Funeral Homily for Someone Who Did Not Practice the Faith - I Will Not Reject Anyone Who Comes to Me (Isaiah 25:6a, 7-9; Romans 5:5-11; John 6:37-40)

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

Dear family and friends of [Name], brothers and sisters in Christ:

Some of you are here today because [Name] belonged to this parish long ago. Some of you have not been in a church for years yourselves. Some of you are worried, quietly, about where [Name] stands before God, because for much of life [Name] did not practice the faith. If that worry is in your heart, I want to speak to it directly, because the Word of God speaks to it.

We are not here to judge [Name]. That belongs to God alone. We are here to do what Christians have always done: to pray for the one who has died, and to trust in the mercy of God, which is far greater than our own.

The feast prepared for all peoples

The prophet Isaiah describes a feast that God prepares "for all peoples," where he removes the veil of mourning "that veils all peoples" and wipes away the tears "from all faces."

Notice how often Isaiah says "all." God's plan is not for a small, perfect group. It is for everyone he has made. He knows every person's story: the wounds that turned someone away from the Church, the doubts they never spoke about, the prayers they may have whispered when no one was watching. We do not know those hidden things. God does.

While we were still sinners

Saint Paul writes something every one of us needs to hear: "God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." Christ did not wait until we were good enough. He did not die for the faithful only. He died for sinners, which means he died for every person in this church, and for [Name].

Paul also says that "the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit." That love is not a reward for good attendance. It is a gift, freely given, and it reaches people in ways we cannot see. The Catechism tells us that the Church prays that no one should be lost (CCC 1058). God's mercy can work in ways our eyes cannot measure.

"I will not reject anyone who comes to me"

In the Gospel, Jesus says: "Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me... And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day."

Jesus is telling us what his deepest desire is. He does not want to lose anyone. He is the Good Shepherd who goes after the one sheep that wandered away. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux once prayed for a condemned murderer who had refused all religion, and on the scaffold, at the last moment, he turned and kissed the crucifix. She called him her "first child." We never know what passes between a soul and God at the end.

So we do not despair, and we do not presume. We pray. We ask God, who knows [Name] far better than we do, to be merciful, to forgive, and to bring [Name] home.

A word to those who are far from the Church

If you yourself have been away from the Church for a long time, I want you to know that you are welcome here today, and you are welcome to come back. The same mercy we ask for [Name] is offered to you. There is no sin God will not forgive to the one who comes to him. Many people come home to the faith through moments exactly like this one. If something in your heart stirs today, come and talk to me. That would be a beautiful gift to [Name]'s memory.

In a few moments we will celebrate the Eucharist, the sacrifice of Christ offered "for the forgiveness of sins." It is the greatest prayer the Church can offer for anyone who has died. We offer it now for [Name], with confidence in the One who said, "I will not reject anyone who comes to me."

Eternal rest grant unto [Name], O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.