This year’s Mass for the deceased clergy of the Archdiocese took place in St Andrew’s Cathedral on 11 November – Remembrance Day. Principal celebrant Archbishop Nolan was joined by priests from across the Diocese, with support for the music of the liturgy from the St Mungo Singers.
The first reading for the Mass was one well-known from so many funerals- Isaiah 25: 6-9, telling of the great banquet in the Kingdom of God, when food and fine wine will be plentiful, death will be no more and God will wipe away the tears from every cheek. The Gospel reading was perhaps less common, being Mark’s account of the death of Jesus but including the announcement of the Resurrection (Mark 15:33-39; 16:1-6).
Archbishop Nolan used Mark’s account of Jesus “breathing his last” as the starting point for his homily, reflecting how most priests will have been with someone as they breathed their last. He noted that in the Bible “breath” is very important, from the beginning where God breathes life into Adam. The name which God tells Moses is the name he is to be known by – YHWH (I am who I am) – can, as some commentators have pointed out, be heard as the sound of breathing in and out, and in that way we speak the name of God every time we breathe. And so it can be said that all die with the name of God on their lips in their final breath, which is a comforting thought.
He asked the congregation to pray for all our priests who have died, some known to those present in the church, some whose names are lost in the passage of time.
