The Louisiana Democrat., 1891-05-27
NERAL SERMON
DELIVERED BY

FUNERAL SERMON
DELIVERED BY
Rev. FATHER L. MENARD
at st. Francis Xapie,'s Catholic Church
MAY 18TH, 1891.
ON THs OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF
SARAH FLANNERY,
BELOVED WIFE OF HENRY L. BIossAT
sand l heard voice from Heaven saying
| to me: Write-Blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord. From henceforth
| now, says the Spirit, that they may
rest from their labors, for their works
| follow them" Apoc. XIy-13.
When sin entered the world, death fol.
lowed in its train. The voice of an angry
God was raised to announce to our first
parents, in severe tones, the loss of i'm.
mortality. Loaded with the maledic-
tions of Heaven, man was destined to
drag out his miserable existence, prey
to anguish, sorrows, physical sufferings
and the complete dissolution of his being.
But, in His anger, the Lord remembers
mercy, and the loss, SO keenly felt by
man, was to be repaired by the Incarnate
God. As He atoned for mans guilt by
submitting to the loss of life, He robbed
death of its terror; and after disarming
it of its sting, His voice, re-echoed by the
lips of John, spoke these consoling words:
BLESSED are the dead who die in the
Lord" etc.
Wherever my eyes fall, see evidences
of heartfelt grief, deep sorrow and sin-
cere sympathy. The coffin now tenanted
by one whom you loved, hides and will
forever hide from your view the form by
which you knew her in life. 1t raises an
impenetrable barrier between your affec-
tions and their. .lamented object, And,
my brethren, it is doing still more cruel
work. You seize my meaning at once,
and your thoughts instinctively turn to
the now motherless children who will
never know on earth a mothers love,
who will never repose in her entwining
arms, whose infant cries her fond caresses
cannot hush, and whose days will all be
spent with only the hope of being re.
united to her..in Gods eternal day.. But
let us turn from these gloomy thoughts
to the glorious truths unfolded before us
by the God Of all consolation.
BLESSED are the dead who die in the
Lord" For four thousand years men
had mourned and wept, each time that
death took away from their circle friends
and dear relatives. Heavens gates were
closed and as well guarded against mans
entrance as Eden's igroves against oul
first parents efforts to return to their
birth place. But Christ Jesus, the pur.
chaser of an eternal salvation, having
entered the true holy of holies, admission
was secured for the faithful ones among
the redeemed. Hence it is that, while
we shed tears over the departed and
gone, a ray of heavenly hope shedding
its luster over the bleeding heart, makes
us look upon their lot as one of happiness
and bliss. "Blessed are the dead who
die in the Lord" Yes, blessed are the
dead whose sonl reflects: the beauty Of
the divine conntenance-whose heart is
pure of Gods purity-whose spiritual
life is supported by the living bread
which came down from Heaven to be.
queath to us the full Immortality of oul
being and confer on us the pledge of a
glorious resurrection. Such is the mean
ing of the words which the Apostle
penned.
The first cause Of the blessedness spo.
ken of by the Apostle is
/. The likeness to God preserved OF re-
covered, in other words, freedom from
sin. They that defle or are defiled can.
not enter the holy city, says the prophet.
To see God in His glory is privilege re.
served to the clean of heart. Christ
Jesus has provided the means by which
we may recover this likeness, acquire
this purity, arrive at that sanc.ity -
"Whose sins you shall forgive, they are
forgiven" As He sent ambassadors to
represent Him over the whole earth, He
appointed ministers of reconciliation,
whose words of pardon spoken on earth
bring to the broken hearted penitent the
peace Of Heaven, the grace of the Re-
deamer and the sweet assurance that he
has been received again into favor. Is
not to die in the possession of this purity,
truly to die in the Lordf
2. The second active principle of the
blessedness is the devout reception of the
body and blood Of the Lord in the last
Communion.
You know, my brethren, that Jesus
Christ, said once: tWithout me, you can