"I Am Watching You From Heaven!"

On January 2, 2015, I attended a funeral mass for a friend of mine at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Westminster, Colorado. His name is Joe Lopez but I knew him as Rudy. He and his wife had traveled to New Mexico and the Santuario de Chimayo with me for ten consecutive years. Eight years ago, on our last trip together, they celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Today I was told that the priest, Fr. Lawrence Kaiser, who celebrated the mass in Chimayo for them, had passed away two days before Joe. This picture of my friend, is how I remember him. Full of mischievous fun yet kind and loving to all he met.


As I entered the church I could hear Mexican music in the background. I noticed many of the young men wore suspenders in honor of their grandfather who always wore suspenders! The large church slowly filled up with over 225 persons. My friend had many friends who had come to see him continue his journey on his way to heaven. Never had I been to a mass completely dedicated to the deceased. A
granddaughter read a poem in English and Spanish about her love for her grandfather. A son read a poem about how his father was a hero to him. One daughter read a special reading that reminded her of her Dad and Deacon Ross led the rosary. Another granddaughter spoke on seeing a vision of Mother Teresa that made her realize she needed to allow her grandfather to leave this earth and to stop trying to make him better. The music was beautiful and when Wind Below My Wings was sung I don't believe there was a dry eye in the church.


Father John and Father Rick seemed to know my friend intimately and everything they said about him I had to agree with their comments. The homily, by Fr. Rick, was so right on; spiritual, happy, and funny. Fr. Rick said, "Joe had a knack of making priests feel as if they were his favorite priest." Fr. Rick looked over at Fr. John and said, "Wouldn't you agree?" Fr. John's response was, "I was his favorite!" Which made the congregation laugh through their tears. Stories about Joe's life were interesting and full of love. Like when he drove a cab and a young girl was in trouble and came running to his cab. He did not think that he might be in danger when he picked her up and took her to her home. When her parents tried to pay him, he would not accept money because he was happy to have helped someone in need. Mention was made of the large rosaries that Joe made and gave to his friends. I felt honored that he had given me one of his large rosaries. The priest mentioned that he felt as if Joe was like a father figure to many of the priests. Joe had a generous heart with his time, money and hands, we were told. Joe suffered but it never got him down, instead it brought him closer to God and the Blessed Virgin. Losing a daughter was difficult for Joe and his wife and taking care of a handicapped son could not have been easy, but their faith saw them through many troubles.


The reception was wonderful because we got to speak to the family and to let them know how much Rudy was loved. Somehow, I had a feeling that even if he wasn't physically present with us he continued to evangelize.  I am sure, Rudy is looking down at us and thinking, "God watch over my family and friends."