Great-Grandpa Aloysius Meinert died in 1957, so obviously I never knew him. But after all of the spiritual changes I have experienced this year--my love that is on fire for the Lord, my return to the Confessional, my love for the Eucharist and all the Sacraments, and my deep love and pride in the Catholic Church--I can't help but wonder, after reading his eulogy, if he has been praying for me all this time. I sure think so. I don't think "family" ends after a small number of generations. I'm certainly very blessed to come from a very long line of very strong and devout Catholics.
"THEY THAT ARE LEARNED SHALL SHINE AS THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE FIRMAMENT AND THEY THAT INSTRUCT MANY UNTO JUSTICE, SHALL SHINE AS STARS FOR ALL ETERNITY"
(Words of the prophet Daniel, 12 chapter, 3rd verse)
If we were to ask ourselves a question, "Who are they who have instructed many in the way of justice?," immediately there is brought forth in our mind an obvious answer, "those who have given their lives to the service and the salvation of their fellow man." When we think of one human being instructing, guiding many others along the pathway of justice, down the road of righteous conduct, we cannot help but to think of the religious Sister, who day after day diligently labors in her classroom to mold and form the tiny souls entrusted to her care. That indeed is an example of one instructing unto justice. When we think again of a human being helping others get to Heaven, immediately we picture the good and diligent parish priest, working in his parish, preaching, teaching, administering the Sacraments because all these are ways of bringing the justice of God to the children of men. But yet, must we stop there, with nuns and priests, in seeking the full number of those who have instructed many unto justice? Can we deny the fact that the wonderful Catholic father is less deserving of the title, "instructor of many unto justice"?
No, I am afraid we cannot, and this morning I would like all here present to appreciate the fact we have gathered here not to weep and lament, as those who have no hope, but to pay tribute and learn from the example of one, who instructed many in the way of justice.
Those who knew Al Meinert knew him for what he really was. He was a quiet man, a simple man, living close to the earth from which he made his livelihood. Yet underneath that simple, unimposing exterior, there was a tender and a gentle, sincere heart, that loved his wife and family but, which above all else, loved his Lord and God above all other things. Religion to Al Meinert was not sissy stuff, for women and children, but for everyone, and especially for him. He never talked religion or wore it on his sleeve where people could see it to talk about it, but he had it where it counts--in his heart--and he showed it where it matters. Here at this altar for Mass, there at that Communion rail for strength, and there at that Confessional for mercy. He was religious in the same way he lived, a man's man in God's world.
And that spirituality, that holiness which he had in his own heart, brought others unto justice. The example he gave his wife and children, was not just one they saw but one they saw and heeded, and it brought all of them to the feet of God, where they learned well the lessons of His love. The whole family learned to love and appreciate the Mass. They learned to come frequently and gather their strength from the Sacraments, because from their earliest years they had the example of a father who did not say, "Do as I say," but, "Do as I do."
As far as the possessions of the world go, Al Meinert was not a wealthy man. He did not drive a big, expensive car. He did not live in an elegant, luxurious house; so when God called him before His judgment seat last Wednesday noon, he could not say, "Father, look at the wealth I have acquired; consider the famous name and the great renown I have achieved." No, Al Meinert could not say that to God; he had not much wealth to offer to God. All he could say was, "Father,You have given me a fine wife and eight children. There they are; they are not rich nor famous, but my wife is a wonderful wife, a devoted and devout Catholic mother. My children, I have tried to train them in the way of Your Commandments; I have given them the best religious training I could afford. I have tried to make them love You--and I think they do. My hands are not full of gifts, Lord, but my hands are clean and my conscience is clear. I have tried never to shirk my duties as a husband or a father." Yes, Al Meinert, had not much in a material way to offer to Almighty God, but what he offered, he offered fully, and God knew he had instructed many unto justice, and I am sure that after the sun went down on last Wednesday, the star of Al Meinert appeared in the heavens.
We know and realize the family is sad and heartbroken at the sudden loss of a dear husband and devoted father; but yet, can we, in their bereavement, remind them of an important thing? What they do, how they live, will be the success or the failure of their father's life. The only great monument a busy father can build to stand after he is dead is the monument of his family left behind. The life they live in the future, the example they give to their own children will be the yardstick by which their father will be judged. Your father is gone but his loving wife remains and all the children will try to work hard and diligently to help her with her many tasks.
We preach a sermon at a funeral, not only to say a word of praise for he deceased but also to speak a word of caution or warning for the living. From the sudden, untimely death of Al Meinert, all of us, the living, can learn two important lessons.
While all of us are quick to assure ourselves many years to save our soul, none can be foolish enough to be that hopeful. Our Lord has warned us that "He will come as a thief in the night, when we least expect it," and then we must be ready. Youngness of years, robustness of health is not insurance against a sudden and unprovided death. Such a realization should point out to us, the living, that each moment we should live so that if sudden and accidental death comes to us, we are ready, as was the deceased, to stand before the judgment seat of our Heavenly Judge.
The second lesson is also a fruitful one; for the last few weeks, Al Meinert, like all the people who live from the soil, was worried about the weather, wondering whether the abundance of rain would prevent the planting and cultivation of the crop. Such was a great concern. Today he is not one bit concerned about the crop, whether it is good or bad, because today with him, only one thing counts, and that, the condition of his immortal soul. So with us, we can be concerned about many material things, good things, but with all our concern really only one thing counts, and that with God, the condition of our own soul. We might have the best crop, the biggest and best farm, the most success, but if, in the sight of God, we have failed to save our own soul, our whole life has been a failure. This truth, gruesome to face but as real as today, faces all of us this morning.
Your father has gone on to another life to prepare for his family in that heavenly country a new home. He is that star you can see shining in the heavens on the clear night. You, his family, are going to have to guide your life by that star. Keep that star ever in front of you; remember the good example your father gave you; never let his star grow dim in your heaven; never let his memory grow faint in your life. But look upward, forward to the time when all of you, his children, his wife, will be gathered together with him in that heavenly home for all of eternity.
Amen.
Funeral Eulogy by Father R. Kaiser June, 1957
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| My Great-Grandpa Aloysius Anthony Meinert |
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