My friend's funeral

I went to my friend, Joe's funeral today. He was 86 years young. He was a real gentleman and truly a saintly man. He had a sister who was a Dominican nun and a baby brother who died at only six weeks old. His brother, Francis, a Jesuit priest, did the homily today at the funeral Mass. I will miss my dear friend, Joe but I really am happy that he has gone to his deserved reward and rest. His brother, Fr. Francis chose the very beautiful (my favorite) Gospel of Matthew (25:31-45) for today's Gospel reading:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at this right hand, 'Come you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or i prison and visited you? And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me...'"

Joe lived this Gospel message in my opinion. He humbly gave to so many in all of his apostolates and services to people. You really became a better person for having known Joe. One thing that will always stay with me about Joe is that anytime you talked to him and you asked him how he was doing, he would immediately ask, "How are YOU?" He always seemed to put himself last and let you know that he cared about you. What a great example to follow!

May he rest in peace. Amen