August 6, 2009

Passing Over

I was fortunate yesterday to hear of Fr. Jack's passing almost right away, and so had the opportunity to visit with him and pray before a lot of people showed up. Kneeling by his bed, I offered what remained of yesterday's rosary for his eternal rest.

In the course of praying I noticed his rosary and breviary placed neatly on the nightstand. Apart from our clothes, breviaries are the only thing the Rule allows us to have for our own. For a friar--especially a friar who is a cleric--one' s breviary is a permanent daily companion.

But now this particular breviary sat, useless as could be because the praying Christian to which it pertained had passed in prayer from the foretaste to the feast, from the corruptible world to the eternal. There were the ribbons protruding from the book, marking the moment in liturgical time when this transition had begun, the final exercise of the faint liturgy of earth before the glorious liturgy of the heavenly court replaced it in the individual pilgrimage of our brother.

Requiescat in pace.

7 comments:

NCSue said...

I did not know Fr. Jack but offer my sympathies to those who knew and loved him. May He rest in peace.

Matthew Ignatius said...

I visited Jack just a few days before he died. I sat by his bed and he asked me when I was entering and what I'd been doing for the summer and all of that. As I was leaving, he grabbed my hand and said, "Pray for me, I'll be praying for you."

It's amazing to think that in the few last days of his life he was still praying for a poor fool like me.

carl said...

This is a beautiful post, Father. I can only hope my breviary will be so close to me at my death. If I make it to confession today I'll give him the plenary indulgence that can be gained since it's a first Thursday.

pennyante said...

Wouldn't it be wonderful if that breviary found its way to those folks in Guam...

A Bit of the Blarney said...

What a legacy. Is it passed on to another? Cathy

Anonymous said...

It would be so great if Fr. Jack's Breviary and some other personal effects can be donated to Mt. Carmel School and Parish in Agat, Guam where he served for 20 plus years, so a fitting memorial in his honor can be established. After all, Mt. Carmel School is "the house that Jack built".

Brother Charles said...

I do believe that something is being prepared...