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Fruits of Faithfulness — Funeral Homily for Beatrice “Bea” Seibel, 91

April 15, 2024

By Fr. Victor Feltes

Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount by describing to his followers what makes a person truly happy or blessed. What do the blessings promised to those who follow Jesus look like? They are promised the Kingdom of heaven, the reign of God. When we allow the Lord to be our King we can be comforted with peace this world cannot give. Our hunger and thirst can be satisfied, because Jesus gives us our daily bread of meaning and hope. We can be shown mercy, mercy we all need because of our many sins, the divine mercy which is our doorway to go forth and sin no more. We see God whenever we open our eyes to Jesus. In Christ, we become children of God the Father. And when your Father is the king, you receive every good gift upon his earth with gratitude, and you will inherit everything he has as yours in the life to come. When yours is the Kingdom of heaven, you experience life in this imperfect world differently – with an assurance of goodness’s future victory and of goodness’s great reward hereafter. These fruits do not grow naturally, they come from faith in Christ.

Bea and her husband Robert had nine children; six girls, two boys, and one child they lost. Remarkably, her children have nothing negative to say about her (apart from a less than stellar singing voice). They did not grow up wealthy on their farm, they almost never vacationed and for awhile they had an outhouse and showered in the milk house, but they never felt deprived. Now her children look back and ask each other, “Can you imagine having just one brother or one sister?” “No,” they agree, “[That would be] boring!” Beatrice has been close to all her grandchildren and they respect her. They see how Bea loves and how her family loves her, causing one granddaughter to say, “After seeing all this, I want five kids.” It has been asked about Bea, “How can one little lady bring so much warmth?” The answer is the same as how St. Peter proclaims Christ after the Resurrection: “He went about doing good… for God was with him.”

Her children describe Bea as faith-driven. Our Catholic Faith formed her and sustained her. They saw her pray at her bedside, begin mornings with her prayer book, and pray before every meal. She led them to Mass every weekend, helped them receive Christ’s sacraments, and formed them all through St. Paul’s Catholic school. She never skipped encountering Christ at Holy Mass, and would watch on TV when she could not attend. She loved lighting vigil candles at church in response to the joys and trials of others. When she could not light these visible expressions of prayer herself she would ask that candles to be lit at church ‘for this, and this, and this.’ Near the end, she would say, “Light a candle for me.” When I visited to give Bea the Last Rites in her final days, she was no longer speaking much, but she knew what was happening and felt consoled by the sacrament and her loved ones, and we heard her join in the Litany of the Saints being invoked for her. A beautiful Christian life culminating in a beautiful death with hope in the life to come. I encourage you to pray for her, but more importantly, I urge you to emulate these Bea attitudes. Beautiful fruits like hers do not grow everywhere, they come from a living faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Labor, Toil, & Rest — Funeral Homily for Barbara “Barb” Hable, 68

March 25, 2024

By Fr. Victor Feltes

Barb grew up across the street from here in the building now known as Baier’s Bar. Forty-seven years ago, she married her husband Larry in this St. Peter’s Church. Today, we are gathered here to mourn, and pray for her eternal blessed rest. Barb’s family speaks about her love as the rock-center of their home. They also tell of her strong-willed determination, her focused level-headedness, and her persistent hard work. Amidst the responsibilities of motherhood, she would work around the house and work around the yard. She volunteered at her St. Paul’s Catholic Parish, where she worshipped our God every Sunday, and maintained employment in the wider workforce. Educated in accounting, working at Chippewa Valley companies, she then transitioned into an information technology career and commuted for more than twenty years between Bloomer and the Twin Cities. When that ended with her retirement in 2019, she still kept busy; faithfully attending the activities of her five granddaughters and staying connected with family and friends from her high school and business days, from Tilden, Bloomer, and beyond. Her family tells me Barb “couldn’t sit still,” that she was always working on something. What are we to make of the reality of human work, to which we devote so much of our lives?

Did you know that human work existed even before the Fall? In the beginning, the Lord God took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and care for it. Then God gave man a helpmate, to fruitfully love and work alongside. A finite universe, even if sinless, can be endlessly improved with new beauties and delights forever. But with sin came the introduction of human toil and death. God said, “In toil you shall eat [the ground’s] yield all the days of your life. …By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground from which you were taken, for you are dust and to dust you shall return.” This is why our labor is so often satisfying; we enjoy being co-creators with God and take pleasure in the fruits of creation. And this is why our labors are so often a burden; this world has been broken by sin and our lives are plagued by fatigue, pain, and death. If this life were all there is, one could reasonably ask with the Old Testament author of Ecclesiastes: “What profit have we from all the toil which we toil at under the sun? One generation departs and another generation comes… What profit comes to mortals from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which they toil under the sun?” But there is more to our story.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, enters into our world proclaiming: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Jesus declares, “I am the Good Shepherd,” He is the Lord about whom the psalmist said: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose. Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name sake.” Though the Twenty-Third Psalm is most commonly heard at funerals, as Jesus does offer eternal rest in the life to come, he also invites us to share in his peace now. Jesus says to us on earth: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” Because of the hope we have in him, because nothing good will be lost forever, we can be secure in the peace of Christ that our works of love and goodness are not done in vain.

