UPDATED<\/strong>: Here is the obituary for Fr. Larry Madden SJ<\/a> from the Washington Post. <\/em>Here is an article by Mary Fox <\/a>from Pastoral Liturgy<\/em>.<\/p>\n Readings: Isaiah 25:6-9; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21<\/p>\n In the course on liturgy that Larry Madden taught in our Georgetown University department of Theology, he naturally had to get the students familiar with ritual, imagery, metaphor, and especially analogy.\u00a0 The example he used, speaking of himself, was: \u201cI am in the autumn of my life.\u201d\u00a0 When he told me that, it struck me as strange:\u00a0 he seemed so youthful\u2014even, sometimes, boyish.\u00a0 \u201cThe autumn\u201d?\u00a0 Then, so suddenly, came winter.\u00a0 The news stunned us, and leaves us saddened.<\/p>\n So as we heard the readings this morning, we were listening for what they might tell us about Larry, about loss and grief, about God and God\u2019s workings in our lives and in our world.<\/p>\n Death and what follows death is beyond our grasp, but the reading from Isaiah can be helpful.\u00a0 That proto-apocalyptic imagery of abundant feasting on God\u2019s holy mountain, the veil drawn back, the tears wiped away\u00a0 In Scripture the privileged image for what it is like when God\u2019s purpose prevails is a feast, with rich food and fine wines, reclining at table in the bosom of Abraham, the wedding banquet the King gives for his son.\u00a0 What awaits us when we die?\u00a0 Think of a party, the Lord tells us, the Lord who puts on the apron and serves his servants.\u00a0 That is what we are in for.\u00a0 Good thing Larry so loved parties.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s second reading, from First Peter, and the Gospel reading from John chapter 14, were the readings for last Sunday, the sixth Sunday of Easter, the readings Larry was to preach on at the nine o\u2019clock Mass here at Holy Trinity. These occupied his thoughts as death came.<\/p>\n From the Gospel: \u201cIf you love me, you will keep my commandments. . . . Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.\u201d\u00a0 This is the heart of the matter: our share in God\u2019s own life, which is love.\u00a0 This is the focus of the paschal mystery, whose enactment in word and sacrament Larry spent his life helping others to celebrate and understand.<\/p>\n The second reading, First Peter, harks back to the Old Testament figure of the just man persecuted, the innocent wrongly accused.\u00a0 How bitter the experience.\u00a0 As the psalmist says,<\/p>\n \u201cIf an enemy had reviled me, Peter\u2019s epistle gives us the example of the Lord, \u201cthe righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,\u201d who bore it meekly, opened not his mouth in remonstration or self-justification: in the second Eucharistic prayer we say,\u201ca death he freely accepted.\u201d\u00a0 Again, the paschal mystery, at its heart not just love, and not just self-emptying love, but love of enemy.\u00a0 \u201cLove your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.\u201d<\/p>\n Think of Larry\u2019s unassuming manner, his boyish zest for life; behind that was an iron commitment to the Gospel.\u00a0 That was what made it possible for Larry to bear painful events with equanimity and painful misunderstanding with gracious generosity.<\/p>\n St. Augustine wrote of faith and hope that \u201cyour faith is in vain, vain is your hope, unless you hope and believe this:\u00a0 that the power to love will be yours for the asking.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cAsk and you will receive.\u201d\u00a0 Larry followed the Lord\u2019s injunction, as he followed the Lord\u2019s example:\u00a0 he asked<\/em>.\u00a0 What he received has enriched us all, to the glory of God.<\/p>\n Fr. James Walsh, S.J. ————————————————-<\/p>\n Eulogy given by Paul Covino<\/p>\n On behalf of Larry\u2019s family, I want to thank each of you for being here this morning.\u00a0 Larry loved a good party, and the liturgy, to him, was the grandest celebration of all, so you honestly couldn\u2019t have offered him a more fitting tribute than to be part of this assembly.<\/p>\n Through the wonders of technology, the past few days have been something of a virtual Irish wake, with stories of Larry circulating through e-mail, Facebook, and blogs.\u00a0 All that was missing was Larry\u2019s beloved Manhattans flowing through the fiber optic cables.\u00a0 The stories reveal a man with a broad range of interests, a Jesuit who loved being a priest but had no time for clericalism, and a consummate student of literature, current events, and science, as well as theology.\u00a0 They also tell of the myriad ways in which he profoundly impacted people\u2019s lives, and, in so doing, gave them a glimpse into that new heaven and new earth foreseen in the Book of Revelation and that feast on God\u2019s holy mountain that we will hear from Isaiah in a few moments.\u00a0 It gave us the sense, to quote Larry\u2019s favorite spiritual, that we could almost see the lights of the city, God\u2019s heavenly city[1]<\/a>.<\/p>\n For some of us, Larry was a trusted spiritual guide, a faithful disciple of Ignatius who made spirituality accessible through his goodness, humanity, and down-to-earth holiness.\u00a0 As a Holy Trinity parishioner wrote, \u201cHow blessed we were to have Larry join us at recent men\u2019s group meetings.