By Rev. Glenn Jones

As you know, we lost 19-year-old Trevor Matuszak last Sunday to a tragic accident. Some found a bit of comfort in the homily (sermon) at his funeral Mass, so it is offered here:

To all of you friends and family of Trevor know our heartfelt condolences are with you as you endure this sorrow of his very untimely death. Trevor having died by a tragic accident reminds us that we never know our time upon this earth, or when we go to God. 

We’ve seen this often with recent unexpected deaths in our parish, and now … Trevor … a life barely tasted … a novel cut short with just a few chapters written … a unique life lost.

Trevor Michael Matuszak—born in Tennessee … 2015 graduate from LAHS. About to start his junior year at New Mexico State, studying Athletic Training and Medicine. Sports fan, especially hockey … outdoorsman, cook, guitarist, Star Wars aficionado … beloved son, grandson, and brother … nephew, cousin and friend.

When one so young dies, a whole community weeps … reminding us of that poem of John Donne:

Each man’s death diminishes me…
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

For many of you young people, this may be your first encounter with the death of one near your own age … making it all the more poignant to experience how tenuous and fragile—and precious—is human life … “…the silver cord is snapped … the golden bowl is broken … the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:6-7)

I remember my cousin killed in an auto accident when we were 19. A good friend in college in a boating accident. Two other college friends to cancer. This is simply our human condition … as tragic as it may be at times. It can be sickness … a moment of inattention … a bit too much daring … and, maybe for Trevor, just one step a little too far, or on a rock just a little too slick. That’s all it may take. And yet … risk is part of life; we cannot avoid it … and, really, who would want to live in a padded room? … if you even call that living?

In that point I admire—and even envy—Trevor. He was doing what he enjoyed doing most … living life fully … a stout hearted, courageous lad in the outdoors. It was just one step too far. So we see how fragile the human body is, and thus we must not be careless with our lives—for the sake of those who love us, if not for ourselves.

Yes … we live, we die, we turn to dust—the path of all earthly life. But for Christians, in the midst of even early and tragic death we have God’s own promise … knowing, as St. Paul wrote: “…if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.” (Romans 6:8) … and what God promises cannot NOT come to pass.

This is no fairy tale, because we see how our Christian faith is based on the witness of those who saw what Jesus did. These men and women suffered persecution for years and decades proclaiming this, and finally dying for the faith … for no benefit to themselves other than knowing that they were testifying to truth and their hope in Christ. These were hard-bitten, cynical working men wary of deception—and yet, having lived with Jesus for years, proclaimed the truth of His works and words … until all but one suffered martyrdom … teaching that those faithful to Christ’s Word are to be heirs to the Kingdom of God.

Death is inescapable … but God promises eternal consolation and comfort to those faithful to Him and seek to do His will … through the incarnation and saving work of Christ. 

And no one is irredeemable. Whatever our past … if we come to God in sincerity and repentance, He will be there to lead us back to His flock. The Father waits for us to come home.

But fidelity to God is our sure road … the often hard—but good and true—path to eternal life … summed up in those two great commandments: “You will love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength, and your neighbor as yourself…”

Trevor’s “season” has now come to its early end … and now he’s gone to the Heavenly Father … and our funeral rites point toward our hope and trust in Jesus’ redemptive sacrifice on the cross for us, which leads to forgiveness, to justification and salvation for His faithful.

Our purpose in the funeral Mass, and in continuing prayers for all the dead, is to pray for the soul of the deceased…that any lingering fault or sin be wiped away in God’s great mercy…that all the dead come to eternal life. So we may grieve, but we grieve always with hope … remembering the salvation … the love … that God has for us.

But let yourselves not be consumed with sorrow. Scripture advises: …let your tears fall for the dead … Lay out his body with the honor due him … Let your weeping be bitter and your wailing fervent; observe mourning according to his merit …[but] then be comforted … Do not give your heart to sorrow … there is no coming back; you do the dead no good, and you injure yourself … be comforted for him when his spirit is departed. (Sirach 38:16-23)Trevor certainly wouldn’t want you to waste your own life in sorrow … even for love of him. Forward with your lives! He’d say: “Hush! … remember me fondly, but march on! Live your lives to the fullest!”

Now … sometimes when a loved one dies unexpectedly, friends and relatives live with regret about what they may have said—or not said—to him; don’t worry about it.  Those who die see without doubt and with absolute clarity the truth of God … the truth of Jesus Christ … the importance of love and forgiveness … better than we will ever know while in this life.

Thus, if Trevor had one minute to come back and speak to you, he would surely likely say something like this: “I ask your forgiveness for any offense I’ve given you … for misunderstanding you, for not trying harder, for not sharing with you more of my feelings, my dreams and my love. I have always loved you, and I always will; know that in your hearts. Forgive me my faults, and know without doubt that I forgive you for any and all. Dwell not on past hurts, but rather find joy in one another. And stay close to God always, for He is all truth … all goodness. And love one another.

As St. Paul writes: “…faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13)  Love of God.  Love of neighbor.

So…the greatest and truest memorial you can give to Trevor, or to anyone, then, is to share the love he showed to you with others…and what was best in him, reflect to those around you…for what was best in him reflects his love for you. Pay it forward! … for St. John tells us: “God IS love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:16)

And so … may the soul of Trevor Matuszak, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.