Celebrated by Fr. Gerry Powell P.P.
I welcome you to this funeral liturgy for Liam. Especially his loving parents Joe and Kathleen, brothers Kevin, Mark, Martin and Declan, his sister Therese, and the extended family.
Death is always a shock; even more so when it’s the death of someone close to us who has died long before his time. Today I have many words and I have few words to say the real caring things we would like to say to one another.
We all come here to remember a young man, to give thanks, even in our grief, for his life, to offer each other, and especially those who will most miss him, the consolation of our love and our presence with you today; and to offer also the promise of eternal life.
Our consolation will be the happy memories we have of Liam; our sadness is that a young man has gone from us. Our sure Christian hope is that the Lord our God will welcome him home and that one day we will be united together in heaven. In the depth of our loss and hope we now pray and offer this Eucharist for Liam.
We come to God, knowing we need his mercy and forgiveness, and so in preparing to celebrate the Mass we call to mind our sins.
Lord, you suffered and died in our name. Lord have mercy.
Lord, your heart was moved with compassion for the sick and the bereaved. Christ have mercy.
Lord you suffer with your people at the right hand of the Father. Lord have mercy.
And may almighty God, have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to life everlasting.
Let us pray:
Almighty God and Father of all, you strengthen us by the mystery of the cross and with the sacrament of your Son’s resurrection. We pray for Liam, grant him peace. Welcome him to the eternal joy of the kingdom and give us all new hope in our sorrow that one day we shall all be with you and with each other in your home where every tear will be wiped away. Grant, this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Homily
Liam Brady
Tragedy always stuns us. This is especially true when we experience the sudden death of someone we have known. We are shocked as individuals and we were visibly shocked as a community when we learned about the unexpected and premature death of Liam. We are numbed by the suddenness and horror of it. We cannot understand it. We have so many questions and we have no answers. We have no satisfactory explanations. We do not want to believe or accept that Liam whom we have known so well has passed away. In a sense we are paralysed. We are suspended in disbelief.
There is a huge emptiness in our hearts because Liam has been taken from us. It is so unfair and so cruel that he has been taken from us in the mouth of Christmas and only three years since the sudden death of Stephen. Liam was so young and full of life. Content with his work in Tandragee, ready to emigrate to Australia, his work in this world was not finished. Liam always had a keen interest in sports, Celtic and Liverpool were a passion for him, and so were football, hurling, bowls and athletics. In his youth he was a scout. His mum says of Liam that he was a wee rip at school. On one occasion he dressed up as a gorilla and went into a shop in Gilford to buy a bunch of bananas. Another memory of him was the famous occasion he went with Brett for an ice-cream and they took the false ice-cream cone from outside the shop and put it on his chimney pot. It was to cost him £250 – dear ice cream. Recently he was godfather to Fiona and Brett’s baby Kyle and he was as proud as punch. He loved to keep in touch and was a serial texter on the phone. He was in the prime of his life, so much to look forward to. Our grief is enormous. What are we to do? How are we to cope?
Today we need more than ever to listen carefully to the message of the word of God. Only our faith in God can sustain us and prevent us from remaining suspended in disbelief as we mourn Liam’s death and struggle to cope with our sense of loss. Only the word of God can offer us consolation and Christian hope when we are confronted with the frailty and uncertainty of human life.
There is something inconsolable about parents having to bury two of their sons. This sad experience is something that goes against the grain of nature and the rhythm of life itself. In trying to come to grips with this untimely death it is as well to acknowledge that there are no easy answers, that there are no satisfactory “sound bites” to soften the pain of loss. In these tragic circumstances God does not abandon us in our sadness and loneliness. God is with us in the light and darkness of life, in the joys and sorrows. We are reminded that it is not length of days that make a life honourable but the way we have sought to please God.
The sadness and loss of today gradually turns into a sense of gratitude for the life of Liam. With Joe and Kathleen and their family we thank God for Liam’s life, for the friendliness and cheerfulness that he shared with others, for the humour and banter he shared with others, for all who cared for him throughout times of sickness when it was not easy for him. But in our hearts we know that suffering can have great value. Through pain and suffering we know what it means to embrace the cross of Jesus Christ. Like Jesus, dying on the cross, our faith is tested when we experience suffering and when we experience suffering in other people’s lives. However, just as God did not desert Jesus, he does not desert us. And he did not desert Liam. It is our hope that Liam’s suffering in this life has not been in vain but, instead has prepared him to live a life that has changed, not ended, and rest in God’s peace and love forever.
Today our hearts are broken – our spirits are crushed with the suddenness of it all. It is only human that we should shed tears and give vent to our grief. Tears have a healing effect. So can the presence, support and the sensitivity of so many friends and relatives here this morning. So can the familiar rite of the Mass, the Word proclaimed, and the bread broken and shared. All of these will sustain you in the bleak days ahead. We pray that our mourning may not make us less human but more Christian. May the Holy Spirit bring you a deep peace and consolation – a peace we never dreamt possible, a peace which surpasses all understanding. God’s help is nearer than the door.
God of those who hope, look upon our young brother Liam, do not consider his sins, nor judge him with the haste of a human heart. By the blood of the cross have mercy on him. Look on the faith of all those who love him and give peace to those who mourn. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
With Fr Mc Donagh I offer our sympathy to Liam’s loving parents Joe and Kathleen, sister Thérése, brothers Kevin, Mark, Martin and Declan and the entire family circle.
Opening Hymn: Be Still for the Presence of the Lord
Responsorial Psalm: Eagle’s Wings
Offertory Hymn: The Shepherd Song
Communion Hymn: I Watch the Sunrise
Communion Reflection: Song of the Angels
Recessional Hymn: Be Not Afraid