We rightly pray for Barb’s soul today, that she may enter into perfect and unending rest. Yet this does not mean her labors will then be finished. St. Therese of Lisieux, seeing her own death approaching, wrote: “How unhappy I shall be in heaven if I cannot do little favors for those whom I love… I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth. I’m happy to die… because I shall be much more useful than I am now to the souls who are dear to me…” And since her passing in 1897, St. Therese has proven to be a wondrous intercessor. So pray for Barb, and ask for her prayers. I doubt she will be will sitting still. And look forward to our reunion, our resurrection into the New Creation, where free of toil we will partake in joyful work with God forever.

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The Lord’s Prayer — Funeral Homily for Jack Wolf, 87

February 9, 2024

By Fr. Victor Feltes

In Jack’s final months, I regularly encountered him in his room at Dove Nursing Home. I always found his wife, Mary, there at his side. Like our Blessed Mother Mary or St. Mary Magdalene at the Cross, she faithfully supported Jack through his Passion. He was grateful to receive Holy Anointing and Last Rites, grateful for the consolation of prayers and blessings, and most especially grateful for the precious gift of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist I brought him. Jack was peaceful, prayerful, and well-prepared to die, ready to commend his spirit to God.

His wife Mary tells me that on Jack’s final Friday before God took him to himself, they were praying the Rosary together. Jack was too weak by then to speak very much, but he would join in the first words of the Rosary’s greatest prayer: “Our Father… Our Father… Our Father.” The “Our Father” is known as “The Lord’s Prayer” because it is how our Lord Jesus Christ taught his disciples how to pray. Jesus’ prayer models what he wishes us to desire and to ask for.

One Friday afternoon outside Jerusalem, while darkness covered the whole land, Jesus hung dying on his Cross. Before breathing his last breath, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!” He prays to God his Father, who is now our Father too. Jesus desires that God’s name would be hallowed; that is, known as holy and loved by all.

Though Jesus is both King of the Jews and the King of Kings, he serves and dies to help the reign of God’s Kingdom come. As Jesus sees and suffers the consequences of our sins, he longs that his Father’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. Christ offers his Body on the Cross as he did at the Last Supper. He once declared, “the Bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.” He gives this Bread to his Church daily at every Holy Mass.

Jesus sacrifices himself to forgive us our trespasses hoping and insisting that we would likewise forgive those who trespass against us. Jesus wants us reconciled vertically to God and horizontally to each other, uniting heaven and earth and East and West in the likeness of the Cross. Jesus faces temptation to save us from temptation. He endures this world’s evil deliver us from evil. So you see, the Our Father prayer Jesus urges us to pray, reflects the great blessings the Lord wills for us.

St. Paul proclaims that “we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.” And “if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.” It is right that we should offer prayers for Jack’s soul, that he may be perfectly pure to stand before our holy God with all the saints and angels in heaven. Yet we have a great and calm confidence for Jack, that he who was united to Jesus and devoted to our Father will share in Christ’s resurrection to glory. Amen.

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His Stations of the Cross — Funeral Homily for Roger “Andy” Anderson, 91

January 14, 2024

By Deacon Dick Kostner

The Trailer of the Story of Human Life: Producer God- Actors- Andy, Jesus and Us. We lost a great member of the Holy Family on the Feast of the Holy Family. He was a quiet person in Spirit but a wonderful mentor for us in teaching us how to live a full life of happiness living out and experiencing the Stations of the Cross, of Life. Andy loved attending Mass with his faith family and loved attending our Stations of the Cross during our Lenten Season. He understood the directive from the Father that the doors to heaven are only unlocked for those who experience in their lives the Passion and Death of Life in our lives. So I thought he would like me to share with you what I saw as his personal Stations of the Cross:

The First Station: He is condemned to Die. We all know that at some point we must experience death of our body. Andy knew this but he never complained to anyone I know that this should stop us from enjoying life with our family, friends and God. He enjoyed every day that he was allowed to care for his family, friends, gardens, and lawn and never willingly failed to give thanks on Saturday Evenings and First Friday Liturgy with his Parish family.

The Second Station: He accepts and carries the Cross. Earthy life requires us to bear our crosses. Andy experienced many crosses in life from divorce to replaced knees, to bladder cancer, to death of friends, and yes family with the death of his wife Carol, and son Michael just prior to his passing. One of the greatest crosses one has to carry in living a long life is having to bury ones friends and family. I remember Father Hugh telling me at his 90th birthday party, when he had just been told he was dying, that one of the hardest things he had to experience in living so long was the fact that he lived so long that he had to be there to comfort and bury all of his dying friends.

