The Scriptural Deacon

  My pastor, mentor, and friend, Fr. Mark Shuey, entered eternal life a few weeks ago. His funeral and burial took place last week. It was a very emotional and moving few days. Led by our bishop, who made the journey down from Parma, we all prayed together as one family in Christ for the repose of the soul of our beloved brother. The Funeral Liturgy and rites are very beautiful and offer the great hope that comes from being faithful disciples of Jesus. Through the prayers of the Church, God comes to those who mourn and offers comfort. Despair is canceled out by the power of the Resurrection and the newness of life that awaits us. Much of modern culture has become uncomfortable with death. We often try to soften it, sanitize it, or put it out of sight. Even our language has changed. We speak of “celebrations of life” rather than funerals, and often the body of the deceased is absent or hidden away. The Eastern Catholic Church, of which I am a member, does something very different. I...

  We often do not realize the value or importance of a relationship or a person in our lives until that person is gone.  Early on Sunday morning, August 9, I received the sad and heartbreaking news that Fr. Mark Shuey had entered eternal life. This was certainly not the way I expected to begin my Sunday morning. As the full weight of the news began to sink in, I thought about the many monumental events in my life that Fr. Mark had been a part of. He married Joanne and me in 2008. From there, he inspired and shepherded my vocation toward the diaconate. He baptized all nine of our children. He was present at my ordination, just as I had been present at and served at both of his ordinations, first as a deacon and later as a priest. Then the full weight of the value and worth of his relationship with me and my family became evident in my heart. With tears and pain, I began to reflect on the immense loss that I would now have to bear, but also on the true joy and blessing it was to...