Queen's Servant: May 2015

26 May 2015

Navy SEAL Heard My Homily

At a recent going-away party for Sister Angela who is entering the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist, a lady who attends our parish told me that her son just happened to be at Mass where I spoke about the Navy SEALs.

Her son, a hospital corpsman, had just graduated from SEAL basic training. He was taken aback.

This mother said that her son has been gradually thinking about God and coming back to the Church. He just happened to be visiting his family on the precise day when I happen to begin my homily with the Navy SEALs.

I'm sure it was not just mere coincidence.

May this SEAL do great things for God and country!

Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist

Jesus "Interrupted" Me

13 May 2015

A Gift From Our Lady of Fatima

A former student of mine (Catholic) is marrying a Muslim. She asked me to be involved with the process.

It is my first real request to marry someone. And, of all scenarios, it is a Muslim and Catholic getting married.

The thing is: I didn't realize until the end of the day that it was the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. I considered this a gift from her.

08 May 2015

Baby Pia's Funeral Mass (Homily #31)

Homily #31

FUNERAL MASS HOMILY

5^th Friday of Easter

May 8, 2015
10am

At the end of the movie A Man For All Seasons, the main character Sir Thomas More is sitting in an prison cell awaiting his execution. His crime was defending marriage. His beloved wife frantically attempts to talk him out of jail in order to avoid execution. She asks Sir Thomas, “Why?” “Why go through all this suffering?” “Why do you make your family suffer like this?” “I need you at home.” “Why go through all this trouble? What you are doing is unreasonable.”

Sir Thomas thinks about it for a moment and eventually replies, “Then, dear wife, it isn’t because of reason. It is because of love.”

“Why bother?”

This was the question posed to Stacey and Ward over the past 5 months. As you know, Stacey is a trained medical professional. And among her circle of contacts, this question, the question of “Why bother?” was asked of her many times. “Why go through all this suffering?” “Why carry to term?” “Why put others through this (especially your husband)?” “What’s the point?” “Why not abort your child and save yourself the trouble?”

I was deeply moved when Stacey shared this with me one day. The questions asked are the very hard questions asked by our society today.
And through her tears, Stacey with all her motherly instinct said (speak slowly and clearly), “Because….. she is my daughter.”
“She’s my daughter.”

[Like] in today’s Gospel, Stacey like Mary, watches her child slowly pass LITERALLY in front of her. The only exception [from the Gospel], as Ward mentioned last night at the Vigil, was that they would not see or even know the exact minute of Pia Merced’s passing. After all, it only hit Ward as he shared the news with his sister, “Pia is gone.” My daughter is gone.

But the good news today is found in Stacey’s answer, “Because she is my daughter.” Blessed Pope Paul VI said that people in the modern world listen more to witnesses than they do to teachers….and when they listen to teachers, it is because they are first witnesses.”

(Repeat:) People in the modern world listen to witnesses before they listen to teachers….and when they do listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.

The dying words of Our Lord show us that death is not the final answer. Of all the words Jesus spoke as His Sacred Heart slowly gave out, He chose the words, “It is finished.” “It is accomplished.” Consummatum est. Mission accomplished.

Yes, we saw at the Vigil how Pia Merced accomplished the mission entrusted to her by God. And this morning, before we say the Final Commendation Prayers at the end of this Funeral Mass, we turn to Ward, Stacey and her Kuya Linus, to your extended family, and echo the Good News – the Gospel words of Jesus with how you handled this difficult chapter (in your marriage). “Mission Accomplished!” “Consummatum est!” You witnessed the Gospel of Life, the Gospel of Love, the Good News of marriage and family.

Well done, faithful stewards of love and life! You are living the Gospel of Life in a very real way….the Good News of the Family in the midst of a Culture of Death that says, “Why bother?” You have built up brick by brick the Civilization of Love so that, like St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, we say with joy “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?..... …Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, this wasn’t just theory for you, Stacey and Ward. This was very real and incarnational.

You have loved your daughter from natural beginning to natural end with integrity. And in a particular way, Ward, to you as the father of your little daughter, as one father to another, as one man to another, in our society which has a crisis of manhood, of men who abandon their children and their wives, you and through you other fathers and husbands – to encourage us – [we] can see the example of one like the words of the Psalmist say from Psalm 25, “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, because I wait for you, O Lord.”

The good news is that when you asked us to wear spring clothes at the Vigil, Ward, we join you in being an Easter People of the Resurrection! As St. John Paul the Great proclaimed, “We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song!” Alleluia! The Cross you carried doesn’t end with the Cross, but with the Resurrection. In the First Reading, it is written in the Word of God through the Book of Revelation, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband….” where God will wipe every tear from their eyes…. And where one day, you will be reunited at the Resurrection.

