Fr Gerry Hipwell, O.Carm.

This sermon was given by Fr A. O’Reilly, O.Carm.

All of us as we travel along the road of life are on a journey and this journey begins with a meeting with Christ at Baptism and it ends with a meeting with Christ at death. On the day of our Baptism our life was linked with the life of Christ. On that day we were given a wonderful dignity and a splendid destiny — we became children of God and heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven.

This evening, we have come together as a christian community to pray that God may grant peace and rest to the soul of Fr Gerry Hipwell. For Fr Gerry’s family, his friends and for the Carmelite family his passing leaves us with feelings of sadness, loneliness and loss. But for Gerry himself it is the time when he enters into a new relationship with Christ, it is the time when he enters into a new life with Christ, for it is only with death that the fullness of life can begin. As the journey of St Theresa, one of our own Carmelite saints, was drawing to a close, she said to one of her sisters: “I am not dying I am beginning a new life with Christ.”

For the person who has lived the christian life in a spirit of faith, as I believe Fr. Gerry did, death will not be a meeting with a stranger, but a meeting with a friend who is Christ – a – friend who accompanied him on his journey through life, a friend who enriched his life by his life, by his teaching and by his example. Yes, at the moment of death Christ comes as a friend bringing that fullness of life which he won for all of us by his own death on the cross.

Of course death can only be understood in the light of our Christian faith. Our faith tells us that death is not the end, but the beginning. Our faith tells us that anyone who believes in Christ will, after this brief interval we call death, will rise with Christ through the power of his resurrection. The Easter Candle burning here in the sanctuary is a reminder to each one of us that death can only be understood in the light of our Christian faith.

St Paul in the Scripture reading says that, “The life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord.” As we journey through life we influence each other in a variety of ways. We enrich the lives of people when we are compassionate, caring and forgiving. As a teacher, Fr. Gerry enriched the lives of his students in a variety of ways. He was all the time encouraging them to use to the full the gifts and talents God had given to them. Outside the classroom he involved them in a variety of sporting activities. I met a girl on Sunday evening last and she said to me: “When I was a member of the club Fr Hipwell gave me responsibility, he respected me and he trusted me. He enriched my life by his enthusiasm and dedication.”

I have no doubt that when Fr. Gerry met the gentle and compassionate Christ, he said to him: “Well done my good and faithful servant come and share in the peace and joy of my Kingdom.” Amen.