Out of place

Went to a funeral this week. Father gave a homily in which he mentioned the sacraments of the Church, their purpose and effects, etc. He mentioned that he gave these sacraments and also the apostolic blessing to the deceased this past week. At the end of Mass, before the final blessing, he announced that several people were going to come up and say a few words. I don't think he expected what followed...

The first speaker was the neice of the deceased and she said a few loving words about her aunt. The second speaker wasn't a family member-he was the deceased daughter's Protestant pastor.

He didn't give a eulogy; he preached a sermon on how the deceased became a Christian this past week when she accepted the words of the Gospel and Jesus Christ as her personal lord and savior. It almost as though he was giving a rebuttal to Father: i.e. that it wasn't the last sacraments which saved the deceased, but the acceptance of the scripture reading.

Oh, I wanted to stand up and say: 'But pastor, don't you know that Catholics accept Christ as their savior every day and not just once? And pastor, did you forget that Christ also said: "Unless you eat my body and drink my blood you will have no life within you?" The deceased accepted Christ everyday-and lived that life, partaking of the holy sacrifice and sacraments instituted by Christ on earth (as can be shown in scripture) and adminstered by the Church which Christ clearly founded-as can be shown in scripture and demonstrated in the history of Christianity.'

He crossed a line, but out of charity a scene was avoided. If I hadn't had to return half the cast (see post below) to home immediately after the funeral, I would have stuck around for the reception and had a conversation with the good pastor....

Oremus pro invicem!