The Third Station: The First Fall. As we grow older our bodies begin to fall apart. Andy was not a person who would ask for help. It was not in his nature to expect anyone to come to his aid he would just do the best he could to get along even when things were hurting. Most of us, like Andy, do not want anyone to know we are having problems. That’s why God gifts us with family, friends, and spouse. These special people know better then we do what is best for us. I remember Carol sneaking over to ask if I would mow his lawn for him while he was recuperating from his cancer treatments as she was suffering herself with her rheumatism, this I gladly did without his knowledge.

The Fourth Station: Meeting His Mother. I remember when I would get hurt the first person I would run to for help was my mom. Andy was a person of faith and knowing he was a prayerful person I would guess that the first person he would pray too for help and support when he found out that he was dying was our heavenly mother Mary. I witnessed many times Andy praying the rosary with his parish friends before Mass began. Mom’s don’t want their children to experience pain and suffering even when they are not the cause of the suffering and pain.

The Fifth Station: Simon helps Carry the Cross. Andy did not want to ask for help but friends and neighbors don’t need to be asked. Many times when Andy was not able to complete tasks his friends and neighbors knew that this would bother him. I witnessed his neighbors removing snow, fixing railings and painting things that needed attention, as well as raking and removing leaves when he was unable to do the same. He might not of been blood family to us but he was still thought of as being family.

The Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Stations: He falls two more time, is comforted by “Veronica’s”, Speaks to the Women and his friends, and is Stripped of his Garments. Andy continues to get worse and is cared for by Paul and Michelle at their home. He receives the Sacrament of the Sick by his Pastor, Holy Communion weekly by the Deacons and Deacon wives, and prayed for by his Parish Family. The illness progresses and he is now in need of 24 /7 care requiring him to be moved to the nursing home.

The Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth Stations: The Cross and his Body become one for him, on the Feast of the Holy Family he Dies, and he is taken down from the Cross and Duried. His journey has ended and his Spirit is now able to meet in person Jesus, Mary and Joseph along with Carol, and other saints and friends he spent his life with and who he will spend eternity with.

Andy and Carol were not only our neighbors but our friends. Barb and I were able to witness their marriage on Christmas Eve in 1989. Both of them wished to have that special day as their wedding anniversary day. Last year Barb and I with the assistance of Fr. Chinnappan, had a Mass said for the two of them as our Christmas present to them. The good news is that This Faith Family will be able to continue to experience the Anderson’s presence in spirit as members of God’s Holy Family at every celebration of the Holy Mass at St. Paul’s Catholic Church. So, On behalf of this assembly of Holy Family and friends I would like to wish Andy and Carol a Happy Easter Sunday and Anniversary! We all hope to see you in heaven after we complete our own “Stations of the Cross”!

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He is in the Hands of God — Funeral Homily for David Dachel, 81

November 25, 2023

By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

On behalf of the parish community of St. Paul’s, I would like to extend our sincere condolences and sympathy to the members of David’s family. I would like to assure his children, grandchildren, and near and dear ones of my prayers.

We have heard in our first reading, “The souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God.” (Wisdom 3:1) What better place could we go after death than into the hands of God? What a beautiful way to describe God’s care for us. Do you remember when you were small and your parents took you up in their arms? You felt safe in the arms of your parents. When we die, God takes us up in his hands. We are in the hands of God. We believe that God has taken David up into his hands. The reading ends beautifully, expressing the faith of someone who believes in God’s goodness and who therefore is not afraid to die.

“Those who trust in him will understand the truth,
  those who are faithful will live with him in love,
 for grace and mercy await those he has chosen.” (Wisdom 3:9)

David peacefully passed away, surrounded by his family on Tuesday, November 14th, 2023. He married JoAnne Fanetti on February 27th, 1965, here at St. Paul’s Catholic Church. He was a simple and humble man, and friendly with everyone. He served his country in the National Guard and worked for Catalytic Combustion in Bloomer. He enjoyed golfing, bowling, and cruising around town. He used to call his grandchildren “Doodlers.” He enjoyed the T.V. program “Judge Judy.” Above all he enjoyed driving around the city and saying hello to everyone he saw.

In the Gospel today Jesus invites us, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Look at Jesus’ invitation; it is an open invitation to all of us, and no one is excluded. Life is full of struggles and hardships. It is easy to grow weary, it is normal to get discouraged. Jesus offers us rest. This is a free gift from Jesus, we do not have to earn it, but we need to respond to Jesus’ invitation.

Here is Jesus’ invitation for “rest.” It is not physical rest, nor mental rest; He is talking about a more important rest, a deeper rest. He is talking about spiritual rest – rest for our soul. Sometimes we are restless people. Our lives are often filled with hurts regrets, guilt, and so many distractions. For these moments, we try to turn on our music or television or various activities, but none of that cures the restlessness in our souls. None of that can make us whole again. St. Augustine says, “O Lord, you have formed us for yourself, and our souls are restless until they find their rest in you.” Now our brother David is resting in the hands of God.

