Wisdom 3: 1-6, 9

But the souls of the upright are in the hands of God, 
and no torment can touch them. 
To the unenlightened, they appeared to die, 
their departure was regarded as disaster, 
their leaving us like annihilation; 
but they are at peace. 
If, as it seemed to us, they suffered punishment, 
their hope was rich with immortality; 
slight was their correction, great will their blessings be. 
God was putting them to the test 
and has proved them worthy to be with him; 
he has tested them like gold in a furnace, 
and accepted them as a perfect burnt offering.

Those who trust in him will understand the truth, 
those who are faithful will live with him in love; 
for grace and mercy await his holy ones, 
and he intervenes on behalf of his chosen.

Psalm 23: 1-6

Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
In grassy meadows he lets me lie.

By tranquil streams he leads me 
   to restore my spirit. 
He guides me in paths of saving justice 
   as befits his name. 

Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death 
I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. 
Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me. 

You prepare a table for me 
   under the eyes of my enemies; 
you anoint my head with oil; 
   my cup brims over. 

Kindness and faithful love pursue me 
   every day of my life. 
I make my home in the house of Yahweh
    for all time to come.

2 Timothy 4: 6-8

As for me, my life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to depart. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come for me now is the crown of uprightness which the Lord, the upright judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his appearing.

John 6: 51-58

I am the living bread
   which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread
   will live for ever;
and the bread that I shall give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.'

    Then the Jews started arguing among themselves, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' Jesus replied to them:

In all truth I tell you,
if you do not eat
   the flesh of the Son of man
and drink his blood,
you have no life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh
   and drink my blood
has eternal life,
and I shall raise that person up
   on the last day.
For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
Whoever eats my flesh
   and drinks my blood
lives in me
and I live in that person.
As the living Father sent me
and I draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me
   will also draw life from me.
This is the bread
   which has come down from heaven;
it is not like the bread our ancestors ate:
they are dead,
but anyone who eats this bread
   will live for ever.

Rosella Robinson's Funeral

November 12, 2005

    In Rosella we have all had a good friend. Offering sympathy is in order, because we’ve lost a step-mother, a grandmother, an aunt, a friend, a wonderful lady. At the same time we are not here to grieve but to celebrate. We celebrate that Rosella lived a good and full life for 95 years, that she died a peaceful death, that she lived and died filled with God’s grace. We also celebrate our faith that she is now enjoying the rewards of eternal life. As our first reading says: “The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed in the view of the foolish to be dead…but they are in peace.” For the bible, a fool is someone who doesn’t believe in God. Their vision of reality is limited. Their mind is closed to anything they cannot discover for themselves. So death is the end of life in the view of a foolish person, since they have no belief in God. But for one who has faith, there is more to life than just the few years we spend on this earth. There is unending life with God. If a fool is someone who doesn’t believe in God, then by those standards, Rosella was a person with profound and extraordinary wisdom. Her life was centered on God and her prayers were for those she loved that they too would live a life centered on God.

    I was talking with George the other evening and he said whenever she called him she would introduce herself as: “This is Rosella, your godmother.” She took her role seriously. George said by reminding him she was his godmother, he thinks she was also reminding him that she had the responsibility and the authority to straighten him out if he needed it. I’m sure all her godchildren got gentle reminders at times and I’m sure they got lots of extra prayers as well.

    The gospel I chose for our Mass today was on the Eucharist. The Eucharist was so important to Rosella. She would come to Mass every day when she could. Jesus tells us “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” It is in this faith that I can say we are here to celebrate, knowing Rosella was well nourished with the bread of life, the body and blood of Jesus who promised: “whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

    In 1952 our mother, Alice, died. Rosella knew Alice and often Rosella told me that because of the friendship they shared, she felt she should step in and help out after Alice died. And she did when she married my father in February, 1953. For over 52 years she has been with us. She was a caregiver through and through. When she was finished caring for us, she cared for her sister, Catherine, and she cared for her grandchildren. It was what made her happy, to be needed by someone. And she didn’t want to inconvenience anyone. She would always tell me, “Now if you have something planned and something happens to me, don’t change your plans. Just go ahead with what you were going to do.”

    All kinds of great things could be said about Rosella, her kindness, her gentleness, her faith, her dedication to family. One thing I always remarked about was that I seldom heard her say a negative thing about anyone. Dad would often get frustrated with her when he wanted to complain about someone and she would make excuses for them or stand up for them.

    I have no worries about where she is now. I’m sure she can say with St. Paul: “ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on a merited crown awaits me…” I believe she now must have a double crown, the first for living with my father (I loved my father, but those who knew him will understand what I mean). The second crown would be for taking over the care of five children, four in grade school and me in high school.

    Since she’s been at the Little Sisters, who took wonderful care of her, I would try to visit her every week. Whenever I was about to leave she would say “If I don’t see you next week, I’ll be on my way to heaven.” She was peaceful with her God, with herself and with those who knew her. She was ready to go. So I can’t grieve. I can only say thank you God for giving us a good woman to take care of us when we needed her, a good woman to inspire us in the way of holiness and a good woman to pray for us and whom I am sure will continue to pray for us until we’re all together.

    When she died a week ago we were enjoying the beautiful colors of fall. The red and yellow and gold trees were telling us that summer is over. But we do not grieve that the green leaves are gone and that nature is shutting down for we know it’s only temporary. Spring will return and so will a new life for Rosella and for all of us, a life that will never end. Amen.