January 10, 2009 6:00 PM
Father Kelly - why we still pray for him
I will be writing about Father Kelly, but not ready yet. In the meantime, the comments about praying for him following his leaving us so suddenly on 12/31 sparked a sincere question from a longtime reader of this blog.
My husband Tripp wrote a brief answer, and I invite anyone to chime in for a discussion.
Barbara,I am so sorry for your loss! My father in law is the head pastor of our church and I grew up very close to the pastors in each of the churches in my past. I think I gravitated to them b/c no one in my family came to church with me. So, when you are 13, the pastors take you under wing. So, I can imagine that your loss is profound.
I noticed that some of the ladies who commented said something to the effect of "we will pray for his (Fr.) soul". Since I am a protestant, I do not thoroughly understand that statement. Do you think you or another thoughtful Catholic could explain that statement or idea for those of us non-Catholic readers? I would appreciate an answer from you since you always treat questions with honesty and fairness.
Thank you and again I am sorry for your loss.
Julie
aka Imajackson
From my dear husband:
This is one of those questions that goes to the heart of difference between Protestantism and the ancient Church.It's interesting to note however that the father of the Reformation, Martin Luther continued the practice of praying for the dead after he left the Church. It was John Calvin that was so against this scriptural practice according to "his" interpretation..
To me, it is comforting, knowing that we are surrounded "by a great cloud of witnesses" who are more alive in eternity than we are during our short time here on earth. Attached is a link to the portion of the Catechism that I believe answers Julie's question with footnotes to Holy Scripture and the early Church Fathers following at the bottom.
For more information see Catholic Culture.
Tripp
Keep in mind that Tripp is a new Catholic - but one who has been studying hard and ended up having a lot of extra time to study in the aftermath of his knee surgery/MRSA situation.
I am always happy to foster opportunities for mutual understanding and respect between Catholics and Evangelicals. In my neck of the woods, the prejudice of Evangelicals toward Catholics was evident in the lack of Protestant pastors at Father Kelly's funeral - though Tripp even wrote them a sweet and eloquent invitation explaining why their presence would be appropriate:
Dear Pastor ______,I hope and pray that you and your family are doing well. The new year is upon us all with all the trials, joys, tragedies, blessings, and difficulties that make up our lives.
I'm sure you heard the news that Fr Michael Kelly, the spiritual leader of St Francis de Sales died on New Year's Eve when he was hit by a tree on Harmony Church Rd. on his way to a funeral for another priest.
I have attached the information about the upcoming services for him.
As you are a spiritual leader in the community, I wanted to invite and encourage you to come. The St Francis parish is made up of over 6500 men, women, and children in the Purcellville area....some of whom you probably know and may even be neighbors. Many of the families homeschool and are even members of the Home School Legal Defense Assoc.
I know you have differences with the Catholic Church, but I hope you will put them aside and come join the community as we mourn and celebrate the passing of a shepherd being called Home to Heaven.
Sincerely,
Tripp CurtisIn order to discover the character of people we have only to observe what they love.
~St. Augustine~
I could hear God's whisper through Tripp's words - calling for less judgment and more love. That's the beautiful thing, isn't it? How God keeps reaching for our hearts, giving us opportunities to reconsider our attitudes and become more Christlike.
Posted in Catholicism, Church Issues, Death and dying, Homeschooling | Permalink
Comments
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your work in bringing the different sects of Christianity together. Despite our cultural and/or theological differences, we are united in Jesus.
Posted by: anon | January 11, 2009 2:30 PM