When we die, God takes us up in his hands. Those who trust in God will understand the truth that people only appear to die; their leaving us seems like a disaster. But we can look forward to God’s love, grace, and mercy after death. Anything else is of our own making and we have time to repent and reform before our death. So we ask God to take our brother David up in his arms, to pour his love, grace, and mercy upon him.

Eternal rest, grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him
May he rest in peace! Amen.

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In Jesus, We Find Total Comfort — Funeral Homily for John “Jack” Clark, 89

November 17, 2023

By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

On behalf of the parish community of St. Paul’s, I would like to extend our sincere condolences and sympathy to the members of John William Clark’s family. I would like to assure his children, grandchildren, and near and dear ones of my prayers.

Death is not the end but the beginning of a new life. We pray that our brother Jack is with God and enjoys eternal life with the communion of saints. A life with countless blessings, joy, love, and happiness. We are all hoping for that life.

Our brother Jack was born on March 1st, 1934. In the town of Auburn. Jack attended elementary school in Fox Settlement and graduated from Colfax High School in 1951. He married Marie Rubenzer at St. Paul’s Catholic Church and were they both longtime members. Jack served in the military for two years, and after that, he worked at the Sand Creek Creamery, and as a truck driver for various companies. Jack owned and operated a dairy for many years. Later he worked for ITW Corporation for eleven years.

After his retirement, he enjoyed deer hunting, cutting wood, gardening, and spending time with his grandchildren. He enjoyed the dance called Polka and the waltz, and fun conversations with his friends. He was known as a man with a beer in his hand who loved Friday Fish Fries.

Our readings this morning give us great consolation. In our first reading, we were told the Lord would wipe away tears from every cheek. We know that everything we do makes sense only if it is leading us to peace in God. We know there are many distractions and temptations in life, all pretending to offer us peace and happiness, but none of them do because we know that we will find this peace and happiness only in God. When we find our peace in God, we become friends of God, when we live with God’s love in our hearts, then we have peace. That is why our first reading says the Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek. When we hope in the Lord for salvation, how blessed we are.

All of us have problems in life. Big or small, these problems burden us and make us sad. When these problems go unsolved for a long time, we feel disappointed and become depressed. In these moments from whom do we seek help? Here is the good news our gospel today. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” The most comforting words of Jesus in the gospel. Anyone who is feeling tired, disappointed, or depressed can be lifted up by the comforting promise of Jesus.

As we believe our brother Jack is in the arms of God, we pray for him during this Mass. We pray for him to be embraced by Jesus’ unconditional love and merciful judgment. We pray for him to be embraced by Mother Mary, the Mother of God who knows how to bring her children to Jesus.

Eternal rest, grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him
May he rest in peace!
Amen.

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Led by the Sacraments — Funeral Homily for Leona Rothbauer, 85

November 11, 2023

By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

On behalf of the parish community of St. John’s, I would like to extend our sincere condolences and sympathy to the members of Leona’s family. I would like to assure her husband, children, grandchildren, and near and dear ones of my prayers.

The Lord first stretched out his hand to her in the waters of baptism so many years ago. As the water washed her clean of the stain of sin, the lord Jesus welcomed her as a member of his Body and opened the gates of his Church to her. Looking back on her life, we know that the hand of the Lord did not abandon Leona, but remained constantly with her.

Repeatedly the Lord stretched out his hand to her in the sacrament of Penance for the forgiveness of sins. In the Holy Communion, he continually offered himself to her. When she was sick, the Lord anointed her to strengthen her and supported her with his grace in her final days. In marriage, the hand of the Lord was with her, blessing her with children and a wonderful life. Indeed, the Lord stretches out his hand to each of us every day of our lives. He offers it to us and with his hand comes his grace, his power, and his love. This requires our cooperation with the Lord’s grace; it requires that we stretch out our hand to Him.

Leona had a wonderful life on Earth; she was born on August 2, 1938. She graduated from Cadott High School and married Sylvan at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Boyd, Wisconsin on October 17, 1959. Leona was a loving and hard-working farm wife, she gave first place to her family. She was very much interested in cooking, baking, gardening, crafting, and caring for animals. She enjoyed with her husband traveling to various places such as Canada, Europe, and Las Vegas. She loved spending time with her children and grandchildren. Leona and Sylvan have been longtime members of St. John the Baptized Catholic Church, where she was an active member of the altar Rosary Society.

In the gospel reading today, Jesus utters his final words, “Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.” Jesus commits his spirit to the Father and points us to the Father throughout his life. Jesus spends his time alone in prayer with his father, accepting his will and his call. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus surrenders himself to the will of the Father. Jesus’s words in death remind us of the way he lived his life. Repeatedly placing himself into his father’s hands. Jesus is the best example for us to place our work and efforts, our relationships, our words and actions, and our spirits into God’s hands.

