The Sacraments Bring Us Together
By Stacy LaMorte
God gave us the sacraments to bring us together and for a visible sign of his presence in our lives.
Just this past week, I attended the funeral Mass of my grandmother, my Mimi. She was a devout Catholic throughout her life, bringing up her two children as such. Her faith was a huge part of her life, and she reveled in celebrating the sacraments that our family received one by one.
Growing up, she attended all of my first sacraments. She was at our wedding, too. And, at every baptism of our children – even traveling at age 80 to California where we lived when our oldest was born – she was present to witness their inducted into the Church and then didn’t miss their first Communion celebration either.
She always let them know how much God loves them and how they can trust in the Lord for all their needs.
Mimi passed away peacefully in her sleep at age 99. Leading up to this, I would pray for the “grace of happy death” for her on Wednesdays during the Glorious Mysteries of the rosary. I thought it would be appropriate if she died on a Wednesday – just a little sign to me that it was a happy death. She did. I feel in my heart that her last word was “Mo,” the name of her beloved husband of 52 years whom she lost over 30 years ago.
Her funeral Mass gave me so much comfort, and the ritual of the celebrating the Eucharist gave me peace. I know that she was there with all of the people whose lives she touched in such a profound way. She was truly a tabernacle on legs, bringing Jesus to everyone she encountered. I love that she brought so many people together to celebrate her final sacrament with her.
