April 15, 2005

Archbishop Buechlein celebrates Mass
on day of pope's funeral

By Brandon A. Evans

For more photos and to download an audio file of the homily, click here

Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein gathered with several hundred members of his flock at noon on April 8 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis to celebrate a Mass and pray for the soul of Pope John Paul II.

It was the same day that the Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated before millions of people in Rome by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

In his homily, Archbishop Buechlein said that as we bid farewell to the late pontiff, it is after spending a week reflecting on his life.

“I suggest that this afternoon we resolve to enrich our call to holiness by embracing virtues which Pope John Paul II lived … with serene determination,” he said.

Among those virtues, the archbishop said, are humility and patience in the pope’s later years as the cross of infirmity grew heavier.

It is also the spiritual legacy of the pope that the archbishop chose to stress.

“The golden thread of the tapestry of John Paul’s life was his faithfulness to prayer—prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, prayer to the Blessed Mother,” he said.

Archbishop Buechlein told those gathered to pray for the grace to be as determined in prayer as our Holy Father was.

Pope John Paul II also had a strong devotion to the saints, “especially ordinal people who lived heroic lives,” he said. “His example reminds us that we are enriched if, intentionally, we call to mind the spiritual presence of a communion of saints.

“We thank our late Holy Father for calling us to focus on the mercy of God and the gift of our redemption,” he said. These things are “the source of peace and freedom of mind and heart and soul.”

We as Christians are blessed, Archbishop Buechlein said, because “we can grieve with hope.” It is a hope that not only will God provide “another splendid pope,” but that we have not seen the last of John Paul II.

“At this simple Eucharist, our final farewell expresses our affection and our gratitude for him,” he said. “And we do so with hope because, as our funeral ritual assures us, ‘One day we shall joyfully greet him again, when the love of Christ which conquers all things, destroys even death itself.’ ” †

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