The best way to remember Leona is to live as she did; dying to yourself so that others might live and flourish, following the example of Jesus Christ. In this way, you will come to find your life, the life unending, the life of joy and peace.

Let us then commend Leona into the hand of God. May the Lord honor his servant and welcome her into the mansions of his glory, that, having taken his hand, she might see her Savior face to face.

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“You Spread A Table Before Me” — Funeral Homily for Donetta Geissler, 83

October 24, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

The words of our most famous psalm say, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want… He guides me in right paths…. Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil; for you are at my side.” Around her thirty-third year of life, the age at which Jesus’ Passion began, Donetta began fifty years of physical trial. The nerve disease known as Multiple Sclerosis sapped her energy with fatigue, reduced her coordination, making it difficult to write, and weakened her limbs, making it very hard to walk. Bearing a chronic, incurable disease throughout one’s life might be compared to carrying a cross through a dark valley. It would be normal and natural for such a person to feel low, discouraged, hopeless. Yet, Donetta’s children tell me she was not discouraged, but courageous.

She “talked about the things she could do and not the things she couldn’t.” She was ‘incredibly positive, never self-pitying, and enthusiastic for life.’ What was the source of her supernatural strength? What was the origin of her outpouring love and joy? The 23rd Psalm tells us: “You spread a table before me… My cup overflows.” Her physical limitations meant she could not come to Holy Mass often, but each year around Halloween she would begin asking her kids, “Are you taking me to Church for Christmas?” She would come with her family to Christmas Eve Mass, sitting in the first row pew. Donetta loved receiving our Lord in his Holy Eucharist. And when she could not come to him, Jesus would come to her.

At weekday Masses celebrated at the Atrium (new Meadowbrook) nursing home, or from lay ministers coming to her various residences, she received Communion throughout her final four decades. She would watch the Holy Mass on TV, say her Rosary multiple times a day, and pray her daily devotional books with dedication. She found her great consolation in God and with God, like the psalmist who said “goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life.” She desires the same for you.

As St. Paul reminds us, “We must all appear [one day] before the judgment seat of Christ.” Donetta reportedly neither longed for death nor feared it. She said, “If the Lord wants me, it’s time to go… When the good Lord takes me I’m ready.” She looked forward to seeing her mother and father and other deceased loved ones again, and anticipated the joy being with Jesus and our Father with the Holy Spirit forever. She confidently hoped in God’s word: “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.”

Pray for Donetta’s soul, that any remaining impurity or imperfection in her soul may be cleansed. As the Book of Wisdom tells us, like gold in the furnace, God purifies us. Only as flawless sacrificial offerings will he take us to himself. As Jesus says, “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.” St. Augustine of Hippo’s holy mother, St. Monica, whose loving prayers so aided him in his conversion had a final request for her children. She told them, “Bury my body wherever you will…. Only one thing I ask of you, that you remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you may be.” Donetta would have you remember her at God’s altar, so that you each may be led into true blessedness by Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd.

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Christ Our Light — Funeral Homily for Todd Zwiefelhofer, 51

October 3, 2023

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.

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Transformer of the Earth — Funeral Homily for Richard Zwiefelhofer, 92

September 19, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

Richie’s family has told me a number of stories about him as a hardworking transformer of the earth. He would take places as they were naturally and improve them. He served in the U.S. Army in wartime Korea (1951-52) building roads, “engineering the land.” He made it home safely, married Margie, and labored on his farmstead. He worked hard on that farm, meticulously picking rocks day and night as if they were weeds in his fields, improving the soil. You have passed his verdant pastures on your way out of town beside Kwik Trip, where he gave his beef cattle peaceful rest. He could harvest his fields to yield four hay crops each summer for feeding his hungry herd. He did not raise dairy cows but he had a side-job hauling milk, and also gravel, dirt, corn, and or grain. His work aided in the shaping of this earth and in the sharing its blessings. Despite his short stature, he possessed great strength. He reportedly could carry a milk can in each hand, weighing one hundred pounds apiece. And his strength endured. Even into his nineties, he would shovel manure out of the pens.

He loved that farm and loved having fun. He loves his family and loves our God. Every weekend, he brought his family members to our Lord in the Eucharist. And when Riche could no longer attend himself, he watched the Holy Mass on TV. Though he was in and out of consciousness during his final weeks, when I visited Richie and gave him the Last Rites he thanked me for these precious gifts. And I am told that as the hour of his death drew near, he was heard praying the Hail Mary.

Richie worked hard to bless his family and help lead them to the Lord. Jesus Christ, meanwhile, always labors to bring us closer to himself and bless us. He engineers creation to build us a road so that his allies can conquer overwhelmingly in fighting the good fight and reach heaven triumphant. He meticulously picks out the useless rocks—the sins in our souls, to make us more fruitful. He would make us maximally fruitful; four, or thirty, or sixty, or one hundred fold. He utilizes us to help nourish his herd, shape this earth, share its blessings, and in verdant pastures give us repose.

