Thanks for putting this in Breaking News. It’s where it belongs.
I’m sure he’s in the loving arms of the Lord. He was such a strong, faithful figure in the Church.
A great man.
A sad day for Catholics... a happy one for Father Neuhaus, as I am sure this giant man of reason is now enjoying the beautific vision of Our Lord:
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus Deus, in Sion,
et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam;
ad te omnis caro veniet.
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
(Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
A hymn becomes you, O God, in Zion,
and to you shall a vow be repaid in Jerusalem.
Hear my prayer; to you shall all flesh come.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.”)
From the Introit of the Tridentine Requiem Mass of the Roman Rite.
I'm not sure we were ready for his absence, however. He shall be missed.
********
"Well done, good and faithful servant of God"
May the extraordinary peace, known only through the great love of God in Christ, bring comfort, consolation, and healing to family, loved ones, and the extended family of God in Christ in an hour of loss.
May the celebration of this life be rich in remembrance of his days and deeds committed to the glory of God in the earth.
While I am not Catholic, this loss is right up there with the earlier loss of Paul Weyrich. The great minds are departing....
RIP Fr. Neuhaus.
The belief that love can reach into the afterlife, that reciprocal giving and receiving is possible, in which our affection for one another continues beyond the limits of death—this has been a fundamental conviction of Christianity throughout the ages and it remains a source of comfort today....
The lives of others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve. And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for worse. So my prayer for another is not something extraneous to that person, something external, not even after death. In the interconnectedness of Being, my gratitude to the other—my prayer for him—can play a small part in his purification. And for that there is no need to convert earthly time into God's time: in the communion of souls simple terrestrial time is superseded. It is never too late to touch the heart of another, nor is it ever in vain. In this way we further clarify an important element of the Christian concept of hope. Our hope is always essentially also hope for others; only thus is it truly hope for me too. As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: how can I save myself? We should also ask: what can I do in order that others may be saved and that for them too the star of hope may rise? Then I will have done my utmost for my own personal salvation as well.
-- ENCYCLICAL LETTER
SPE SALVI
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS
PRIESTS AND DEACONS
MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS
AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL
ON CHRISTIAN HOPE
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the Mercy of God rest in peace.