Yes, this difficult and is easier said than done for a parent that has lost a child. And it will be perhaps especially difficult this Mother’s Day this Sunday…and Father’s Day next month. Yet even now, we get a glimpse, a foretaste, a foreshadow of the answer that you gave to that question you were asked over and over and over, “Why bother?”

We bother for love! At the Vigil last night, little brother Linus kept walking around saying, “Hi Baby, I’m Linus! Hi Baby, I’m Linus!” And we joyfully await that glorious day when his little sister will say back to him in the New Jerusalem, “Hi Kuya Linus, I’m Pia! Hi Kuya, I’m Pia!”

And to her parents, “Hi mommy, hi daddy, I’m your daughter.”

(Amen.)

_____

In prepared text, but I did not say:

Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us.

Our Lady of Victory, pray for us.

St. Pio, pray for us.

Rite of Committal (Part 1)

Rite of Committal (Part 2)

(2x) Rite of Blessing for a Child in the Womb

Homily #30 HERE

I was asked to do the Rite of Blessing of a Child in the Womb (Outside Mass) TWICE. One was for my own new child in utero, and the request came from my wife.

The other request was from...

...well, I can't say right now because the mother of this child asked me to keep the matter confidential.

So, in the meantime, the homily I delivered on this occasion where I did a double blessing will have to wait.

As of now, I have done this for three children: The first child died in utero. The second was my own. And the third may be a high risk pregnancy.

07 May 2015

Funeral Vigil for Baby Pia Merced Lorica

Photo credit: Marissa Niles

Tove Ann's Eulogy for Baby Pia Merced Lorica

(followed by Tove Ann's a cappella of Kari Jobe's "I Am Not Alone" @ 13:31)

________________________________________

AMDG

Eulogy for Baby Pia Merced Lorica (d. April 29, 2015)

By Tove Ann Catubig Purificacion

May 7, 2015

[reprinted with permission]

A Celebration of the Gift & Life of Pia Merced Lorica: Stories of Remembrance

Good evening. I’m Tove Ann Catubig Purificacion, a long-time family friend of both Edward & Stacey Lorica, and the proud Ninang of Linus. I stand here before you all this evening at the request of Ward and Stacey to say a few words. I’m thankful for this opportunity to share how Pia Merced’s short life here on earth has touched so many lives, including my family’s lives as well as my own.

My family had the great privilege to share some of the pregnancy journey with her parents and Linus the past five months or so. From the time we first discovered they were pregnant with Pia to the day we discovered her heart was no longer beating, we have had the priceless opportunity to share their indescribable joys and some of the most painful sufferings of pregnancy and parenthood.

I hope to share in a few moments how the gift and life of Pia Merced testified to great love:

Pia Merced’s life was a witness to 1) the happiness found in being open to life, 2) the necessity of the Cross and the possibility of bearing it patiently with Jesus Christ, 3) the value and virtue of religious piety, 4) the greatest attribute of God: Divine Mercy, 5) the unsurpassable joy that only God can give, 6) the power found in hope, 7) and the fruit of peacefulness and 8) total resignation to God’s most holy will.

Pia Merced’s life testified to the happiness found in being OPEN TO LIFE. I still remember when we learned that Stacey was pregnant. We were on a family playdate at one of our nearby parks and everyone was there, except Stacey, who was sleeping or not feeling well. And as we were departing, Ward asked to take a photo of us with Linus. As he got ready to take the photo, he surprisingly announced, “Stacey’s pregnant!” We were so thrilled for them, that their family was growing and that Linus was going to have a sibling. That picture and others like it are worth a thousand words.

Pia Merced’s life testified to the necessity of EMBRACING OUR CROSSES & the possibility of BEARING THEM PATIENTLY with Jesus Christ. During the Lenten Season, Stacey & Ward shared how Pia had a high probability of having birth defects. Ward and Stacey remained faithful throughout the entire pregnancy, choosing life no matter what. It was a beautiful testament to their faith in God and in the sanctity of human life, from conception until natural death.

