- 03
- Nov
- 2024

Mass for Deceased Members
Holy Rosary Church, Ballycragh, Dublin
Bishop Brendan Leahy Homily Notes
We are here to remember, and pray for, our deceased loved ones. We’ve recalled them by name. In remembering and praying for them, I would like to propose three points we can keep in mind.
First. As the Second Reading reminds us, Jesus is the Son of God. He is always interceding for us. It is hugely encouraging to hear his words the night before he died, words that we find in chapter 17 of John’s Gospel which is the Magna Charta chapter for the Focolare movement. Jesus asked God the Father to protect us. But then he said something really powerful: “Father, I desire (I want!) that those you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory”. Here Jesus is not simply asking God. But he is telling God the Father straight out that it is what he really wants – he wants us to be with him, he wants us to see heaven. This is the deep desire in the heart of Jesus. And so, we can imagine this was the conversation Jesus has with God the Father as each one of our deceased loved ones leaves this world – I want him or her to be with me; I want them to be in heaven. God will not refuse God!
Second. It’s one thing for Jesus to want it. We have to do our part to prepare. We spend our lives, as it were, packing our cases for that final journey into the next life. That’s what our loved ones did in life, whether they always realised it or not. Now packing cases is always an adventure -what should we take, what’s the baggage allowance. Should I take this? Should I leave that? Will I need this? Preparing our case for heaven is about filling it with acts of love, a love that is genuine, true, concrete. The Gospel today is clear: we are to love God and love our neighbour. Again, in John’s Gospel, we hear Jesus say: “with you in me and I in them may they be one as we are one, that is, may they be united in love for one another”. Love. Loving one another. This is what counts. We need to remember, however, that our loving isn’t just about us doing things that we can load into our sack. There’s something deeper and mysterious going on always in our lives. God helps us pack our cases! As I mentioned, when packing cases, we’re not always sure just what we’ll need. We might say that God puts things into the case that we might wonder at – and these are the difficulties and illnesses, challenges and misunderstandings that mark the lives of each of us. We don’t always see it at the time, but these can be important items that God has allowed happen in our lives so that, by trying to keep loving in all circumstances, we can put real quality items in case, items we mightn’t have thought of ourselves, but which God knows we need in our packed cases so that when we reach the pearly gates, with the Crosses of our lives transformed in love and mercy, we are already radiant with the glory of God. Everything in his mercy has its place.
Third. On this day when we remember and pray for our deceased loved ones, we know that our prayers and loving actions are a way of continuing our relationship of love with them. Our unity bridges heaven and earth. We pray for them, and they now pray even more powerfully than before for us. They know above all that Jesus wants everyone to be in heaven. They now pray that we’ll do our part in helping others reach heaven. In the prayer the night before he died, Jesus said very clearly – the conversion of the world depends on our unity. How much our world needs this – so many wars and conflicts, so much loneliness and isolation. Jesus wants everyone to see his glory, the unity of heaven. And that’s where today’s occasion gives us a chance to set the compass again in our own lives. The greatest item we can pack in our case as we prepare ourselves for our encounter with Jesus is to dedicate ourselves again as instruments of unity in the world. As our deceased loved ones would want us to know - the world’s conversion depends on our unity. Jesus really wants this. He wants us to be in heaven by already living on earth as in heaven.