The resurrection and the life

Father Tom Fallati

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mt. 5:4). Our Lord assures us that those who bear the cross of mourning can find in that suffering the very presence of God. As painful as loss can be, it can be a path to consolation, to drawing closer to God.

In this month of November, when we recall in a particular way those who have died, I have reflected on priestly ministry in the face of death. Ministry to the dying and the mourning, being present as death approaches and as a loved one is laid to rest, forms a central part of priestly ministry.

Already in my first few months as a priest, I have had many opportunities to be present to those facing death and mourning. I have administered the Sacrament of Anointing to several people, including those close to death. I have celebrated several wakes, funerals and graveside services.

Recently I had two new “firsts” in priestly ministry to the mourning. I had the privilege of celebrating the annual Albany Diocesan Cemeteries Mass, attended by families and loved ones of the deceased from throughout the Diocese. And this month began with my first All Souls’ Day Mass at St. Kateri, with a reception for the families of those buried through our parish in the past year. These were opportunities to meet those who are recalling those who have passed, still experiencing the sadness of their loss. I was also able to witness to the healing power of the remembrance of the dead in liturgy.

Facing death

As I discerned whether the Lord was calling me to the priesthood, the prospect of facing death and consoling the grieving seemed daunting to me. I have a different view now.

An important turning point for me came a few years ago when I was able to be present for the anointing of my father as he lay dying. As Father Jim Walsh read the prayers and anointed my father with the holy oil, I had a profound sense of the privilege that a priest bears to be a minister as a person faces death. Though it was a moment of great sadness, it also impressed on me the gift of being a consoling presence, a minister of Christ’s healing, in that moment.

As a priest, I now have the opportunity to anoint the dying and, of course, to celebrate funeral Masses. I now have the privilege of being a minister of Christ’s healing in the liturgy, both in meeting with the mourning for funeral preparation and in the liturgy itself.  That brings with it the challenge of preaching a message that captures the life of the person who has passed and highlights how God acted in the midst of the person’s life.

Looking forward

Ultimately, as a priest I am called to be a messenger of hope in the face of death. Our faith boldly holds that death does not mark the end of life. We know that through his death and resurrection, Christ definitively defeated death, and so we can hope that those who have passed will enter into the Lord’s presence in eternal life. “Life is changed, not ended,” as we say in the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer. Our hope is in Christ, who is “the resurrection and the life” (Jn. 11:25).

Father Tom Fallati is parochial vicar at St. Kateri Tekakwitha parish in Schenectady.