amidst this seemingly negative experience of
death, to thank the Lord. So what do we thank the Lord for?
First, we thank the Lord for his
compassionate and loving presence, during this unexpected, tragic death of
Kristel. Pope Francis told us that, as
we cry silently, we just have to set our gaze on the crucified Lord who
understands everything and assures us that he is with us during these trying
times (cf. Homily, Mass in Tacloban Leyte, January 17, 2015). As Catholics, we are grateful to God because,
during this negative experience of loss and death, we can hold on to our faith
to carry us through.
Secondly, we thank the Lord for the gift
of Kristel. After her death, we
discovered her goodness and holiness. We
learned how Kristel became a volunteer of the Catholic Relief Services to help
the Yolanda typhoon-stricken victims of Samar.
We also found out that instead of buying a cake for her birthday, she
would use the money to buy notebooks and ballpens given to children who cannot
afford them for their school use.
Indeed, the words from our first reading affirm Kristel’s fate that the
souls of the righteous are in the hand of God (cf. Wisdom 3:1). Even our second reading from St. Paul’s
letter to the Romans describes how Kristel lived her life—that she lived and
died not for herself but for God and others (cf. Romans 14:7). And our gospel tells us how Kristel, in more
ways than one, was judged to merit God’s
kingdom because she fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the
naked, welcomed strangers, visited the sick and those in prison (cf. Matthew
25:34-35)
Finally, we thank the Lord for receiving
Kristel in heaven. We are consoled today because we know that Kristel is with
the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, with Mary and all the saints in God’s
eternal kingdom. We look forward to the
time when, one day, when God calls us, we will be with Kristel in what we all
hope for—eternal life.
Pope Francis shared with us and, even in
his papal flight back to Rome, that Kristel’s did not die in vain, that “she
died in service” (January 19, 2015).
Thus she was truly a “model of service” in her youth. We pray that there may be many more
“Kristels” who will follow and live a life of service for God and the Church.
** This
is the English translation of the homily delivered by Most Rev. Mylo Hubert C.
Vergara, DD, Bishop of Pasig during the funeral mass of Kristel Mae Padasas,
the youth volunteer who accidentally died when scaffoldings hit her due to
strong winds and rains brought about by typhoon “Amang” at the time when Pope
Francis celebrated mass in Tacloban on January 17, 2015. Most Rev. Guiseppe Pinto, DD, Apostolic
Nuncio to the Philippines, was the main presider of the mass that was held on
January 27, 2015 in Sto. Niňo Parish Church, Signal Village, Taguig City which
belongs to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocese of Pasig,
Philippines.
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