David DiGirolamo
Funeral Homily
Thursday
December 28, 2017
6:00pm
IHM

INTRO:​ When I was at the seminary in my last few years of studying for the priesthood a new priest faculty member joined our seminary. He was quite brilliant, had written books that were published, and sort of let others know that he did all that!!!

Many of us seminarians were cautious and somewhat intimidated by him!

(Can’t imagine anyone so intimidating at Walsh Jesuit??)

Anyway… he was an EXCELLENT HOMILIST and still is today. When he would preside over the liturgy, as the entrance procession and gathering song were happening, one could see, as he processed down the aisle into church, that his LIPS were moving, but not to any of the words of the song!!!! As I watched him, I would think…
Is he nervous ??? ….
Does he have some kind of “tick” ??? …..
What is this mumbling all about ???

Well, I finally had the courage to approach Father and ask him what was he mouthing as he processed into liturgy….????

HIS ANSWER:

“James, I am quoting the Old Testament Psalmist…… (Psalm 26)

“Oh Lord, I love the beauty of Thy house,
The place where Thy glory dwells
And I joyfully walk around Your Altar
Singing Your praise.”

All of us have a difficult time with Dave’s dying.
All of us question, why?
All of us ponder God’s mystery and plan.
We are not “joyfully” walking.

I cannot avoid your sadness today, your profound hurting, your understandable confusion and shock about the quick and sudden death of David DiGirolamo, so young, so humble, so balanced, and so good to all ……………

But, we all must continue to walk around this altar singing God’s praise as best as we can. It’s what we do. It’s what has always been a part of our lives, to NOT GIVE UP and to KEEP GOING no matter what happens.

At the end of his time here on earth DAVE was saying to you, his family,
“Surround yourself with GOOD PEOPLE”.

Our community at IHM, the great people at WALSH JESUIT, the STOW BULL SHARKS, Dave’s business associates, golf partners, and your Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, and Tallmadge neighbors are here… FOR YOU ….. Renata, Nick and Pam, Vince and Nancy, Allen and Annette. Surround yourself with good people…. Surround yourselves with the church.

We all, the church, are trying to walk with you around this altar singing GOD’s praise.

JESUS SAID: Long time ago and once again, today………..

“Young man I bid you, Arise!”
I picked that Gospel for all of us to hear.

When Jesus uses these words He’s bringing HOPE to the grieving church, the church of yester-year and at this very moment in time….the kind of hope that acknowledges God who we believe rewards us and lifts us up, helps us RISE, when we serve Him for making the world a better place.

And didn’t Dave do just that….make our world a better place!

His “smiley “blue” eyes were seen by you and his BIG hearty laugh was heard by all of you at one time or another! These characteristics lifted your spirits. They made you and I feel like we belonged in his circle of friends and family!

CONCLUSION

We are in the Christmas season, Jesus’ birth, and His arrival into our human world. Cardinal Timothy Dolan reminds us, the seasonal atmosphere of this wintertime is our worlds …. DARKER TIME; there is more darkness at this time of the year….and this dark event, Dave’s death, like so many other “dark” events in all of our lives, takes place in this seasonal atmosphere of more dark and gloom than at other times

We all have gone through DARK TIMES.

Our faith, if called upon today, can tell us that there is LIGHT after we go through the dark times.

I am sure that’s why EASTER comes in the SPRING, the seasonal atmosphere of more LIGHT and BRIGHTNESS in our WORLD! Christ saves us in the LIGHT and will save all of us in His light, in His time. Don’t give up!

Mary, Our Blessed Mother, said:

“Let it be done to me as you say”

when Gabriel, sent by God to her, to announce that she was chosen to be the mother of God.

These words represent a Christian attitude, an approach to any world condition of life and death. Mary the first Christian can be our model through this dark time.

LET IT BE DONE TO ME AS YOU SAY!

May we all walk around God’s altar allowing this dark time to be done to us and knowing that LIGHT will come all in God’s due time.

“Oh Lord, I love the beauty of Thy house,
The place where Thy glory dwells
And I joyfully walk around Your Altar
Singing Your praise.”