Josephina S

She Is Dancing Among The Stars

See video of this funeral

Gospel starts at 29:45
Homily starts at 31:26

So, they say our stories are written in the stars. And when you go outside at night, if you are blessed with a really dark night – no polution or anything else, you look up there and see all those stars. And it’s such a reassuring thing. I think that’s why they first came up with the saying.

On April 16^th of this year, Josie wrote the last page in her own story. It doesn’t mean her story ends there. It’s up to you guys to continue to tell that story. She just can’t tell it any longer.

And so, when you look at the sky, and you go, “Mom, you did such an amazing job.” And when she looks back and says, “You guys, I’m so proud of you.: So, take great, great joy in that. But the Gospel you chose today – Blessed are the poor in spirit. Did she ever experience the poor in spirit! She, at 14, became an orphan. She lived through the terrible time there in the Philippines when the Japanese were just brutal! They didn’t allow food. They didn’t allow medical. And just the brutality of the way they ran roughshod over the Filipino people. To go through that. And, I think, it is very important to realize that spirit doesn’t die with her.

What he’s talking about there, she embodied. Now it’s time for you guys to embody that. She gave it to you. Blessed are those who mourn. I mean, gosh, she fell in love with a wonderful man, Antonio, and she lived with him, had children with him, and had a wonderful life with him, and she lost him.

But not just that. One of the hardest things for a parent, especially a mom, is to lose a child. She experienced that also, in losing Emma. But she continued to live. She didn’t give up. She continued to be a servant to everybody that she came in contact with. She was a teacher, a principal. She touched so many lives outside of those who are in here today. And I think it’s important to realize that she’s like an exploding star. Her life has affected so many people. She has come to rest in the hearts of so many. And that will continue on.

As she got older, she eventually came to America, settled into a beautiful Filipino community. But after she lost him, she came to Texas. For 7 years. This is God’s country. Everybody knows. And if you don’t know, a Texan will tell you. We’re very, very proud of the people. And she came in and became a part of this life.  Again, such a wonderful, wonderful blessing. And even though she struggled with a knee – and I know what that’s like -dancing can cure so much stuff. When you hear that music, and you take that cane or your walker, and set it aside, and just run out there in the middle of everything and just start dancing, that is the spirit that cannot be conquered. That spirit is in you.

She wrote her last chapter. She finished it April 16^th. Her story continues, like an epilogue. But it continued with you guys. And because in the first reading from Wisdom it says, “In the view of the foolish they appeared to be dead”. That’s a great sign for us. We appear to be dead. Just because the body itself is not animated any longer, it doesn’t mean that she died because she had great faith. And that great faith again, was something that was passed on to you guys.

Fantastic woman. And again, when we look at the sky at night, we don’t know that her star has gone out. We are more likely to know that there is a new star there. And we pray for her and continue to pray for you and your family. And know that her story doesn’t end. It continues on.