Pia Merced’s life testified to the value and virtue of religious PIETY. We joined Ward & Stacey in their prayers and offered Mass for Pia’s healing. At their request, my husband, Deacon Dennis celebrated the “Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb” at one of the earlier Lenten Breaking Bread Gatherings, where a bunch of young adult married couples and their children would get together to read the upcoming Sunday’s readings, discuss them, and have fellowship. We soon discovered that Ward and Stacey chose the name, “Pia,” which is of Latin origin and which means “pious, reverent” (ThinkBabyNames.com). It was chosen and shared with us at the last Breaking Bread event, the Thursday before Palm Sunday. On that same day, we discovered more sad news about Pia’s condition and were reminded of Our Blessed Mother’s great suffering as she saw her Son suffer and die for all of us on the Cross. The Cross seemed to get heavier and heavier, and yet by the grace of God, Stacey & Ward remained joyful, faithful, & strong in their faith. Even in the midst of all the suffering, they still managed to smile and joke around. I remember how Stacey tried to convince Ward to also name Pia Rosario, after Our Lady of the Rosary, but Ward wasn’t convinced. I tried to persuade him, too, but it didn’t work. ;)

Pia Merced’s life testified to God’s greatest attribute: DIVINE MERCY. Due to sickness, my family and I missed our scheduled family date with the Lorica’s, which was supposed to be on Divine Mercy Sunday. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise; however, because Ward’s and Stacey’s family were then able to make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Jude at St. Dominic’s Church in SF, on Divine Mercy Sunday, and attend Mass there as a family.

It was soon after that, at another park playdate, when Ward & Stacey told us how they were now just waiting for Pia to stop moving. That news was difficult for us to hear.

We had learned that they had chosen “Merced,” which is of Spanish origin, and which means “mercy,” for Pia’s second name. Ward said something like, “the signs were pointing to mercy.” We thought it was so perfect & providential. As a little baby in the womb, Pia Merced shared in Jesus’ sufferings on the Cross, in His desire to shower the world with His Divine Mercy. And because of Pia Merced’s situation, her parents, and all who knew her, were called to rely on God’s Divine Mercy in the midst of their own sufferings.

Pia Merced’s life testified to JOY IN THE MIDST OF GREAT SUFFERING. At another park playdate, Ward & Stacey brought Linus to fly a kite. It was then that Linus learned to say my son John Paul’s name for the first time. When we met with Ward & Stacey, we had introduced them to some new people. At the time, we also shared how they were pregnant. One thing I observed on our many park playdates was that Ward & Stacey always managed to smile and think of others in the midst of their hurt.

Pia Merced’s life testified to the theological virtue of HOPE. The following week, by Divine Providence, our family saw them at the doctor’s office, and we were finally able to go out to eat for a family dinner date. We had been trying to make this happen for a number of years now, and fortunately, we finally made it happen. During the dinner, we discussed the possibilities of asking for a miracle through specific blesseds’ intercessions, for Pia’s health and survival. The Lorica’s chose Blesseds Zelie & Louie Martin, the parents of St. Therese, to intercede on our behalf for Pia Merced’s life. We were hoping against all hope.

Pia Merced’s life testified to the fruit of PEACEFULNESS & total RESIGNATION TO GOD’S MOST HOLY WILL. While Pia Merced did not miraculously get healed and survive after we began praying the prayer for Blesseds Zelie and Louis Martin, we were confident that God was going to do something greater with the situation. He was not going to lose any ounce of suffering; every drop of it was going to be for His greater glory and for the salvation of souls. We trusted that if God did not will to heal Pia Merced through the intercession of Blesseds Zelie and Louis Martin, that it was because He had something greater in store for Pia and Ward and Stacey’s family.

The following day, we discovered that Pia Merced’s heart could not be detected anymore. Thus, we visited them in their home to briefly be with them before heading to daily Mass to pray for her and the family. In that most difficult moment, we witnessed Ward & Stacey exude a peacefulness and resignation to God’s plan for Pia Merced, which were both graces in and of themselves.

To close, my family and I will remember Pia Merced and her parents’ testimony of enduring love: their faithful witness to life, of patience in the midst of great suffering, of religious piety, of mercy, joy, hope, peacefulness, and resignation to God’s most holy will. Thank you, Baby Pia Merced, for sharing your beautiful life with us, for touching our hearts, and reminding us of what matters most in life: God, the sacredness of human life, love, family, and the fact that we should never take for granted the moments we have with one another. Your mission on earth has been fulfilled. May we keep your memory alive in our hearts, Pia Merced, as we, too, seek to be a witness!

As a tribute to Pia Merced Lorica, whom I believe would want us to turn to Christ during this heartbreaking time, I dedicate this song, “I am not alone,” by Kari Jobe. I especially dedicate it to her parents, Ward & Stacey, and her Kuya Linus. I had come across this song on the radio just yesterday as I was praying about what to say during this eulogy. It moved my heart so deeply as I listened to it that I felt as if it was a song Pia Merced would want her parents’ hearts to sing and make their own… to comfort them, strengthen them, console them,… to remind them that Jesus goes before them, that He will never leave them, especially in their greatest sorrows…

___________________________

I Am Not Alone by Kari Jobe

“I Am Not Alone” by Kari Jobe

When I walk through deep waters
I know that You will be with me
When I'm standing in the fire
I will not be overcome
Through the valley of the shadow
I will not fear

Chorus: