Dorothy Margaret Miller
29 July 1910 - 6 January 2007
January 16, 2007
St. Andrew’s Parish, Werribee
It’s a pity that I didn’t have a chance to get to know such a wonderful person such as Dorothy. But I’m glad that I have an opportunity to hear this morning about her long life– how her life story began, her family backgrounds, her love for tennis and knitting, and of course her love and dedication for her family, children and grandchildren.
Each of us here today has our own memories of our parents and grandparents. Today we thank God for the beautiful memories of Dorothy which she shared with us, most especially with her loved ones, for touching their lives, for imparting with them her wisdom, her goodness and her Christian faith.
This is my first funeral Mass as priest and I feel honoured and find it a privilege to celebrate this Christian funeral Mass for such a well loved person as Dorothy who lived a long life, and who as St. Paul says at the second reading, someone who have fought the good fight to the end who have run the race to the finish line.
Dorothy’s long life which includes her joy, pain and suffering reminds us that life cannot be meaningful without love. This same love brought us here together in this church. Dorothy lived her good span of years and has now gone back to God. Though advanced in years, her death is a separation and a sad loss for her family. Her death is a reminder to us that death is a human reality we face everyday. Whether we like it or not, whether you are young or old, rich or poor, our own death is inevitable. We don’t know the day of our own death but we are sure it will happen. This is expressed powerfully from the first reading from the book of Ecclesiastes: everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.
But death is not the end of everything. Our Christian faith reminds us that the death of Dorothy is but a continuation of her life with our Risen Lord. Despite sorrow and sadness of death, our consolation and hope as Christians is our confidence that God will take care of her now that her earthly life is over. “Through the liturgy of the Mass we gather in gather in friendship here to ask God welcome Dorothy in his Kingdom. Through this Mass we share in the mystery of Christ who has gone through dear before us and has by his resurrection bequeathed to us all the one sure ground of hope and fulfillment.”[1]
Each person is so valuable in the sight of God that he or she is destined to enjoy a permanence which we call ‘everlasting life.’[2] The Gospel chosen by Dorothy’s family for today’s Mass is about the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus taught the multitude of people the eight beatitudes. They are concerned with virtue and how we can achieve that virtue. The beatitudes are a map of life, a series of directives or guidelines helping us on our journey to be with God, where we can achieve eternal life.
It is our prayer and our hope that our Lord may open wide the gate of heaven for Dorothy and so that she may now receive her great reward of eternal life with him in heaven. We pray from the depths of our hearts that her soul will now finally receive its peace and rest in heaven, where she will enjoy the fruits of her love, labour and sacrifice on earth. May the words of Jesus in the Gospel echoes in her today, Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
“We entrust your dear soul, (Dorothy) to the Mother of God, your Mother, who guided you each day and who will guide you now to the eternal glory of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”[3]
[1] Tom Stack, Funeral Homilies, page 87.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Final words of Pope Benedict in his homily at the funeral Mass of Pope John Paul II
Pictures: Beautiful sunset at Wilson Promontory, Victoria, taken by a friend (either Joan or Patricia?).
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