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By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, I would like to express my sympathy to Todd’s family members, siblings, friends, and near and dear ones. The tall white candle we have today, the Paschal Candle, stands beside the casket at every funeral mass. The candle was first lit at Easter. Five grains of incense are inserted into it symbolizing the five wounds of Jesus. The two wounds in His hands, the two wounds in His legs, and the wound in His side. It is very symbolic that this candle stands beside the coffin during every funeral Mass. It is almost as if Jesus is standing beside the coffin looking up at His Father and pleading on behalf of Todd, saying, “Look, I bore these wounds in my body for the salvation of Todd. I suffered, I died, and I rose again for him. Forgive him Father and take him to paradise.”

Todd was born on September 17, 1972, in Bloomer to Leon J. and Kathleen Zwiefelhofer, the baby of the family. He was educated and graduated from Bloomer High School in 1991. Todd married Amy Michaelis at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Bloomer.

Todd was naturally a sports person. He loved the Wisconsin teams in this order, Badgers, Brewers, and Packers. During the matches, he used to change his uniform according to the team playing to show his solidarity with the team. Todd was proud to be a 100% German. He loved to make dumplings and sauerkraut.

Today’s readings help us to understand God’s love and compassion. In the first reading, we heard that “blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” From now on, let them find rest from their labors. Our loving Father gives them rest from their labors, God will take care of them they need not work for their livelihood. In the responsorial psalm, we see the comforting picture of our Lord Jesus, the shepherd and King, who offers abundant life to his people. The Psalm reminds us of the care and protection of our good shepherd. In times of suffering, we may lose much, but we gain much more of Jesus. Our Good Shepherd will guide us, and protect us, we need not fear because He is near to us. He will lead us to everlasting life. In the second reading, our Lord calls our hearts to focus on Him, since our citizenship is in heaven. He invites us to fix our eyes on eternal life, His kingdom.

Jesus said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Though Jesus was forsaken, He fulfilled His mission and revealed his identity. When he died on the cross, He opened the way to God’s presence to all people. The Father forsakes Jesus in order to save His people. The cross is the birthplace of faith. If you want faith look at the cross. God the Father put all our sins on Jesus. Look what the Son did for us, He took all our sins and died on the cross. Jesus was abandoned so that we could be accepted. Our sins are many, but God’s mercy is more. Todd died in the hands of God, and now he is enjoying the company of angels and saints in heaven because Jesus died on the cross for everyone.

In the Paschal Candle above the five grains of incense, we see the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha, and Omega. Jesus is the beginning and end of our life. Jesus is the beginning and end of Todd’s life and He is the beginning and end of all our lives too. Our Lord Jesus gives meaning to our life, especially in times of suffering.

This entry was posted on October 3, 2023 at 7:27 pm and is filed under Funeral Homilies, Homily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.