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Funeral Mass for Kathy Shimkaveg
10:00am Church of the Nativity
January 20, 2020
Resilience: A Godly Virtue
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Condolences
We gather to honor Kathy Shimkaveg’s passing from this life to one of fullness and joy, and we begin by offering our heartfelt condolences to:
ØAl, Kathy’s dear husband of almost 50 years
ØTo her three sons: Brian, Mike, and Scott
ØTo her sisters: Eileen, Mary Kay, and Maureen
ØHer very dear grandchildren: Grant (14), Lilly (12), Isabell (8), Wyatt (6), Alison (5), and Olivia (2)
We stand with you in your loss and gather to honor a loving friend and fellow parishioner here at Nativity
Give Me an Adjective!
It’s been a long haul for Kathy. Some would say she was a fighter, but those who knew her well would not agree.
So what would be an appropriate adjective to describe her? When we gathered with her family the resounding response was “Resilient.” Kathy over the long haul was resilient.
The dictionary gives us two definitions that get us to the heart of the description. Quote: (1) A person or animal able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. As in “Babies are generally far more resilient than new parents realize” or “fish are resilient to most infections.” (2) A substance or object able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed as in: “A shoe with resilient cushioning.”
Yet, Kathy was neither an animal, a baby, a fish, or a shoe, but boy, she was resilient!
ØAble to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions
ØResilient to most infections.
ØAble to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed
… and we who have gathered this morning can testify to that. Amen? Amen, indeed!
I find it interesting that a dictionary definition could pinpoint what is for us a profound experience of someone close to our hearts.
And now I’d ask, “How did Kathy acquire that resilience?”Well, for starters, her center, her ground, was her deep trust and faith in God. It was (1) the bedrock on which she stood or you could say it was (2) the compass that kept her pointed in the right direction, or even it was (3) her gyroscope that kept her balanced no matter what the twists or turns.
Enough with images that speak of how her trust and faith got played out in real time and let us look instead to the Gospel for what gave rise to that profound sense of trust and faith.
John’s Gospel
In John’s Gospel, Jesus is speaking to folks who are troubled for whatever reason: serious illness, sadness, loss, disillusionment, failure, or sinfulness.
His word to them is, “Believe in God and believe in me.” He’s saying that there’s an answer beneath your struggles and yes, it’s within your grasp. Beneath your struggles there is relationship.
Through daily reception of the Eucharist Kathy came to have a close relationship with Jesus himself and in the midst of an assembled community of faith and it was thus that she could take him at his word: “Believe in God and believe in me.”
Her faith and fidelity flowed from such assembling and such sacred eating.
Jesus quickly adds, “In my Father’s house there are many rooms.”
By “Many rooms” he seems to mean,“Trust me that there are many levels — or rooms — and no one may be at the same level, but that there are rooms for everyone — churchgoers, non-churchgoers, faith-filled and faithless — where you can find comfort, solace, fulfillment.
Kathy had found her room where she could abide with Jesus himself one-on-one.
She did that with daily prayer. In the silence of her heart she was one with the Lord, Jesus regularly.
Conclusion
At first blush her life seems to be an example for us, but from Kathy’s side of it, it was relationship and her relating to this faith community that made the difference.
It gave her the resources to grow, to ground her, to point her in a direction, and ultimately to keeping her balanced.
And it’s her life that tells us today, that if we continue assembling for Eucharist, if we remain faithful to prayer and silence, we too can reap the same fruits she did.
What a gift she has been to us. It’s time for us to live out her legacy in our own lives!
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