"You Also Must Be Prepared" - 19th Sunday Homily

This gospel is read by a priest, a deacon, a Catholic wakes.

And I'm glad that it is read for two reasons.

One is to highlight more often than not the person being ready, being prepared for the hour of death.

to highlight their living in a state of grace and or dying in a state of grace.

That's the best way to prepare our soul for death.

Most of the wakes and funerals I've done, thankfully, have that confidence to preach on their salvation because they were prepared.

It's awkward, it's difficult when it's not the case.

We just are praying hard and so forth and hoping the Lord's mercy.

Obviously either way, whatever the situation, entrust the loved one to God's mercy.

The second reason is to say to the people at the wakes, you yourselves must be prepared.

Not everyone goes to heaven.

Not everyone passes the final exam.

You need to study.

You need to be prepared.

And that's what Jesus is saying.

I'll read this gospel on Tuesday for my aunt's funeral.

I got call a week ago Saturday to see her at the hospital.

We knew it was her final hours.

I had visited her many times.

She had been sick and infirm for years.

A really devout Catholic woman, loved Jesus, loved the Eucharist.

And she had shut everything down.

She wasn't responding.

She was not able to swallow.

She couldn't breathe on her own.

and my family asked me to bring her the precious blood.

She couldn't swallow, but maybe take a few drops on the tongue.

And so Father Vincent held me to prepare a vial with the precious blood, and I dropped a few of the precious blood drops, and she immediately, her eyes opened, and she like went

into convulsions in a good way.

And she was so happy that her Jesus was with her at that moment.

I had a strong sense that that would happen.

knowing how much she lit up just receiving communion every time.

And tell that story to those on Tuesday, again, witnessing to someone who was prepared.

to live in a state of grace, to die in a state of grace.

If that's the case, we're prepared.

We're saved.

So the best way is to always be living in that state of relationship, friendship with the Lord.

And it's a great comfort to me, the priest, and to the people and the family and friends, given all the grief they're dealing with.

We've all been there to have strong confidence that person's now entered into full happiness and peace, what they were created for, what each of us is created for.

I got a text message from a friend of mine a few weeks ago on the 10th anniversary of his brother's death.

And he reminded me

of that moment, I was there with him when his brother expired.

I haven't had too many of those experiences where it's at the very moment the hour of death has happened.

I had just given him the anointing of the sick, and when a person can't confess sins, anointing carries forgiveness of sins.

give the apostolic pardon, which removes all punishment due to sin, all time and purgatory.

And so when my friend's brother died, having received those gifts to the church, then he basically went straight to heaven.

That's the beauty of calling for a priest.

It gets confusing.

We don't know what situations with people where they are in their faith or the church or they're incapacitated.

What do we do?

Call the priest.

We have emergency numbers for that reason.

To be prepared.

for that moment.

Every time we pray to Hail Mary, we pray for the hour of our death.

And so it's the biggest moment for us in so many ways.

The priest knows what to do.

And for us to go into that moment, it's a little bit awkward sometimes we're strangers, but we're Jesus bringing his grace and his salvation.

So it was a great comfort to my friend and he texted me on the 10th anniversary saying, thank you, thank you.

Assured of his brother's salvation.

Missing his brother, of course.

But confident because he called for me to go, his brother is set forever.

It's like we're set for life in this world, which is awesome for people who experience it.

To be set for eternity.

That's what the Lord is preparing us for.

Remember my first parish assignments one of first

like group anointings, if you will.

I was doing anointing for a grandfather and all his children and grandchildren were in the bedroom.

It was packed.

And I was explaining all this.

This is what the anointing does and the apostolic pardon.

You get one time in your life.

You might as well get, get at the end.

Clear the deck before you get any more trouble.

And it's like the HOV lane to heaven.

And all of them, all the generations of that family, like that's what we want when we die.

I think that was known generations ago.

That's what you do.

You call the priest.

We've kind of lost that.

And it's scary to think people are away from the church, away from salvation.

Yeah, like the thief on the cross, the 11th hour, they can receive it again by the mercy of God.

That's one of the most attractive parts for me as a priest.

We have a young man, Peter, from our parish, just accepted the seminary.

and say, Peter, in those moments you are Christ bringing salvation, preparing the soul for death, sending them home to God, to their Maker.

And sometimes you walk in and it's a person you don't know if they've seen a church in 20 years.

Others, like my aunt who is basically married to Jesus.

And it's the same result for each.

grace and peace of God that sends them home to Him who made them and created them for heaven.