Funeral Homily for a Wife - Behold, I Make All Things New (Isaiah 25:6a, 7-9; Revelation 21:1-5a, 6b-7; John 11:32-45)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear [Spouse's Name], dear family and friends of [Name], brothers and sisters in Christ:

When a husband loses his wife, the whole shape of life changes. The house is the same, but it is no longer a home in the way it was. There is no one to tell about the small things of the day. There is an empty chair at the table and an empty place in church beside you. For many years she was the companion God gave you, and now you must walk on without her presence beside you. That is a deep sorrow, and today we stand with you in it.

We have come to the house of God to pray for her, to support you and your family, and to hear again the promises of Christ.

Jesus wept

In the Gospel, Jesus comes to the tomb of his friend Lazarus. He sees Mary weeping and the people with her weeping, and he becomes "perturbed and deeply troubled." Then the Gospel says simply: "Jesus wept."

That short verse tells us something important about God. He is not distant from our grief. Jesus knew he was about to raise Lazarus, and still he wept, because he loved him, and because death is not what God intended for the people he made. When you weep for [Name], you are not alone. Christ weeps with you.

Then Jesus speaks with authority: "Take away the stone." He prays to the Father, and he calls in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The man who had been dead for four days comes out of the tomb. The miracle at Bethany is a sign of what Christ will do on the last day for all who belong to him.

The tears wiped away

Isaiah prophesies a great feast on God's holy mountain, where "he will destroy death forever" and "the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces." The Book of Revelation takes up the same promise: "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away." And the one who sits on the throne says: "Behold, I make all things new."

All things new. Not erased, not forgotten, but made new. The love you shared, the years of faithfulness, the children and grandchildren, the joys and the trials you carried together: these are not lost to God. Our faith is that God will gather everything that was good and true in her life and bring it to fulfillment.

What the Church asks of us today

Saint Augustine once preached that we should not forbid our tears for the dead, but that our grief should be the grief of those who hope. That is the balance the Church asks of us today. We mourn honestly. And we pray.

We pray for [Name], asking God to forgive whatever was lacking in her life, as he forgives each of us, and to welcome her into the new Jerusalem, "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." We pray for you, [Spouse's Name], that in your loneliness you may find the presence of Christ, and the support of this community. And we pray for your children and family, that they may care for one another in the days ahead.

Carrying her love forward

Love does not stop being love because death has come. You can still love her: by praying for her, by having Masses offered for her, by keeping alive the things she cared about, by being for your family some of the warmth she brought into every room.

In a few moments we will gather around this altar for the Eucharist. In every Mass the Church joins her prayer with the angels and saints and with all who have gone before us. That communion is the closest we will be to her until the day of the resurrection. Here we place [Name] into the hands of the God who makes all things new.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.