5/18/2015 - Catholic Funeral Homily – Billy Hoing - Wisdom 3:1-9, Psalm 23, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Matthew 5:1-12a

     We welcome all of you here to St James Catholic Church, the home parish of Billy Hoing, for his funeral liturgy, for the mass of the resurrection. Our scripture readings today were chosen by his family; they reflect Billy in so many ways. Billy was very devoted to his family: very devoted to his Church community.  Billy was a great example of faith for his parish for his family.

      Our first reading from the book of Wisdom tells us: “The souls of the just are in the hand of God, & no torment shall touch them.”  Wisdom tells us: although many in world believe that all life ends when our earthly existence comes to end, we know from our faith that souls of those who’ve passed from this life will be in peace with God and will have eternal life with him, that those who trust in God will be a part of him forever. We place our trust in this belief – we are comforted with that belief that Billy is now with the Lord in eternal life.

      “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” We hear these words from St P today; they so apply to Billy as well. Billy had a very rough battle with cancer.  Through it all he kept the faith and fought the good fight. We Christians are called to unite our sufferings with the sufferings that Jesus endured.  Billy did this in such a courageous, dignified, and gracious way. 

       In the Gospel today, we hear Jesus proclaim the Beatitudes. He looks out at the reality that faces us in our humanity, he looks out at this reality, giving that reality a promise of hope. Jesus addressed all those he saw before him: the poor, those who mourn and weep, the merciful, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness. With great affection, Jesus tells them that the kingdom of God is theirs.  Jesus gives them hope.  He gives us hope today as well. The Beatitudes were chosen for Billy today because Billy truly lived out the values contained in them.  The Beatitudes describe people who put their total faith in God – and that describes Billy. It describes the gentle, compassionate, and loving way in which he lived out his faith.   He was very devoted to the Knights of Columbus: to their Tootsie roll drive to earn funds for the McDougal center, to praying before the Blessed Sacrament in the early morning hours each Sunday.  I remember Billy with the other Knights in the color guard for Bishop Kopacz when he celebrated the feast of St James with us last summer.

      Amy remembers her dad modeling his faith for her and her brother Matthew in so many ways, especially in his relationship with Marilyn.  They truly lived out the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony in their lives, in the mutual love and respect  they had for each other.  Billy’s family remembers him as a very devoted husband, brother, father, and grandfather.  His family was his very heart. His daughter Amy’s first members of her dad are of him holding her & comforting her while she had an earache as a little girl – staying up with her at night watching Godzilla and King Kong, trying to get her mind off the pain she was experiencing.  Moments of love, nurturing and tenderness are remembered – of learning to fish & hunt, in sharing a bologna sandwiches together on a picnic, of laughter and joking around together. 

         The 23rd psalm is a favorite Bible passage of many as Christians are drawn to the comforting words of psalmist.  The image of Jesus as our good shepherd who leads us and guides us in life, in bringing us to a pool of refreshing waters at end of life is such very comforting image. We entrust Billy now to Jesus our Good Shepherd to lead us to the refreshing waters of eternal life.  In the vigil service we had last night for Billy, we prayed the rosary, asking for the prayers & intercessions of the Blessed Mother to accompany him as she enters eternal life with our Lord. In addition, one of the prayers in the vigil service last night mentioned that for those who believe in God’s love, death is not an end, and it does not destroy the bonds of love that we forge in our lives.   The love and affection that Billy had for his family, friends, and loved ones, the ties and bonds of that love and affection that will always remain.  As we pray for Billy today, we know that his spirit and his prayers remain with his loved ones and with his family.