Remembrance is prayer, Bishop Sullivan preaches at Mass for deceased clergy

Bishop Dennis Sullivan celebrated a Mass of Remembrance for deceased clergy of the Diocese Nov. 10 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Camden.

“Our Catholic tradition during the month of November focuses on those who have gone before us,” Bishop Sullivan preached during the homily. “We remember them. However, our remembrance is not just a memory, it’s not just to recall them. Our remembrance is a prayer.”

During the Mass, Bishop Sullivan noted that November is the Month of the Holy Souls, an opportunity to recall the faces of all those who have died.

Speaking of the deceased clergy, he said, “We intercede on behalf of the ordained – priests, bishops and deacons. They belong to this family of faith that we form here in the Diocese. Families do not forget, and we do not forget the service that these men provided to the Church. So our prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving, of gratitude for whatever role they may have had for the building up of this local Church.”

More than 30 priests and deacons of the Diocese, as well as dozens of diocesan staff, religious sisters and the community attended the midday Mass, during which the names of 21 deceased clergy were read aloud.

Those remembered were: Deacon Joseph F. Becker; Father William J. Bleiler; Deacon Francis W. Crosson; Father Richard Lee Forbes; Deacon Frank Guaracini Jr.; Deacon John H. Harrington; Deacon William P. Iannuzzi; Father Francis W. Kocik; Father Stanislaus J. Kolton; Deacon William C. Lauth; Deacon Robert G. Lorenzo; Deacon George W. Lytle; Father Edward D. Lyons; Father Alfred Onyutha; Father Anthony Patrizio; Deacon Miguel Rivera; Deacon Donald W. Rogozenski; Father Edward B. Rosinski; Father Edward F. Sobolewski; Father Ireneo L. Tovar and Deacon Michael L. Welsh.

During his homily, the Bishop also reflected on the first reading from the Book of Wisdom (6: 1-11), saying that the past 1 1/2 years of the coronavirus pandemic have led many to face or reflect on their own mortality.

“I think we’ve all learned many lessons in the pandemic, and one of them is that we are not the masters or mistresses of this life. We are not ultimately in charge,” Bishop Sullivan said.

The reading, he said, “reminds us that the wisdom of God protects the afflicted, and that God is the ruler of all. God is in charge. It reminds us of God’s protection and that protection extends to the faithfully departed … because God rules there also.”