Memorial Mass

1 Thes 4/13-17; Jn 11/17-27 Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. (Mark Twain) We seem to give them back to you, O God, who gave them to us. Yet, as you did not lose them in giving, so we do not lose them by their return. Not as the world gives, do you give. What you give, you do not take away, for what is yours is also ours, if we are yours. And life is eternal and love is immortal and death is only a horizon, and a horizon is but the limit of our sight. Penitential rite: -Lord, you who turn our tears into joy, Lord -Christ, you who turn our death into resurrection, Christ -Lord, you who turn our sadness into hope, Lord Opening Prayer: As we celebrate the memory of our dear father, husband and friend, Thomas, you help us see beyond the loss and pain the simplicity, compassion and committed life of a man who nurtured his children with much sacrifice and inculcated in them faith in God and commitment to life and responsibilities. As we entrust him into your loving hands, console and comfort his dear ones back home and fill in the emptiness of those who will really miss him with the belief in your power that turns our sorrow into hope and new life in you. We make this Nobel: Dynamite King who made millions (his obituary before he died mistakenly of his brother which changed his life and made him create the Peace Nobel prize

Intercessions: -That Thomas may experience the fullness of life and love, we pray -That all those in his natural family who will find an irreplaceable vacuum may be comforted, we pray -That all those who had come in contact with Thomas may be inspired by his simple example and silent witness of hard work and prayerful life, we pray -That all those who have been wounded by the death of the one they love may be helped to find the new life that comes through death and suffering, we pray -That all those who are dying and are afraid may have the courage and strength to go on their last journey, we pray -That all those who assisted him, stood by him, prayed for him in his last moments be blessed and rewarded in some way, we pray Offertory: We praise you, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob and God of Job for the little miracle of resurrection, which reminds us of your love. Naked we came and naked shall we return; it was you who gave and its you who have taken away. Blessed be your name. May your love that enabled our brother Thomas to seek and do your will transform our offerings to spiritual food and drink to enable us also to do your will. We ask We remember again, O Lord, our brother Thomas in the serene calmness and profound tranquillity with which he conducted himself that was so part of his whole being. We remember him, on this 10th anniversary of his passing from us, as that compassionate and sensitive man who would look at the needs of others before his own. We pray that his children and family may share in some small measure the simple joy and humble presence he so elegantly carried. May we continue to believe in the

mystery of your love that we fail to understand at times. We make thisAmen. In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the great discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain's motto for centuries. Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth. Thus their motto was "Ne Plus Ultra," which means "No More Beyond." The word being torn away by the lion is "Ne" or "no," making it read "Plus Ultra." Columbus had proven that there was indeed "more beyond."