Looking at Jesus during his public ministry, some people thought him to be a mere man. But his words and deeds reveal the divine strength he possesses, strong enough to bear the Cross for our sins and overturn death for our salvation. And Jesus Christ has not giving up laboring on this earth. He would shovel out the muck of sin from our lives if only we would welcome him and allow him to do so.

God loves us. He loves us powerfully. The Book of Wisdom says the Lord would purify and perfect us like gold in a furnace. And Jesus tells us in John’s Gospel that we would be wise to let him. Christ notes a lesson from the fields: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit… for eternal life. … The Father will honor whoever serves me.”

The gospel reminds us that Jesus felt natural human distress as he faced his approaching Passion and death: “I am troubled now,” Jesus said, “Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.” Today, we may feel natural sadness at Richie’s passing, and that’s a beautiful thing, as it reflects our love. Yet what shall we say? It was for this purpose—a holy passage from this life into new life—for which Jesus and Riche worked hard together for so long.

Our Lord is the great hardworking transformer of the earth, who takes us as we are naturally and labors to improve us. Let any goodness you see in Riche reflect for you its source and perfection in Christ. And let Jesus work with you to bring you to holy perfection.

Posted in Funeral Homilies, Homily, Jesus Christ | 1 Comment »

A Mother’s Love — Memorial Mass Homily for Georgetta Thibeau, 94

May 15, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

Georgetta was born here in Bloomer in 1928. She grew up in this parish, attending our St. Paul’s School. Her funeral Mass was offered in Racine after she passed away this January. And following this morning’s Mass, her remains will be laid to rest in our South Catholic Cemetery.

In the gospel for today, Jesus says, “Love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” So I asked Georgetta’s daughter, Sue, whether her mother had laid down her life for her friends. She replied, “No,” — her mother laid down her life for her family.

Georgetta raised her six children all by herself in Racine for most of their youth. Her two boys and four girls knew it was not easy for her and helped out as they could. In an era with much less government support, Georgetta worked night shifts to provide for her family. But she lovingly provided them more than just food and shelter. She also gave them the example of her Catholic Faith.

Georgetta, it is said, was never without a rosary in her hands, day or night. Whenever she came across a rosary she would pick it up and place it into her prayer rotation. But there was one rosary in particular about which she gave her children special instructions. On more than one occasion, she told them to take the rosary she kept on her headboard and place it into the urn (this urn) with her ashes when she died. Why? “Because that one glows in the dark.”

The Holy Rosary and our Blessed Mother Mary were always near to her heart. And the Blessed Mother she loved leads me to a final reflection. Jesus Christ perfected his mother in love to love like himself. Jesus said, “Love one another as I love you.” Who besides the Lord has loved with a greater love than her? Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Yet this presents a puzzle, since the Virgin Mary never died a martyr’s bloody death.

From Mother Mary we discover that a person can lay down one’s life with the greatest love as a loving offering for others even without dying a red martyrdom. And these others (these “friends” one loves and lays down one’s life for) can be one’s own sons and daughters, since Mary is our spiritual mother and we are her dearly beloved sons and daughters. Mother Mary learned how to love like Jesus loves us, and Georgetta learned how to love like Mary loves us. That is why, even in death, Georgetta remains in the light.

Posted in Blessed Virgin Mary, Christian Perfection, Funeral Homilies, Homily, Love, Motherhood, Rosary, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Finding Hope in Eternal Life — Funeral Homily for Glen Siverling, 104

May 7, 2023

By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

On behalf of St. Paul’s Parish and myself, I would like to extend our sincere sympathy to Glen John Siverling’s family, His children, his grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He was born on January 19, 1919, in Bloomer. He graduated from Brush Prairie School, and married Edna Rubenzer on May 30, 1939, at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Tilden.

After his marriage, he worked on the farm for twenty years. He and His wife raised four children. After they moved to Bloomer he did carpentry work for UBC. After they retired, they enjoyed with his wife by traveling, fishing, hunting, playing cards, and visiting family and friends. He was ready to help anybody at any time. He also made his own sausage with his grandchildren. He liked to listen to music and watch Westerns on Tv until his eyesight went bad. After his wife’s death, he moved to Meadowbrook’s rest home.

We have gathered here to pray for him. We believe that our prayer can help him. We know that prayer is powerful and believe that we can help the departed by praying for them. The best gift you can give to Glen is to pray for him. Prayer has lasting value.

Our Gospel reading today is filled with many comforting words from Jesus. Anyone who feels tired, emotionally empty, disappointed, abandoned, or depressed can easily be uplifted up by the comforting promise of Jesus that He will give rest. The last part of the Gospel is, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” This has been a huge help and consolation to the people. Those who have lost someone in the family, a soul at rest can share the peace of God.

