FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 16th – 23rd FEBRUARY 2025
Welcome back to the log, after a bit of a break, while we dealt with the death of our beloved Passionist community member, Father Justinian McGread. He died around 2.15 a.m. on Sunday 2nd February, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which was also the church’s Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life. As Father Justinian had spent over 72 of his 93 years as a consecrated religious, it seemed like a very appropriate day for him to peacefully slip away. I won’t go into the details of his long life and his very varied ministry here, as we will publish the homilies from the reception of his body, and his Requiem Mass, on the website.
At this time, I have come to a renewed appreciation of what is involved for families in organizing a funeral when a loved one dies. Normally, for us as priests, we come to know of the death of a parishioner or, as is often the case with St Mungo’s, someone who is not now a parishioner, but who has had some connection with St Mungo’s in the past. It may be that we have attended that person while they were sick, and given them the last sacraments of the church, or it may be that we didn’t really know them that well at all. We will then enter into a 3-way conversation with ourselves, the family, and the funeral director, to arrange a date and time for the funeral, and then meet with the family to help put things together for the services, before then celebrating the rites with them, up until the burial or cremation takes place.
With the death of Father Justinian, however, we also had to do, in collaboration with his family, all the practical things that other families have to do, like registering the death, contacting all those family and friends who needed to be contacted, of which there were many, as Father Justinian had lived a kaleidoscopic life and had a capacity for forming bonds and keeping contact with people, either directly or through various social media platforms. We also had to contact our other Passionist houses and let the brethren know. We had to organize the music and musicians for the reception and the Mass, put together the orders of service, arrange for the grave to be opened up, choose the coffin and also what he would wear in the coffin, and then bring his attire to the funeral director, which in Father Justinian’s case would be his Passionist religious habit and sign. We then had to book a venue for a meal afterwards, and decide on how many cars were needed. We also had to contact his doctor’s surgery; the social services, the district nurses, the rehab team; and arrange for the collection of his wheelchair and other mobility aids; cancel credit cards, mobile phone, anti-virus, and other contracts. Not all of that is yet fully complete.
I have to say that I have found it all quite consuming and stressful, while still having to do all the other things that have to be done in the two parishes and in the care of my brother. I was thinking back to Father Lawrence’s death in March 2020. It was during Covid, and everything was so different. Many of those same things had to be done, of course, in collaboration with Father Lawrence’s family. But the day after Father Lawrence died was the day that all the churches had to close because of Covid. But while, in one sense, it made things much simpler, and less frenetic, as I wasn’t pulled in all the other directions, and the funeral and burial itself would require to be a very simple, muted affair, I would happily have borne the stress of all the other stuff, just so that all the people; family, friends and Passionist brethren, who would have wanted to be there, so as to pay their last respects to Father Lawrence, could be there. As it was, it was a long time afterwards before we were able to gather his family and friends together and have a service in his memory, and that in itself was a very poignant affair.
Thankfully, we didn’t have those problems with Father Justinian. And so, may Fr Justinian’s good soul now rest in peace, and may he enjoy the fruits of the heavenly banquet.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
Welcome back to the log, after a bit of a break, while we dealt with the death of our beloved Passionist community member, Father Justinian McGread. He died around 2.15 a.m. on Sunday 2nd February, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which was also the church’s Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life. As Father Justinian had spent over 72 of his 93 years as a consecrated religious, it seemed like a very appropriate day for him to peacefully slip away. I won’t go into the details of his long life and his very varied ministry here, as we will publish the homilies from the reception of his body, and his Requiem Mass, on the website.
At this time, I have come to a renewed appreciation of what is involved for families in organizing a funeral when a loved one dies. Normally, for us as priests, we come to know of the death of a parishioner or, as is often the case with St Mungo’s, someone who is not now a parishioner, but who has had some connection with St Mungo’s in the past. It may be that we have attended that person while they were sick, and given them the last sacraments of the church, or it may be that we didn’t really know them that well at all. We will then enter into a 3-way conversation with ourselves, the family, and the funeral director, to arrange a date and time for the funeral, and then meet with the family to help put things together for the services, before then celebrating the rites with them, up until the burial or cremation takes place.
With the death of Father Justinian, however, we also had to do, in collaboration with his family, all the practical things that other families have to do, like registering the death, contacting all those family and friends who needed to be contacted, of which there were many, as Father Justinian had lived a kaleidoscopic life and had a capacity for forming bonds and keeping contact with people, either directly or through various social media platforms. We also had to contact our other Passionist houses and let the brethren know. We had to organize the music and musicians for the reception and the Mass, put together the orders of service, arrange for the grave to be opened up, choose the coffin and also what he would wear in the coffin, and then bring his attire to the funeral director, which in Father Justinian’s case would be his Passionist religious habit and sign. We then had to book a venue for a meal afterwards, and decide on how many cars were needed. We also had to contact his doctor’s surgery; the social services, the district nurses, the rehab team; and arrange for the collection of his wheelchair and other mobility aids; cancel credit cards, mobile phone, anti-virus, and other contracts. Not all of that is yet fully complete.
I have to say that I have found it all quite consuming and stressful, while still having to do all the other things that have to be done in the two parishes and in the care of my brother. I was thinking back to Father Lawrence’s death in March 2020. It was during Covid, and everything was so different. Many of those same things had to be done, of course, in collaboration with Father Lawrence’s family. But the day after Father Lawrence died was the day that all the churches had to close because of Covid. But while, in one sense, it made things much simpler, and less frenetic, as I wasn’t pulled in all the other directions, and the funeral and burial itself would require to be a very simple, muted affair, I would happily have borne the stress of all the other stuff, just so that all the people; family, friends and Passionist brethren, who would have wanted to be there, so as to pay their last respects to Father Lawrence, could be there. As it was, it was a long time afterwards before we were able to gather his family and friends together and have a service in his memory, and that in itself was a very poignant affair.
Thankfully, we didn’t have those problems with Father Justinian. And so, may Fr Justinian’s good soul now rest in peace, and may he enjoy the fruits of the heavenly banquet.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
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