Homily

It's become rather popular in modern times to see funerals as an opportunity to give a eulogy, a speech in praise of the person who has died. Sometimes you find this even in Catholic churches. Now of course there’s nothing wrong with praising the virtues of another person, but for us the whole point of the funeral is to provide three things: to give us an opportunity to mourn the loss of someone we loved, to pray for the repose of their soul, and to give glory to Almighty God. Yet at the same time we can still say something about the departed that can serve as a meditation for us as we continue to live in our faith in Christ. So I was thinking about what one quality that Norm had that would be good to reflect on, and I came up with honoring his great sense of duty.

The idea of a person doing their duty is not very popular these days. The dictionary says duty is something that you must do because it is morally right or the law requires it. So people may reject the idea of duty because they do not accept any moral authority outside of their own opinions and ideas. But I think it goes even further than that. People don’t talk about duty today because it involves obligations that we have with other people. It involves ties, commitments, responsibilities, dedication, perseverance and loyalty which are qualities that are often not valued today because people so often reject the idea of obligations to other people if they are difficult, or challenging, or unsatisfying. But our faith calls us to duty. Norm’s faith called him to duty.

Let’s speak of Duty first of all to our neighbor, to those who may be friends but also to those who are strangers and may be in need of help, as we hear in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Norm was an active member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society for many years because he took the Gospel message to heart and believed it was his Christian duty to help those in need. Of course we are not here simply to live for ourselves but Christ has taught us that we are called to love our neighbor as best as we possibly can, even as we love ourselves. When a Christian sets out to do this with deliberate care and action, he is fulfilling his duty. And when he sees a need he can fill he will step up to get the job done. There was a man in Norm’s neighborhood who was unable to shave himself and his wife was afraid to do it, so Norm went over to their house to be a barber for his neighbor several times a week. It was his duty.

Besides duty to neighbor comes duty to family and relatives. We are all aware that there is no perfect father or mother, no perfect husband or wife, and absolutely no perfect children. We are all sinners. But it’s always a lot easier to see the sins of others it seems. Our faith calls us to our duty in regard to family life. Husbands should be willing to love their wives as Christ loves the Church, willing to sacrifice themselves for their spouses. Parents should love their children as the Father loves His only begotten Son, raising them up in the knowledge of God their Creator. This duty involves a continued sense of sacrifice for the other, for the spouse, for the child, and even for the other relatives who may need help. Along with this sacrifice is an abiding sense of commitment to family, whether easy or not, whether satisfying or not, whether the same sense of commitment is returned to you or not. That doesn’t matter, if you are fulfilling your duty.

Alongside with duty to family there is also a duty to one’s parish family, this local body of Christ. All so many different people coming together to worship God, to serve their neighbor and also to be bound together as a parish family. I cannot even begin to tell the story of Norm’s fierce dedication to this parish. His handiwork is everywhere; look here, look there, he built, he fixed, he dug, he mowed, he chopped and nailed and sometimes he broke stuff—by accident!

But much more important was his service to fellow parishioners. Even those acts of charity that I know of are only a small portion of his generous, helpful kindness to so many members of this church over so many years now. It’s God’s own grace that allows us to extend our help to others when we don’t feel like it, when we’re tired, or frustrated or feeling overburdened. It’s God’s grace that helps us to serve, but we must choose to use that grace that’s offered to us. That is our duty towards one another.

The final and highest duty we have is our duty to God. The Baltimore Catechism says that we were created to know, love and serve God, and that is the vocation of every soul that comes into this world. Here too Norm knew his duty, and it was not a duty grudgingly fulfilled but a duty gladly embraced. His faith was inspiring and his attendance at services outstanding. He was here just a few weeks ago at Sunday liturgy. It was his duty to know, love and serve God, and while that word “duty” can often have the negative connotation having to do something you would rather not do, it can certainly be true that living up to your duty is something that you love to do. He was a lover of Christ. May we always be lovers of Christ.

In our Church whenever someone receives a sacrament it is said that “the servant of God, Mary or Joe or Norm” is receiving this sacrament. Because that’s who we are, servants of Christ. In Luke’s Gospel, chapter 17, Jesus says this is the attitude that servants should have when He says, “Is the master grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded to do, say, “We are worthless servants, we have only done our duty.” I could hear these words coming from Norm.

At this time here today it’s not my job in the first place to praise Norm, although I surely could at great length. We can all do that later. But it is my job to give praise to God and to ask you to join me in praying that Norm will hear His Master’s voice speak the same words he heard in the Gospel the last time Norm was in this church: “Well done, good and faithful servant… Come and share in your Master’s joy!”