We live in the hope that when our earthly journey is done, we will be at home with God forever. Only God can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. St. Augustine’s understanding of this truth led him to write, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

When we die, life is changed not ended. We remember people when they die and pray for them. We can also ask them to pray for us. This keeps us close to them and we will think of them frequently. The people of the church are in three areas, the Saints in heaven, the souls in purgatory, and those of us still living here on earth. We believe that all are united around Jesus’ cross and resurrection.

In the Apostles’ Creed we profess our faith. “I believe in the Holy Spirit the Holy Catholic Church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” The living and the dead are united by praying for each other. This is the communion of saints that we profess we believe in during the Apostle Creed. I believe in the communion of saints. Believing in the communion of saints, believing that life is changed not ended, we pray for Glen John Siverling.

Eternal rest, grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him
May he rest in peace!
Amen.

Posted in Funeral Homilies, Homily, Hope, Last Things | Leave a Comment »

Easter Makes All Things New — Funeral Homily for Donna Falkenberg, 75

April 12, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

On the first Good Friday, Christ’s Church lost her bridegroom. What would become of her children, already born and yet to be born? However, Jesus had said, “I will not leave you orphans.” In God’s good providential plan, they would not be left abandoned. Behold how Easter Sunday made all things new. Similarly, in 1966, when Donna was eighteen years old, her husband “Sonny” Braden, Jr. tragically died. She had one infant daughter then and was pregnant with another. What would she do? God’s providence lovingly provided for them. She found and wedded Rodger in 1972, gifting her children a wonderful dad.

Donna’s daughters, Kelly and Lisa, tell me she loved traveling and made friends everywhere she went because she would talk to anybody. She had words of wisdom to share and a way of knowing what people needed to hear. Many of her daughters’ friends consider Donna a second mother. Her Lord, Jesus, also journeyed far from place to place and struck-up conversations with strangers. A woman at a well, a tax collector at his post, or a disabled beggar on the street could each have their lives forever changed and blessed by encountering and befriending him.

Donna sold Home Interiors and Gifts for thirty-two years and ranked sixteenth in the nation for sales. She had a knack for beautifying things and could make a house a home. Before Jesus died and rose he said, “I will prepare a place for you. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. … I am going to prepare a place for you, …come back again, and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.” Jesus intends to beautifully transform us, first our souls and later our bodies, that we may live after this life in a beautiful home with him.

Donna loves an eclectic combination of foods, including ice cream, popcorn, candy corn, and ketchup (though not necessarily mixed together). She would clean out the refrigerator to make what she called “Messy Meals,” adding spaghetti sauce, cream of mushroom soup, or creamy cheese sauce to make leftovers deliciously new. Interestingly, even after being resurrected in a glorified body, Jesus still eats food. St. Luke records how on Easter evening Jesus appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room and while they were still amazed and incredulous for joy he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish and he ate it in front of them. Now Jesus did this partly as a proof that he was truly alive and not merely a ghost. But John recounts how later along the shore of the Sea of Galilee the risen Jesus invited seven disciples to a meal. “Come, have breakfast,” he said, and he shared his fish and bread. Though Jesus has no need for food to live, for “death no longer has any power over him,” he still seems to enjoy eating.

Donna’s daughters tell me of her quick wit. “It sometimes shocked you how she snuck it in, but it kept you on your toes.” And Donna could be playful, such as putting a cherry tomato in her cheek and saying, “Tomato, what tomato?” We see that Jesus can be playfully witty, too. After his resurrection, he appeared incognito to a pair of disciples going to Emmaus. He asked, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” One of them, Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And Jesus slyly and dryly replied: “What sort of things?” That is subtly very funny.

As a faithful Catholic, Donna attended Masses here at St. Paul’s Church. As her health declined, if you visited her at home in this past year you would find her enjoying Hallmark movies, since she kept that channel always on. I think one reason she loved both our Catholic Faith and those Hallmark movies is that these stories have happy endings. God has built within us an innate longing for happiness, and he intends to fulfill our longings through Jesus Christ. Jesus became like us so that we may become like him—perfectly holy in our souls and gloriously resurrected in our bodies. Through Jesus Christ, we can live with God forever, free of death and sadness and full of peaceful happiness.

Jesus’ resurrection shows us that goodness will not be lost to death, but raised up again in a beautiful way to endure forever. In these examples from Donna’s life I have shared we see that whatever good things we love, and whatever good there is in us, can find a happy home united with Christ who loves them, too. Behold how Easter makes all things new.

Posted in Funeral Homilies, Homily, Resurrection | Leave a Comment »

From Earthly to Divine — Funeral Homily for John Boehm, 85

March 27, 2023

By Fr. Victor Feltes

John’s family has told me about his many loves. How he has loved Sharon, to whom he was married for twenty-two years until her passing in 1981. How he has loved Maria, his wife these last twenty-six years. And how he has loved his family as a good Christian father who “always told you he loved ya.”

