Memorial Mass for WFB

A memorial Mass was celebrated at Saint Patrick's Cathedral last Friday for the repose of the soul of William F. Buckley, Jr. Here are some excerpts from a beautiful article written by Fr. Raymond J. De Souza, who was in attendance.

Buckley remains an outstanding example of the Christian in public life. His foundational convictions were animated by his faith, namely that every human life, originating in God and destined for Him, is entitled to that liberty which permits it to flourish in creative co-operation with the divine. His strongest political passion — anti-communism — was driven by his conviction that it was not merely inefficient, but evil, not merely mistaken, but theologically wrong.

Yet, for some 60 years in public life, he never conducted himself in an exclusive or confessional mode. His deepest convictions were religious; his public arguments were not.

It was his Catholicism that made him so keen to ensure that politics, that necessary and noble cause, served its true purpose, which is to leave plenty of room for the more necessary and nobler things still — the things which are beautiful and lovely, and to which we owe our love.

He did not often refer to his faith, but rather it provided the frame of reference for everything. In the latest book, published just a few months ago, he mentions in passing National Review: “the fortnightly journal of opinion with which I have been associated pre partum, in partu, and post partum.” That’s the old Latin formula specifying the dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary; for Buckley it was as natural to refer to the catechism as it was nautical metaphors or historical allusions.

In an age when funerals are tending in the direction of testimonial dinners, and it sometimes seems that a reading of the curriculum vitae is more apt than the words of holy writ, the memorial Mass here was a splendid Christian rite for a splendid Christian soul, a faithful Catholic being given the final blessings of the Church he loved.

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/catholic_stories/cs0276.htm