We praise you, Father.
We praise you because you are infinitely loving and merciful
to us, your children.
We praise you because you are the Lord of Life, from whom
all life finds its origin and goal.
We praise you because you indeed love us so much, that you
sent Jesus Christ, our brother, to teach us how to live and die in your
comforting and calm embrace.
We praise you because you sent us the Holy Spirit, who will
inspire us to live our lives in accord with Jesus.
We thank you, Father, for giving us Mama Lola.
She is a gift from You to all of us who are here today.
She is a wonderful gift from You that must now come back to
You.
Thank you for giving us a wonderful mother, sister, friend,
grandmother, companion like her.
In her life, she endeavored to serve You through loving her
family, through being with her friends and companions, through helping her
neighbors, through loving and serving you in the Church, and finally, through
embracing Your will in sickness and in pain.
Thank you for giving us an example to imitate, a legacy to
follow, a memory to cherish, a sister to emulate.
But we recognize Father, that her life, like ours, and of
the many others who are also Your children, is short.
There will indeed come a time when we will have to commend
ourselves to You in full, a time where we will leave the world regardless of
who we are, of what we have done and what we have not done.
We acknowledge that Mama Lola is your gift, which You can
call back to yourself.
We acknowledge that one day, she too will pass on to
eternity, and find eternal happiness with you in Heaven.
And this is the time for it.
It pains us, Lord, to be separated from her.
It pains us to be away from her: from her motherly gaze and
care. It pains us not to see her when we gather again as a family, as a
community, as a people living in this world.
She does not belong anymore to our world: she now belongs to
You.
God of the living and of the dead, God of eternal
consolation, help us to realize: that death is not merely the end of things,
but it is indeed a beginning.
Help us to realize that death may create an extremely long
distance from us, but it does not break the bonds of love and unity we have
forged in our lives.
Help us to realize that when someone dies, she does not go
alone before God: she carries our hearts, our love and our prayers before Your
presence, Lord.
Help us to accept this reality of passing, of being in this
temporary world.
Help us to continue her legacy of love, generosity, kindness
and fidelity to prayer in our own lives.
At this moment of pain, sorrow and loss, unite us as one, as
we remember her life here on earth: may her life be the source of our
inspiration and courage as we face our own lives.
At this moment of grieving, place in our hearts your peace,
your abiding presence that we may learn wisdom of heart.
For us who are still alive, her sisters, children,
relatives, friends and companions, help us to offer Her to you.
Into your hands, Lord, we commend our beloved Mama Lola.
We are confident that you will look on us, her and your
children, and hear our prayer.
Grant her a peaceful rest now and until that day, when after
our earthly exile, and our individual passing from this world, we will be able
to see her joyful in the presence of the saints and angels in Heaven, where You
dwell for all eternity. Amen.
