In Memoriam

“Welcome my Sister Death.” (II Cel. 217) With these words our

Seraphic Father Francis indicated his disposition toward that which

causes fear and sorrow among much of the human family. The reality

and tragedy of death cannot be ignored on the human level; and yet, as

Christians we believe that death has “lost its sting” through the

resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

As Franciscans, we believe even more strongly that “it is in dying that

we are born to eternal life.” In view of this faith stance, death takes on

an entirely new meaning. Thus, we celebrate the passing of a sister or

brother to a new and more fruitful life in the company of the saints.

While we express our feelings of loss, we continue to hope and trust in

the promises of Christ. Death teaches us to cling to the cross of the

Lord with the knowledge that having “been conformed with him in his

death, we will be conformed with him in his resurrection from death.”

(Phil 3: 10-11).

For our Father Francis, life was to search and strive for union with

Christ through faith. Death was for him not a harsh reality, but the door

through which he passed toward his ultimate goal – total union with the

Father. What Francis sought through faith on earth, he achieved totally

after death. The celebration of the death of a Franciscan shows forth

the same faith as that which Francis possessed: our belief that death is

the gateway to total union with God.

As the Franciscan Fraternity gathers to pray for its departed member, it

seeks also to support one another in the faith which it shares. In this

way the Fraternity expresses its sorrow at the parting which death has

occasioned, and its joyful and confident hope of ultimate re-union with

the deceased member and with the Lord. The Wake Service is a unique

way for the Community to console one another at a time of loss and to

honour the memory of one who now enjoys and shares in the triumph

over death which has been won by the Lord.

"Eternal rest grant unto all our deceased members of The St. Maximilian Kolbe Fraternity, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen