"We mourn Sir Dodong's passing because we have shared in the bounty of his humanity. We likewise rejoice at his death because he did not die without meaning, he also loved fully."
(Fr. Mhar Balili's homily during the funeral mass of Dr. Jose "Sir Dodong" Gullas at the Archbishop Teofilo Camomot Shrine on March 3, 2021)
Your Excellency, Most Rev. Midyphil Billones,
Your Excellency, Most Rev. Emilio Bataclan,
Rev. Monsignori, my brother priests,
Mother Loulle Buscato, DST,
To the members of the bereaved family of Sir Dodong Gullas,
Mam Nena,
Joselito, Jiji, Joie Marie, Johnvic and Jo Anne Marie,
Madam Gliceria Gullas Lucero, Mayor Eduardo Gullas,
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today March 3 is a very special day for all of us as we celebrate the 107th birthday of the Servant of God Archbishop Teofilo Camomot. Today could have been more special because we plan to consecrate this very beautiful chapel at 4:30 this afternoon. We purposely choose this date because Sir Dodong was not able to attend the blessing of this chapel last March 3, 2020 because he was rushed to the hospital. We could have thought that today would be very timely. In fact, the liturgy for consecration has been prepared.
However, things are beyond our control. Death is something that does not come specified, much less scheduled.
My dear brothers and sisters, Sir Dodong Gullas needs no eulogy and no long homily because his life which began February 1, 1934 is enough eulogy. And his death on February 25, 2021 should be homily enough, for indeed, both in life and in death, he was the Lord's.
When a man of vision dies, the light in our eyes dims a little, not only because of the tears we shed, but also because our horizon is made less expansive, our aspirations less ambitious. Sir Dodong's visionary spirit will surely be missed by many.
Visionaries, however, will not leave their descendants blind and groping in the dark. Sir Dodong has left us a blueprint to follow, not so much in terms of a detailed plan for the future, but a set of ideals to set our eyes looking forward. His legacy will not be the structures he built but the values he lived. In this sense, he has not only left us a legacy, he has left us a mission.
I am sure Sir Dodong has led a long and happy life. At the age of 87, the Lord called him back to Himself. His life is one that we can truly call "blessed", for he lived a long and fruitful life; he saw his children grow up and his grandchildren build their own families; he died with his loving wife, Mam Nena and took his last breath after he received the last sacrament. What more could a man ask from God? At age 87, when you have seen your dreams come true and your children build their own dreams, and above all having this funeral mass, our last farewell celebrated in this beautiful chapel built by him and his wife, even death comes as a gift!
Death is always a sad affair. It can never be anything but sad. Yet, there are times when death comes as a fitting end to a well-spent life. And while we bid a fond farewell to one who has been a part of our lives, we cannot help but give thanks to God for the gift of life, as well, we thank for the gift of death.
In this funeral mass therefore, we come not so much to grieve as to give thanks being the mass as eucharistein - to give thanks. We gather not so much to weep as to honor the memory of a beloved. For it is precisely in this definitive moment, when a man enters into eternity, that his life becomes for us a testament and a gift.
First, his life is a testament of how God loves him and how Sir Dodong loves God in return. It is a testament because it stands for all of us complete and definitive. There are no more uncertainties in a life given definitive closure by death. Death is the period that marks the end of a novel. In death, nothing more is said, nothing more can be added. One's life becomes, as it were, a work that has a beginning and an end. There can be no more sequels. And because one's life story has been written from end to finish, it becomes open to interpretations. We can open its pages and begin to understand the lines that once were crooked, but now appears as the inexorable trajectory of destiny.
There are people who say that death renders life meaningless. If all our efforts would one day end up in death, what utter drudgery life can be? Yet, for someone who has lived up to 87, death is a closure, death is meaningful. For in this world we live in, something is meaningful only when it has an end.
Second, his life is a gift because without him, many of you would not be here. A gift because his love brought forth a family who now has blossomed into many more families. A gift because his friendship has been many of us, enriching and fulfilling.
Death has a way of allowing us to view the person from a distance, giving us a chance to remember his life and deeds, according to us a higher appreciation for what he stood for when he was still with us. If there is one thing that Sir Dodong will be most remembered, it is his generosity to his family, to the many student-scholars, to the JRG Visayas Chorale, and most especially to the local church of Cebu. His wife Mam Nena can attest to that. The many priest and men and women religious would be forever grateful.
Sharing is distinctly human because it is only the human being is capable of giving in the truest sense of the word. Animals do not give; they only gather for themselves and for their young. Our humanity lies in our capacity to give up what is precious to us for the sake of someone who is in need. The only dignified way to live is to give.
For a person as simple and as generous as Sir Dodong, the will to give will never end. And when the time of giving is set a limit by his mortal body, what is there to do but give the ultimate gift? For a generous person, life is one continuous act of giving, an act which is not limited by death but it is given a new dimension by it, for when a generous person dies, he gives up his earthly life as his ultimate gift to God! His death is painful by any human standard, but in the eyes of faith, it was a true offering of self to God. By giving himself to all he served, he showed to them that death, is an act offering, the final and supreme sacrifice anyone can give to the Lord.
And so it is with death. The only dignified way to die, the only way to die is to give up one's life for one's friend, for then it is no longer dying but loving.
My dear brothers and sisters, the consecration of this chapel today is cancelled after the announcement of the death of Sir Dodong. However, this funeral mass in this chapel is never a coincidence being celebrated on the very day of the birthday of Archbishop Teofilo Camomot! Sir Dodong would always have wanted to witness this very day. And indeed we have this funeral mass! And Sir Dodong is laid in the coffin wearing the Barong Tagalog he personally ordered for this momentous day. The pants was supposedly worn last March 3, 2020 chapel blessing. It's his dream come true!
Sir Dodong, you are more fortunate than us. I am sure you are very happy. Why? You are now with Archbishop Teofilo Camomot, whom you are very fond of!
My dear brothers and sisters, we mourn our brother's passing because we have shared in the bounty of his humanity. We likewise rejoice at his death because he did not only die without meaning, he also loved fully. After all, Sir Dodong lives a life as a testament and a gift.
Today is a day of grieving, yes, but also a day of offering and thanksgiving; a day of mourning, but a day of gratitude!
Sir Dodong, farewell and rest in peace a faithful servant of God. Amen.