He loved any kind of music and any opportunity to sing. He commonly sang at funerals, and his fellow parishioners in church liked to sit near him to help make themselves sound better. He used to work all week and then proudly lead “Johnny’s Family Affair” every weekend. Then, each Sunday morning he would shepherd his family to St. Jude’s for Mass, followed by Sunday fun with the kids. John loved being a mechanic through six decades; taking things apart and putting them back together right. He also loved his motorcycles and (like his natural children) he would name them; including Grey Dog, Happy, Jolly, King, Silver Hawk, and others.

When he turned eighty, his family gifted him a bike. Since John’s balance had become rather poor, they bought him a three-wheeler. He loved riding it as much as he could, being outside enjoying the weather, touring around New Auburn and the surrounding countryside. Even a week before his death, he was talking about his desire to go riding again. He hoped to experience that familiar good anew and more deeply.

Now these various examples of John’s loves reflect the ambiguity of that word. “Love” is an equivocal term — not meaning the same exact thing every time it is used. John, of course, did not love music or his motorcycles in the same way that he loves his family or loves our God, and yet he loves them all. Similarly, the words we use to speak of God are true and yet remain mysterious.

The Holy Trinity gives us images and terms to reveal what the divine Persons are like; such as Father, Lord, King, Son, Shepherd, Lamb, Rock, Light, Judge, Advocate, Creator, and Savior. God’s inspired word identifies him as truly and perfectly Good, Loving, Holy, Just, and Merciful. At the same time, divine Fatherhood transcends earthly fatherhood, and God’s goodness far surpasses in quantity and quality, our human understanding and experiences of goodness.

These images and terms are analogies, likening the earthly to the divine. And in every instance, where some similarity is noted between God and his creatures there remains an even greater dissimilarity. We know something of goodness, but God is truly good and even better than we know.

Created things, the people and good things we know and love, all do reflect something of the divine. Our Triune God reveals himself to us as our Father, as the Church’s Spouse, and as our Brother in Christ, who will always tell us that he loves us. God is a mechanic, too; repairing things and putting them back together right. God delights in his children, and invites his family to join in his eternal song. And he leads us to worship, to fellowship, and to rest with him, calling each of us by name.

As St. John writes, “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. Beloved, we are God’s children now…” So even though there is sadness in life’s partings, we approach John’s death and our own deaths one day with consolation and hopeful expectation. For all created things, the people and things we know and love, reflect something true and good of our Creator and Savior. And if we cooperate with our Lord in grace and love and goodness, on the day of Resurrection, “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Posted in Funeral Homilies, Holy Trinity, Homily | Leave a Comment »

Jesus says “Come to Me” — Funeral Homily for Clarence “Clancy” Mikl, 66

March 25, 2023

By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

On behalf of St. Paul’s and St. John the Baptist Parishes, I would like to extend our sympathy to the members of Clarence’s family. We will continue to remember him in our thoughts, prayers, and masses in the coming future. Whenever we gather as a community of faith to celebrate the Eucharist, whether it is a simple liturgy during the week or a more solemn celebration on Sunday, one thing we always do is to remember in a very special way, our faithfully departed and their families.

Clarence and Janice were married on December 3, 1977, and they had five children and ten wonderful grandchildren. He came from a large family and is also survived by his brothers and sisters. Clarence was a friend to everyone he met. He retired in 2019 after twenty years of working at Spectrum Industries in Chippewa Falls. He enjoyed hunting and fishing year around. He established “Da Famous Mikl Deer Camp” near New Auburn. He built himself a bunkhouse which he enjoyed in his retirement. He shared his love for the outdoors with his grandchildren, including hunting, camping, and showing them how maple syrup is harvested and made. He was a true American patriot, and a Packers, Brewers, and Badgers fan.

He was a member of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Bloomer and the Knights of Columbus, and for many years was a Boy Scout leader. He was a handyman and taught his kids to fix their own cars and trucks, and to do other things as well. He loved being helpful, and was always willing to lend a hand in whatever was needed.

In the Gospel today, Jesus offers words of comfort. Anyone who is tired, disappointed or depressed can be lifted up by the comforting promise that Jesus will give you rest. We all have problems in life. These problems can be big or small, and make us sad and tired.

Whenever we lose a person who is dear to us, we are overcome with emotion. We are sad and confused. Here is the Good News. To all those who are alone and in need of someone to talk to, those who have no one, those who feel lost and lonely, Jesus can help. He says, come to me. Jesus is always there to help us, we are never alone.

While we are truly saddened over the passing from this life of Clarence, our faith reassures us that the sadness we are now experiencing will be transformed into joy because Clarence, like Jesus, has died, but he has died into Resurrection. Even now as we continue to celebrate his funeral liturgy, he is enjoying the fullness of God’s presence and will continue to enjoy that fullness forever.

In Jesus, we find total comfort.

Posted in Funeral Homilies, Homily | Leave a Comment »

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