Rest in Peace - Kathryn "Betty" Vaughan Johnson
Born - Yazoo County, MS - May 3, 1946
Entered eternal life - Yazoo County, MS - Aug 30, 2011
Funeral Mass - St Mary Catholic Church, Yazoo City - Sept 3, 2011
We
come here to St Mary’s Church in Yazoo City for the mass of the resurrection
for Miss Betty. As we come here this
morning, our hearts tell us that this is a difficult time for all of us. Betty was just here with us celebrating mass here
at St Mary’s last Sunday, something Betty loved to do. Betty and her friend Alvonia were always two
of the first to arrive at church on Sunday.
But, as we were here with Betty just last Sunday, we were not expected
to be here today celebrating her life and mourning her passing.
Our
reading from the book of Wisdom tells us: “The souls of the righteous are in
the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.” I really believe that Betty is with our Lord
right now, at the right hand of the Lord.
I believe that with all my heart.
The book of Wisdom tells us that although there are many in this world
who believe that all life ends when our earthly existence comes to an end, we
know from our faith that the souls of those who have passed from this life will
be in peace with God & have eternal life with him, that those of us who
trust in God will abide forever in his love. As I got to know Betty here at St Mary’s, I so
enjoyed getting to know the joy and enthusiasm with which she lived out her
faith, not only in the way she was involved here in church, but also in the way
she lived out her faith in her daily life. Betty loved volunteering at the Manna House
soup kitchen here in town. I stopped by
Manna House one day right before they served lunch, and of course Betty had a
big smile on her face and she was mingling with everyone. Betty was gregarious and friendly and loved
being around people. There was a joy
about her that was just so evident. When I met with Jeff and Liz yesterday,
they told me about how Betty kept in touch with so many of her former students
on Facebook, how Betty still gave them advice and was still looking after
them. And I can tell you that as her
priest, she always had a kind encouraging word for me, and that really meant a
lot to me. Liz, Jeff, and Debbie were
telling me about how when Betty worked as a paralegal, the lawyers would send
her to the courthouse on the most difficult assignments, because her
friendliness and charm would get them to get the documents and information they
needed even in the most difficult of circumstances.
As
the comforting, familiar words of the 23rd psalm tell us today, the
Lord is indeed our shepherd who leads us to the waters that will bring us
repose. The Lord will indeed be at our
side no matter what. Betty came to the
Catholic faith more than 20 years ago, and it brought her great comfort and
great joy. The Lord was indeed her
shepherd in life, leading her and guiding her. I remember Betty telling me last
week how involved she had gotten in the RCIA process in her parish in Texas,
how she loved sharing her faith with others.
Today’s Gospel reading so reflects
Betty, as Jesus proclaims the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew. You can imagine Jesus looking out at the
reality that faces us in our humanity, in the faces in the crowds that he saw
in front of him, but Jesus is able to enrich that reality with the promise of
hope. You can imagine Jesus looking out at everyone: at the poor, those who
mourn & weep, the merciful, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for
the sake of righteousness. Jesus looks
out & sees the reality of all those who are assembled before him. He tells
them that he recognizes & understands their reality, no matter what that
reality is. With great affection, he
tells them that the kingdom of God is theirs.
And I do believe that the kingdom
of God is with Betty right now.
When I found out about Betty last
Tuesday morning, I will be honest: I felt confused, numb, and empty. And I know that so many of us cried out to the
Lord in our pain, in our lack of understanding this past week. Yet, as Father Ron Rolheiser said in a recent
article her wrote, when we are faced with a situation like this, in the midst
of our pain and our conflicted feelings, we look to God with empathy, and
compassion, in trying to understand what Betty was going through.
And in the midst of this, we can be assured that the God you and I believe in, that the God that Betty believed in and put her trust in, is a God of love and mercy, a God whose compassion, empathy, and understanding that far excedes anything we as human beings can have. So, we lift Betty up today to God’s love and mercy. We celebrate her life as we remember her joy and her faith that touched so many lives. I have every confidence that Betty is uniting her prayers with the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary right now in the everlasting life that Betty has with our Lord.
And in the midst of this, we can be assured that the God you and I believe in, that the God that Betty believed in and put her trust in, is a God of love and mercy, a God whose compassion, empathy, and understanding that far excedes anything we as human beings can have. So, we lift Betty up today to God’s love and mercy. We celebrate her life as we remember her joy and her faith that touched so many lives. I have every confidence that Betty is uniting her prayers with the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary right now in the everlasting life that Betty has with our Lord.
Father Lincoln -- Thank you so very much for the lovely and personal service you gave my mom. She would have appreciated it as much as we did. My brother and I are going back to Mississippi sometime in the fall, and I will let you know when we are there.
ReplyDeleteThank you again for making this experience bearable. Your kindness and compassion truly helped Jeff and me.
Liz