\u00a0 He never imposed himself on the discussions.\u00a0 He fit in so naturally.\u00a0 He resembled a spiritual EF Hutton ad.\u00a0 When he spoke, everyone listened.\u00a0 He said so much in so few words.\u00a0 How profound, insightful, and alive he was.\u201d\u00a0 When Larry guided us spiritually, we could almost see the lights of the city.<\/p>\n For many of us, Larry was a gifted preacher, a faithful disciple of Jesus who spoke to us along the way of our lives and opened the Scriptures to us, proclaiming glad tidings and leaving our hearts burning within us.\u00a0 Whether the words were his own or whispered into his ear by his furry sidekick Mister Blue[2]<\/a>, Larry\u2019s homilies were, to quote a posting on a national liturgical blog, \u201cbrilliant and witty\u2026always seeking ways to connect to the congregation.\u201d[3]<\/a> When Larry preached, we could almost see the lights of the city.<\/p>\n For many of us too, Larry was the quintessential presider, putting into practice what he taught so many other presiders.\u00a0 Whether he was presiding at a daily Mass in Holy Trinity\u2019s Chapel of Saint Ignatius, the Sunday 12:15 Mass at Georgetown\u2019s Dahlgren Chapel, the liturgical crescendo of the Triduum, or a baptism, wedding or funeral, as another blog post noted, \u201cYou did not see him or notice him.\u00a0 He served the liturgy and pointed you to Christ.\u201d[4]<\/a> When Larry presided, we could almost see the lights of the city.<\/p>\n For many here and around the country, Larry was a strong and consistent voice for liturgy that was beautiful and transformative.\u00a0 In what was, I believe, his last published article, Larry wrote, \u201cOver the years I came to believe that beauty in its many forms can be the most effective avenue we can take to the experience of the mystery of God.\u00a0 For we Americans, I think beautiful, engaging music may be the strongest symbolic language to speak to us.\u00a0 If we add quality preaching and a reverent enactment of the rites by the various ministers to beautiful and appropriate music, I believe some people\u2019s symbolic, poetic capacities can be awakened and they can be seduced <\/em>into experiences of the paschal mystery.\u201d[5]<\/a> When Larry led us to understand more deeply the transformative potential of liturgy, we could almost see the lights of the city.<\/p>\n For many in Washington and beyond, Larry was a great gatherer, always looking for ways to bring together an interesting mix of people from various styles, beliefs, and areas of expertise.\u00a0 Whether it was a social gathering with good food and an ample bar, a sing-along around the piano, a conference on church building and renovating, or a think-tank of people in liturgy and the arts, Larry believed deeply that we were all the richer and wiser for being with a diverse group of folks.\u00a0 When we were part of one of Larry\u2019s gatherings, we could almost see the lights of the city.<\/p>\n Finally, as most of you know, Larry was an avid sailor.\u00a0 Although he occasionally had to defend his boat to Jesuit superiors with the assertion that it was cheaper than therapy, he knew, as a Holy Trinity parishioner noted, \u201cthat he experienced the peaceful presence of God silently sailing in the Chesapeake and other waters, navigating the waves and tides \u2013 for the Lord was always his constant companion and captain of his boat.\u201d\u00a0 Looking out on the horizon, as he is in the picture on the back of today\u2019s worship aid, Larry knew that he could almost see the lights of the city.<\/p>\n A colleague from Loyola University of Maryland quoted Saint Ephrem in reference to Larry in a blog: \u201cYou gave him to us, Lord, to be our joy, and now the time has come to give him back to you. We do so without a murmur, but our hearts are wrung with sorrow.\u201d[6]<\/a> May the liturgy we celebrate today help to transform this sorrow with paschal hope, a hope that Larry rekindled in us each time he sang:<\/p>\n John tells us of a city so high up above Please stand and sing:<\/p>\n I can almost see the lights of the City In the hope that we shall one day be reunited with Larry who now fully sees the lights of that City, let us continue to pray.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Larry often used a hand puppet named \u201cMister Blue\u201d when preaching to an assembly that included children.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> www.praytellblog.com<\/a>, May 31, 2011<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> \u201cParish Liturgy during the Past Twenty Years from a Pastor\u2019s Viewpoint,\u201d Liturgical Ministry, <\/em>Winter 2011, 43.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> www.praytellblog.com<\/a>, May 31, 2011<\/p>\n
\nthat I could bear. . . .
\nBut it was you, my other self,
\nmy comrade and friend,
\nyou, whose company I enjoyed,
\nat whose side I walked in procession in the house of God.\u201d
\n[Ps 55:13-15]<\/p>\n
\nHoly Trinity Church
\nJune 4, 2011<\/p>\n
\nWhere we\u2019ll be in a Spirit of love
\nWe\u2019ll meet over yonder in that heavenly place
\nThere, we\u2019ll see each other face to face.<\/p>\n
\nShinin\u2019 down on me
\nI can almost see the lights of the City
\nForever, Lord, I shall be free.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n
[1]<\/a> Lights of the City, <\/em>words and music by Michael Murphy<\/p>\n