THOUGHTS FROM OUR HEAD OF SCHOOL, JOE VORBACH:
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to be out to dinner in a group that included two Bishop O'Connell alumni who recently got married to each other. They are happy newlyweds and it was fun to hear them share some stories from their time together at O'Connell.
Just two days later, I attended the funeral of the mother of an O'Connell student -- someone I did not know well but who was well known to me because her reputation as a doer, organizer and good friend to others in the community was so well appreciated. The presiding priest at the Mass of Christian Burial, Father Lee Roos, knew the deceased well and knows the O'Connell community well too. He spoke to all who were mourning that day, including the many O'Connell students and parents there to support their friends, with a beautiful homily. He noted that moments like this funeral were occasions for "deep and anguished Faith" and reminded us that the Lord will "know the weight of our grief and bear us up." He also encouraged us to see "that this divine helplessness is really divine strength." It was what I told someone later a "beautifully sad" funeral that concluded as all Catholic funerals do with the Song of Farewell which begins "May holy angels lead you forth to paradise" and ends "May you know rest and peace with God forever more."
A day or so after the funeral, I found myself thinking about the newlyweds and the funeral and the blessing of family and friends in the happiest and saddest moments. O'Connell history is woven into so many beginnings and endings. The many dozens of wakes I have attended over the past nine years are so frequently occasions for reminiscing about the times at O'Connell when lifelong friends were made. These are the friends who are "the face of God" providing support some years later when there is loss.