Marion Mazzoli Funeral
Is 25: 6a, 7-9; Rom 8:14-23; Mt 11: 25-30
Deacon Larry Brockman
Jane and I were very fortunate to have had Marion Mazzoli in our lives. In the last decade, we socialized together often. We went on a cruise with the Mazzoli’s in 2016, sharing each evening together, the shore excursions, and many of the other meals. They brought their Grandchildren over to use our pool a number of times. We shared meals at our houses together and other activities. And so, we got to know Marion and Tom, their history, and their stories. We were close, sharing our values and our dreams and our lives together.
We watched helplessly as Marion’s disease crippled her and ebbed away the person we knew. Her suffering was always borne with dignity and composure. I brought her communion for the last couple of Months, and we enjoyed the discussions and exchanges as we always did. But it pained us to see her slow decline. In the last two weeks, it was clear that her days were numbered- a real wakeup call on the reality that all life ends in physical death. But even so, it is just inconceivable to think of Marion as gone.
You know, the sadness that all of us feel at the passing of a loved one, especially a person as committed to Christ as Marion was, is really over our loss, our pain, our needs. Simply put, all of us still need Marion. We want our Mom, our Grandma, our Aunt, our friend, our spiritual director, to be there for us just like she always had been there for us. We want the special wisdom, the love, the companionship, the support, that was Marion. And it is inconceivable that it is gone.
Marion was a true believer in the Lord. From an early age, she committed herself to the will of her father. She even offered to share in the sufferings of Christ. And her life reflected both of those commitments. Marion spent her working career caring for orphaned children and running a preschool. She was a devoted wife of 57 years and a mother to three children. She became a trained and qualified Spiritual Director. She helped found Women of Wisdom here at Holy Family. And she was always there for her family, whether the needs were for personal time, care, or financial support. Marion lived the life of a Christian to the fullest.
For 25 years Marion carried the burden of tongue cancer which was miraculously kept in remission for 20 of those years. But in the end, she succumbed to this dreadful and painful disease. Marion shared in the sufferings of Christ.
Our readings tell her story. Marion came to Christ Jesus with her burdens and labor, offering them up to him from an early age. And so, the Son revealed things to her in a special way. As Paul says in our New Testament:: “The sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.” That was Marion’s hope; true Christian hope. And now, Marion has passed from this life to that Everlasting Life promised to all believers.
As our First reading says: Death is destroyed forever; all tears will be wiped away. And “Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; lLet us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!” That is Marion’s destiny.
So while all of us may be sad because Marion has left our lives; Let us rejoice for her, a daughter of Christ, who has fought the good fight; lived her life for Christ; and loved each and every one of us with the Love of Christ because her reward in heaven will be great.