At the conclusion of more and more of our funeral Masses, we are ending as Mass normally does with the Blessing and Dismissal because the interment of the deceased's cremains is not happening at one of our columbariums or at another place close by.  When that is the case, it is presumed that the interment will be taking place somewhere out-of-state or out of this area sometime in the near future.  With the reality of cremains rather than a body in a casket, in more and more instances, the options as to what to do with the cremains after the funerals are more than a few.  The Church has some clear directives for those who choose cremation for themselves and/or for their loved one(s).  Firstly, cremains should NOT be scattered or divded up and given to family members.  The integrity of the person, even if all that remains of them is cremains, must be maintained.  While the Church strongly encourages interment of a body or cremains in a timely fashion and in a blessed place (i.e., a cemetery, or columbarium), there are those who make the choice of keeping their loved ones cremains in their home for an extended and undetermined period of time.  Among things to consider, this practice can have the unintended consequence of closure being delayed.

Please know first of all, that we have an option for you to consider if the interment will be taking place at a designated place, at a later time.  We are open to letting a family use one of the empty niche's in our columbarium for their loved ones urn for a minimal fee until the permanent interment takes place.  Secondly, if you have the cremains of your loved one at home, please put them in a place of honor and respect in your home, AND please alert your family members, AND US, as to where they are and what your plans are for them so that if you were to die, it is clear what you intend for your loved one and for yourself.  Of course we keep a file of parishioners choices for their funerals of readings, music and other details of their funeral liturgy and interment thay want followed and respected.  So, directives about burial or interment of yours and/or your family members remains or cremains can be kept in our confidential file as well.  Please ponder all this and visit with me or one of the deacons about this very important matter.  We make plans for so much that happens in our lives, so it makes sense for us to do the same when it comes to the reality of our death, whenever it happens.  You might be interested to know that our diocese requires all priests - right after they are ordained, to decide what they want for their funeral.  This file is then kept at the diocese and can be updated by us at any time.  Since I did mine almost 30 years ago, this column is inspiring me to see what I decided then and consider if I wanrt any changes made to it.  Of course you can do the same with anything we have on file for you.

I would like to take the time and put into print a clarification from last weekend's homily of something I said about myself.

I spoke not only last weekend, but also at the Holy Thursday Mass of the reality that Jesus was first and foremost, people-centered in his ministry and even in the time of His passion.  I then admitted, and certainly regret the fact that at times, I am too task-centered (with perfectionistic tendencies), which at times, results in not-so-good experiences with people when my focus is on the task at hand - whether I'm working in the office or getting ready for a funeral, or other settings.

I am truly sorry when my demeanor towards you (my parishioners) is anything but Christ-like.  I mentioned on Holy Thursday that I came upon a petition during evening prayer that asked for the grace to be kind, compassionate and humble, and that those virtues stayed in my mind long after evening prayer was over.  I am now praying that I keep these virtues ever in front of me and hopefully, more and more in me as I go about my ministry in the future.  While I still believe that the tasks I have to do are important, I will try my best to not let them cause me to sin in the area of my encounters with people in all situations.  I want to be firstly, people-centered as Jesus was, and always relate to people with kindess, compassion, and humility, which I believe is a laudable goal for all of us to have in our lives.

I do want to be clear that I am people-centered when it comes to wanting to connect with people in ministry and in social settings.  I do welcome invitations to homes for dinner or gatherings of people for celebrations.  I know that many of you already can vouch for that in that I am present for many activities here and have been in parishioners homes for food and/or fellowship.  I strive to be available at all times when I am needed by parishioners for all kinds of reasons.  PLEASE know that I welcome contacts about and from you or your family when they, or you, are sick or in need in anyother way.  I pray those encounters are good and helpful and speak fo the reality that the Lord is always at our side and cares for us in our every need.

The "Highlight" children's magazine typically had a page where children (or adults) were challenged to find hidden objects in a picture.  Sometimes the objects seemed obvious and sometimes they were difficult to find.  I would like to challenge you to "picture" the narthex (the gathering area before you enter the main body of the church) and find the following:  The altar server's and the clergy's sacristies, the pictures of Pope Francis and Bishop Taylor, the art work of Father Nelson Rubio of the Blessed Mother holding the child Jesus, and the Memorial Tree.  While I hope you scored 100%, I have to wonder if there were many of you who immediately knew where our Memorial Tree is located.  If you are coming out of the church into the narthex, it is to the right of the entrance to the hallway that leads to our classrooms.  I must admit that I sometimes forget to offer to those who have lost loved ones in the parish, the opportunity to have a leaf prepared and put on the tree with their loved one's name on it.  When I do remember, I tell them that we ask a minimum of $50 for a leaf in memory of their loved one.  The money goes into our "Memorial Fund" which is used to buy liturgical items for our church to enhance our worship experience in church. 

Since I have missed more than a few people during funeral preparations, I want everyone who reads this to know that you can get a leaf added to the tree in memory of your loved one by touching base with Linda in the church office, letting her know what you want on the leaf (in writing), and giving her your donation to the Memorial Fund.  I encourage you to look at the tree sometime, and see what wording others have used.  I will promise to try and remember to pray for those whose names are on the tree at least once a week at one of our Masses.  As a side note, we have talked about getting signage in the narthex to identify the Memorial Tree and to mark entrances to such things as the Upper and Lower Hall stairs.  I have been surprised that some parishioners who have been in the parish awhile have asked me: "How do I get to the Upper Hall?"  I hope we take care of that with signage in the future.