Mass and Graveside Service

These were the three writing used at Pam's Funeral Mass on Monday.

First, a reading from the old Testament.

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (NIV)

The LORD Calls Samuel

. . .The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.

. . .One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel.
. . . . . .Samuel answered, "Here I am." And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
. . . . . .But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.

. . .Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
. . . . . ."My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."

. . .Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

. . .The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
. . . . . .Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

. . .The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!"
. . . . .Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

(Source - BibleGateway.com - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel%203:1-10;&version=31; )

Second, a reading from the Epistles.

1 Corinthians 13 (NIV)

Love

. . .If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

. . .Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

. . .Loves never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

. . .And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

(Source for 1 Corinthians 13 - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2013&version=31 )

Third, a reading from the Gospels.

John 20:1-18 (NIV)

The Empty Tomb

. . .Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"

. . .So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

. . .Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

. . .They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

. . ."They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

. . ."Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
. . . . . .Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

. . .Jesus said to her, "Mary."
. . . . . .She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

. . .Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "

. . .Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

(Source - BibleGateway.com - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020:1-18;&version=31; )

My sister-in-law sang "Amazing Grace". Click on the following link to hear the hymn - http://youtube.com/watch?v=PHpye0M34JQ

And one of Pam's favorites hymns was sung "On Eagle's Wings". Click on the following link to hear the hymn - http://youtube.com/watch?v=4rRea9qnjK4&mode=related&search=

PS Special thanks to Father Jose, who did the Mass & Graveside services. And additional thanks to Father Jose for allowing me to pick the three readings. Love - Jerry, the Kids, & Opal (woof).