Homily delivered at the Funeral Mass for Fr Michael Moses (March 15)
When I returned from Rome, I was informed that there have been requests for copies of the homily I preached at the funeral of Fr Moses. I shall use my column this week to respond to those requests. 

“My Sisters and Brothers,
For those of you who may not know, the celebration of Fr Michael’s funeral started at the celebration of a number of Vigil Services:
1) Last night, there was a Mass celebrated in Santa Rosa Parish by Msgr Pereira, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese. Santa Rosa was the first parish in which Fr Michael served. 

2) Last night there was a Mass celebrated in San Raphael Parish by Fr Madhosingh, the Regional Vicar for the Eastern Vicariate of the Archdiocese. San Raphael was the last parish in which Fr Michael served.

3) Last night, I presided over a Vigil Service in the Funeral Home. At the request of the family, it was decided that in place of a homily participants should be given the opportunity to offer testimony. Some of the testimony about Michael was serious and was characterised by gratitude for his ministry. Other testimony was quite funny and described well the Michael we all knew.

This morning, of course, at the funeral liturgy in the Cathedral where Michael was ordained a priest, there will be more formality than there was at the Vigil Service last night. However, the theme of new life will still predominate. 

My homily will concentrate on the readings that were chosen by the family. The ease with which the message of the readings can be applied to Michael’s life and ministry is really quite remarkable. The readings have clear implications for the ministry of priests, deacons, religious and laypersons serving in ministry as the archdiocese cares for the Catholic community and tries to reach out to and contribute to the life of the nation.  

Reading 1: Wisdom 4: 7-15

The Book of Wisdom is an interesting book of Scripture. It was written around 100 BC for Jewish people living among Greeks in Egypt. They had no Temple. What did that mean? It meant that they had no place to gather for worship. Since they could no longer speak Hebrew or Aramaic, they could not even read the Scriptures. What did that mean? It meant the people were not being fed.

When Alexander the Great conquered the Near East he was not satisfied with just a military victory. He insisted that the people learn the Greek language and absorb Greek philosophy and Greek culture. That was precisely what the people did.

As they began to absorb the very sophisticated Greek philosophy, they began to be ashamed and embarrassed about their faith because it seemed to be so unsophisticated. The people among whom the Jewish people lived made fun of their faith. To become more acceptable, the Jewish people began to compromise.

The Book of Wisdom, which, by the way, is not accepted in the Jewish or Protestant Canon of Scripture, was written to strengthen the faith and identity of the Jewish people in Egypt.

It reminded the Jewish people of God’s ongoing concern for them and that the pagan life is both senseless and filled with unanswered questions. One of those questions that pagan life could not answer was making sense of an early death. 

The Book of Wisdom answers the question. It tells us that virtue and a life of virtue do not follow the rhythm of the calendar. Understanding, which means knowing how to live your life, is the real meaning of old age. That truth is contained in the idioms of many peoples. For example, we hear people speak of others and say that he or she is wise beyond his/her years.

Wisdom teaches that being taken away from evil is a consolation. It is the entrance to peace in God’s company. The prophet Isaiah identifies longevity with fidelity.

Wisdom builds on that teaching and says that the just person reaches maturity in a short time and in that way attains longevity. The just person who dies young has already reached old age.

Let us apply the teaching of Wisdom to Michael’s life. Michael was smart, zealous, perceptive and strict. He knew that people were being secularised and that some of them were already experimenting with the neo-pagan lifestyle.

He taught the people, he challenged the people, he was present to the people and, as a priest should, he prayed for the people he served. He did not accept the trend of history, he worked to reverse it.  

Reading 2: Revelation 21: 1-5

The Book of Revelation also had a special reason for being written. Its purpose was to encourage people who were being persecuted. In the context of the Book of Revelation, the persecutors were not the Greeks; the persecutors were from the pagan Roman Empire.

The symbolism of the Book of Revelation that was proclaimed this morning is about the Church, the New Jerusalem come down from heaven (a reference to the Incarnation of the Lord).  The language of being as beautiful as a bride (the biblical symbol of the Church) all dressed for the bridegroom (symbol of Christ, the head of the Church).

Through this Church, God would live among his people. God would bring clarity of values, replace confusion with truth and offer guidance and support to people who were struggling. Because of his resurrection, Christ would take away the sting of death through his own death and bring healing to those who are mourning and filled with grief.

Once again let us apply the reading to the life and ministry of Michael. Michael was a man of the Church. The teaching of the Church meant a lot to him personally and professionally. He researched it and studied it and prayed over it.

He internalised it and proclaimed it with courage. Sometimes people who thought he was too strict would come to my office to report him. I would ask them what he said that upset them. They would tell me what he said.

I would listen quietly and then respond that what he said is the teaching of the Church. I suggested to them that it was possible they were angry with him because they were not living the ethical standards of the faith. I would ask them to bring their concerns to prayer.

Gospel: John 19: 25-30

The Gospel tells the story of the people who were faithful to Jesus until the very end. Jesus looked down at his mother from the cross and said ‘this is your son’ and then he said to John, who represented the Church, ‘this is your mother.’

From that moment on Mary’s ministry has been one of collaboration with her Son for the salvation of the world and of intercession for the people of God and all the people of the world. Once those last two pieces of his mission were completed, although he was in great pain, he could say in peace, ‘it is finished.’

Michael’s relationship with the Mother of God was a consolation and a source of strength to him as he died. Although in Michael’s mind his mission was not finished, in God’s mind Michael’s mission was finished.

Although he fought to continue living, he eventually accepted the truth that his time had come to return to the Lord. It is now time for others to build on his ministry as an uncompromised and zealous priest. 

I leave you with three reflection questions that flow from the three readings:
1) From the book of Wisdom: Are you becoming secularised? Are you ashamed of any teachings of your faith? Has the neo-pagan value system touched your life?  
2) From the Book of Revelation: Are you strong enough in your faith to withstand persecution and continue to be faithful to the values of the covenant? Are you open to the truth proclaimed by the Church both doctrinal and ethical or are you becoming comfortable with the values of a secularised world?
3) From the Gospel of John: Do you ever think of death and judgment? If today God said of your life, ‘it is finished’ are you ready to meet the Lord your God?