HOMILY FOR FUNERAL OF FR. W. LAVEREY C.Ss.R

Delivered by the Very Rev'd Fr Provincial C.Ss.R.

Two days ago I was on the London Underground travelling to Heathrow. Between the stations, the tube suddenly stopped and there we waited. What was most striking was that during the wait, not one person said a word. Some kept on reading. Some stared straight ahead, and some cast their eyes down. But there was no chit chat, no re-assurance to one another. Just a stony silence.

This was the atmosphere into which Fr. Bill was catapulted over 50 years ago as he began his journey to the Redemptorist priesthood. He often recounted the story to be with great amusement. Here he was, a young man from a rural area in which everyone knew everybody, in which you could enter a neighbour’s house without knocking, an environment of family closeness (which we still see here today) and friendliness.

And he described to me how after arriving in London, he took the tube to Osterley College to begin his studies. Here it was he encountered his first obstacle  - as he chatted first to one person on the tube, then to another; only to be met with silence, eyes lowered, and noses further into newspapers. That evening he arrived at Osterley only to find some of the same reserve – but worse, a curriculum of studies which included English literature, Greek and Latin.

I asked Fr. Bill how he coped in these first few weeks and his answer was a reply I would hear from him many times over the years. “Well I just said my prayer. That’s what helped me”.

Throughout Fr. Bill’s life, this situation of being thrust into the unknown was repeated again and again.

After ordination, he was appointed to work on the School Mission Team in Liverpool – something for which he had not in any way been prepared….. facing very large groups of teenage boys and girls. I asked him how he managed that! Again it was the same answer. “Well I said my prayers, and somehow or other the Lord did the rest.” And it worked. He related well to these young people

Later in life, he was appointed Parish Priest and Superior of the community in Plymouth, dealing with the diocesan administration. And again the response was the same. “I just said my prayers and the Holy Spirit did the rest”. And as someone who lived with him in the community at that time, I can assure you that the Holy Spirit did work through Fr. Bill and touched the hearts of many, many people.

Bill, both in Sunderland and Plymouth, started charismatic  prayer groups – again with complete trust in God to ensure that they proceeded well.

When he was appointed to Hawkstone to work on the team here – he told me laughingly – “I thought that Hawkstone was only for the intellectuals”. But the prayers worked, and countless people were encouraged and assisted by his kind words and the gentle encounter in the Sacrament of Confession, for which Bill was in great demand.

And when his health began to fail, he faced it with the same equanimity. First his protracted stay in the local hospital, where I visited him and found him trying to pray his rosary in the midst of a busy ward. And then when he moved to the care home, he confided to me on one occasion, “All I have to do here is say me prayers”. And he did

Out of the life of each Redemptorist, one can often draw a characteristic which marks them out…. A great administrator, a great preacher, a great writer, a great story teller. For me, whenever I think of Fr. Bill, the characteristic is a great pray-er.

We live in an age in which the value of prayer is doubted and perhaps even mocked. However, prayer remains not only as a support for our lives – but as a real power in our lives.

The founder of the Redemptorists, St. Alphonsus was clear. Prayer is our life line with God and if that  life line becomes corroded or blocked, then there is a danger that our souls will, as it were, wither and die. Prayer is not only the way in which we keep our relationship with God alive. It is the tool which again and again, gives us life and courage and strength to reach out to others, as we see so clearly from the life of Fr. Bill.

And perhaps the best way to remember Fr. Bill is to recommit ourselves to prayer. To be women and men of prayer. People who really believe in the power of God, not only to support us, to work in us and through us and to build a better world. This is certainly a feature of the Lavery family.

I prayed often with Fr. Bill – both when he was in ministry and when he was ill. I also prayed with Kathleen his sister in law, when she was in the hospice. It was Brother Thomas who suggested it to me. Thomas used to call Kathleen every afternoon for a chat, and then they prayed together. What a marvellous family act of love.

Someone from the family said to me this morning, “Thank you for all you did for Fr. Bill”. I would say rather, “Thank you to the Lavery family for giving us Fr. Bill and  Brother Thomas. Thank you for what each one of you has done for us……reminding us of the value of close family ties, reminding us of the value of prayer. Last year while preaching the Novena in Belfast, I met Patrick and his family. And again, I had the invitation and the joy of praying with them.

Before I conclude I would life to express my deep gratitude to those who live and work here at Hawkstone Hall. First of all, thanks to the Rector, Fr. Maurice who cared so deeply for Bill. Maurice visited him regularly, monitored the level of care he received, celebrated Mass for Bill in his room, and regularly prayed with him. Fr. Kevin was likewise a good friend and a confrere who accompanied Bill closely during these final months of his life. All the staff here at Hawkstone were wonderful. However, if I may, I would like to say a special word of thanks to Srs. Carole, Jackie and Laurice who loved Bill, and showed this love by their frequent visits to him in hospital and in the care home. Indeed Sr. Laurice and another Nazareth House Sister said the rosary with him just half an hour before he died. What a wonderful way to die, surrounded by love and prayer. On behalf of the Redemptorists and on behalf of the family, I thank everyone here at Hawkstone for their loving support of Bill in his final years.

As we gather to say our final farewell here to Fr. Bill, we are again reminded that those who die in grace go not further from us than God. And God is always very close. Today, as we celebrate this requiem Mass, we are reminded that Fr. Bill, Kathleen and all our deceased relatives and confreres are very, very close to us – and we ask them to pray for us – that we may live and die as they died……..people of prayer – people close of God our creator.

May Our Mother of Perpetual Help, our Holy Founder St. Alphonsus, and all the saints meet and welcome our Brother Bill today. Amen