The death card says: Don’t Weep For Me
I arrived in Heaven recently
Angels brought me here.
I am having a grand reunion
with friends and loved ones dear.
My earthly life is over, I have run my last race.
I have had the joy of seeing Christ my Savior face to face.
I have walked on streets of purest gold,
I have seen beauty rich and rare,
earth with splendor in no way could compare.
I know what Paul meant when he said “to die is gain.”
“I would also add, with St. Francis, that it is in dying
that we are born to eternal life.”
And now for my homily:
Barabara Rotundo’s Wake
When I first heard how ill Barbara was, I prayed that she would enter eternity with ease. That’s the name of the book I wrote during the worst part of the covid pandemic.
I will be 94 next month and when you become this old you think about dying a lot.
First thing you think- where do you go when you die? You don’t go anywhere-you stay where you are- here. Here is everywhere and anywhere all at once. Why doesn’t anybody come back from the dead? Because they didn’t go anywhere. They are still HERE!
We say in the prayer “I believe”, that Jesus rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven-but we still talk to him all the time. So heaven must be here. So Barbara is still here, too. She didn’t go anywhere. So, Mario, you can talk to Barbara any time you want. You don’t have to go home to talk to her anymore. She is always here, wherever you are. She didn’t go anywhere. She just entered eternity with ease. She is where God is, in God’s time-forever-the eternal now.
Barbara is resting in peace- in place, forever. Amen.
Sal Umana 