Death In A Church

The bells rang out on Sunday as the people in Mill View made there way to Mass . Mostly it was the same people that went to church on Sunday .

It was also the same people who placed flowers on the altar and kept the linen clean .

This select group of the church community were also in control of all parish funds , all the important keys , the parish account record books and providing meals for the Parish Priest unless he stated otherwise .

This select group of people were known as the Rod And Staff Circle which was made up of two men in their late seventies and three women in their mid eighties .

Thye knew everything that was going on in the parish , so if ever you wanted to get some information all you had to do was ask them .

They where at all the weekdays masses and at any novena or rosary that was being said . On the down side of their dedicated work they had attained a tremendous importance on what they did .

This led to them closing up their ranks and maintaining that they would be the only powers that be in the parish .

It didn't take long until their ways controled the run of things .

They soon became know as the rod and staff of the parish .
On many occasions in the past when some of the parishioners approached the rod and staff circle to ask if they needed help ,
they were immediately told ,

“No thanks , everything is going ok .“

It was too hard for them to hand over the control to anyone else .

There was also a sense of self importance that crept in to what they did .

They always stood outside the front of the church on Sunday and say to young children on their way to mass

“Be good . Don't chitter chatter in mass . “

The parents of the children sent back a fierce glare.
Now and then a word or two would be exchanged at the door of the church .

Some parishioners had even turned away and never came back to mass because of the attitude of these poker faced women at the front door .

The Rod And Staff were always there saying lots of prayers and reminding others how holy they were .

Sometimes when the priest gave them an accolade for the great work they did you could sense an unease with the congregation .

One day as the compliments fell and heads swelled , there was a loud thud in the church .

“Is there a Doctor in the church ?”
Someone exclaimed .

One of the Rod And Staff circle had collapsed and lay on the floor .
As luck had it there was a doctor who was on holidays visiting a family member in the parish and immediately he went to the causality .

After many attempts to revive the lady it was obvious that it was her time to go .

She was dead .
The congregation all stood in shock .
The priest had to provide last rights in the middle of mass and the
Doctor wrote a deat5h certificate there on the spot .

It was not an expected passing .
This death was a real surprise for everyone there at the church .

The Priest was shaken but offered Holy Communion to any parishioner who wanted it and then within a brief moment or two he asked the congregation to leave the church .

All left but those from the Rod and Staff Circle .
The front door was closed and everyone sat looking at this woman who was dead on the floor .

The body lay there still and cold on the carpet in the middle of the aisle .

With statues all around the church and candles still burning there was no sound , no words of consolation , no recognition of love or loss available .
The lady who had died had no family of her own .
The definite reality of death in the church was hard to believe .

The priest sat there with other members of The Rod And Staff Circle and said

“Ok I’ll do the digging . See you behind the presbytery in a half hour .

They were stunned at what the priest had said . One of the men said ,

”With respect Father, normally there is a funeral service and Edna would like all the trimmings at her funeral . “

“Well that is your opinion but not Edna’s . I have a legal document that states her wishes . In this case Edna requested she be buried in the church grounds and as the highest point is behind the behind the presbytery it was agreed that there would be her resting place . “

A slight disaggremnet ensued between the people there .

“Right or wrong she still deserves a proper service in the church . “
Said an old man .

The priest answered ,

“Why can’t you just for once let go of your own opinions .“

The old man answered ,
“Because I think it’s the right thing to do. “

One of the ladies intervened and said ,.

“Edna lived and died in the church the least we could do for her is to see that her last wishes are respected . “

“Right then , I’ll start digging the hole behind the presbytery “

There wasn’t another word spoken .
As the hole was dug the others wrapped the body up in a large clean altar cloth sheet . With little or no help the priest took the dead body out of the church and placed it in the hole . Then he back filled the loose earth into the hole .

During the time they spend not a single word was spoken .
The reality of death had become a real thing .
It was not a clinical thing with all the trimmings .
It was not a weeping gathering of people who hardly knew what was gouing on .
There were no hymns sung , no memories shared , there was not a tear shed .

For her death . No sentiments were spoken , no stories about her lifetime , she had no family members present .
She was dead .
That was final .

Yet there was something there in the cold reality of this death that stated hope and even joy .

They that die with Christ will share everlasting life with him .

At Mass the following Sunday there was no one standing at the front dootr telling children to behave themselves .
The bells that rang out were as proud as ever .
The door of the church was still open .

A stream of Catholics still stood together in the crowd as said their prayers .

Everyone stood up as the priest walked into the church and as he made his way to the altar another thud was heard and someone in the congregation exclaimed ,

“Is there a doctor among us ?”

The End

By Paul McCann

By Paul McCann

The End