Having spoken about Deacon Bernie in my homily last weekend after hearing of his passing, as well as at a Memorial Mass for him on Monday morning, I feel blessed to share something with his wonderful family and friends who have gathered at St. Peter's in Skokie this morning.
Having only known him for the last twelve years of his life, while serving as pastor at Sacred Heart Church in beautiful Hot Springs Village Arkansas, my experiences with him are fairly limited, when one ponders his almost 100 years of life in this world and all the blessings that came to him and through him in all those years. After reading the obituary that his wonderful family put together, it is clear to me that the qualities that I was blessed to see for a relatively short time, were qualities that he carried throughout his life. He was a gentle, kind, humble, other-centered disciple of Christ who loved the Lord and all those the Lord put in his life starting with his family of origin, and then his beautiful wife of over 70 years, his six children and the many grandchildren and great-grandchildren who were all listed by name in the obituary. That very listing of all of their names said to me, among other things, that they were all uniquely loved by him. Add to this, the large number of extended family Bernie had, including his beloved parish families such as yours and ours, and we have reason to rejoice and give thanks for the many who were blessed to know and love him and be loved by him.
For the sake of brevity during this funeral Mass, which I grieve I could not be a part of in person, I want to share something about Deacon Bernie that I look forward to sharing with the parishioners at Sacred Heart Parish that I pray will inspire more than a few to participate in something that is near and dear to my heart and clearly to Deacon Bernie's life for much of his life, that being the Celebration of the Mass, including in a special way, weekday Mass. In the obituary, it was shared that in his growing up years in Indiana, he LOVED getting up in the wee hours of the morning for his 6;30a.m. daily Mass assignment as an altar boy. Recalling these cherished memories, he said "I was so full of joy when leaving church, that I would run and leap like a stag, and scream. I was so happy! One day, this young Bernie paused, knelt at the altar of St. Joseph and asked the Lord to teach him how to love. I dare say that all of us who knew Bernie can attest that he was a good student of the Lord who learned and practiced love his entire life.
Fast forward to the last seven years at Sacred Heart Parish where there were few if any times that Bernie missed daily Mass, assisting me as a deacon on the altar countless times or in the pews with his fellow parishioners whom he offered the precious Blood of Christ at almost every Mass he participated in. I have no doubt that this daily part of his life served as the fuel that gave him his wonderful innocent, child-like, Christ-like demeanor and a perpetual desire to serve the Lord and others with compassion and love.
Like an uncle of mine, who was also born in 1923, Deacon Bernie was quick to laugh or giggle in his own way in almost every circumstance, which was an obvious sign (at least to me) that he lived with the joy of the Lord in his mind and heart, the Lord that he was privileged to receive at Mass daily from his early years to the later years of his life.
God bless Deacon Bernie with the beatific vision and eternal rest from the many years he was given in this world and to this world to love as Jesus loved and blessed him!!