I dedicate this blog to Keith and Kathy, parents of Nicholas Willey, age 26, whose funeral Mass was this morning by Fr. Nick at St. Mary's Queen of Creation.
Nicholas only was seeking peace and serenity in his life. He was going to Oakland University and had ambitions to be a designer and a certified physical trainer. He died -- by accident -- while seeking inner peace and sereniity. Fr. Nick read the whole serenity prayer in honor of Nicholas so that the spirit of Nicholas could hear it, too: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will makes all things right if I surrender to His will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremenly happy with Him forever in the next. Amen."
Fr. Nick said we do not have the right to judge anyone since only God sees into the depth of the human spirit. In asking God "Why", we need to understand that God does give us the freedom to choose what we wish to do and what our behaviors will be; but that the consequences of our choices and behaviors are not of our choosing. We cannot choose how our choices and behaviors will effect others. [This Fr. Nick got from a letter given to him about dear Nicholas.]
I have been offering the Precious Blood of Jesus to be poured upon Nicholas now and at the very moment of his death; so that God would receive Nicholas immediately to His Bosom at the very instant that his soul left his body. "Out of the body; present to the Lord!" May angels come to bring him into paradise. May all the love Nicholas ever gave and received follow him into paradise...Amen .Amen.." May Nicholas now have his heart's desires fulfilled! "Trust in the Lord that you may dwell in the last and enjoy security. Delight in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37: 3-7.
So, when the dearest parents of Nicholas Willey received Holy Communion from the hands of Fr. Nick, little Nicholas was present also - alive and well - inside the Eucharist because all who die in the Lord ARE present in the Eucharist with Jesus. They can visit Nicholas everytime they visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament because Nicholas is present IN Jesus - both are really present in the Blessed Sacrament.
And may this prayer be in Nicholas' heart as he sees Jesus -- the Resurrection and the Life -- rising as beautiful and bright as the brilliant new day's dawn:
"Dearest Lord, Dearest Life, You are the Morning to me: be it windy or cold or bright, You are still always the Warm Light that awakens me! You are the Morning to me: my inner glow that surrounds a Treasure: Your Beautiful Presence with me! You are the Morning to me; and how I love the Morning that is You that creates this beautiful dawn within me. I must hasten therefore and run..to meet the Beautiful Morning that is You!"
O Dearest Jesus, may all the love that Nicholas ever gave or received...and all the love his parents and family and friendds have for him now -- follow him -- into paradise....amen!!!
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And for all of us, let us consider these most consoling words of Jesus that He says to you and to me today: (John 14: 1-14)
"Let not your heart's be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In my Father's house there are many mansions. Were it not so, I should have told you, because I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again, and I will take you to myself; that where I am, there you also will be."
[Jesus' above words -- so true and consoling -- for sure apply to how we all will be with Him in heaven; but these words of Jesus also apply how our loved ones are now present with Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament: All of us -- even the living -- are with Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament; but in a most special way, all our loved one who have died in the Lord are truly and really present with him in Most Blessed Sacrament: Did Jesus not clearly say: "where I am, there you also will be!"]
So we know for sure where all our loved ones are who have passed into eternal life: they are PRESENT with JESUS in the MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT!! If we want to visit Nicholas ..or if I want to visit my mom and dad who have gone to heaven...they are ALL present in the Most Blessed Sacrament because Jesus said: "where I am, there you also will be!"
Sometimes we will surely feel their presence - if we truly have faith. Sometimes we can feel their love. Yes, we can go to their graves of those we love but they are not really there. Their graves are merely a shrine of our love and respect for them. But where they are really there and we can really visit them is in the Blessed Sacrament. Everytime, I go into the chapel at St. Mary's, I kiss the tabernacle...as I give my mom and dad a kiss. Sometimes if I forget to do this, my mom - there present - reminds me to give her a kiss. You see, she looks forward to my visits to Jesus and to HER!
How did I discover this profound truth in my experience? I found the answer to this profound mystery by accident. I came into the church of Immaculate Conception two years back to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar. I love doing this because I can see the Consecrated Host and look into the eyes of Jesus, so to speak. He is really there in the Blessed Sacrament [John 6: 51-71]. So, as I came into the church, I made a double genuflection [on both knees] to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on the altar. Father David Bougart was in the sacristy. As I was genuflecting, I heard distinctly coming from the Sacred Host on the altar these words in the voice of Fr. Joe Chircop, my dearest friend, who had died just a year before. I heard: "Hello, Peter!" So, startled, I got up immediately and went directly into the sacristy to tell Fr. David. I told him that I just heard Fr. Joe talk to me from the Blessed Sacrament and how was that possible? Father David seemed not at all surprised and said: "All the dead are in the Holy Eucharist. We are there, too, but not those who have passed on." Now this was some theology I had never heard before...even after 11 years of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. This was wonderful news! I now often when I visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in any church, I greet Fr. Joe and my mom and dad and even give them a kiss. I don't have to go to the cemetery. My parents and Fr. Joe are as close as the nearest church. It is true that I did experience the presence of my dad's spirit after receiving Holy Communion a few weeks after after he died. His soul was so sweet. But, I felt that was a one-time thing to console me. I also felt his intense presence just two days after he died. I had to go outside to walk with him. I felt his presence in my soul just like as if I had gone to holy communion with him. He was wonderful and consoling and even told me some of my consoling future, which parent-saints do know. It is one thing to learn in the Creed: "We believe in the Communion of Saints" and its another thing to experience the saints. The experience is better than the abstract idea of the Communion of Saints. We Catholics believe in the Communion of Saints and have believed since childhood - especially that we could commune with our guardian angel. But that was seemingly a one-way communication. But when angels and saints talk back to us; well, that is another wondrous thing.
So, if you have lost a mom or dad, a little girl or little boy, -- like your dearest and sweet Nicholas -- or even a baby in the womb through miscarriage or abortion, a grandma or grandpa, a co-worker, a beloved spouse, a girl firend or boy friend, a soldier, a police officer, a priest or brother or nun, then just -- be you Catholic or non-Catholic -- go to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at your nearest Catholic church and talk to these beloved ones. They all will HEAR you and see you there. Go and visit them! Love them! They will give you their love for you there with Jesus!
The tabernacle is the House of the Lord; and all His family are with Him!
Even Mary [We should talk to her because she knows what it is to lose a son in the prime of His life] and St. Joseph...and all our favorite saints are with Him, too. Most of all, your love ones are there...these now are your favorite saint, too, whom you can visit and love so tenderly and gratefully...and REALLY!
Let us go and kiss them today! They are so close to us!
Love,
Pio
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