Today we assemble to take our
leave of Josef Pavelka, a man we all knew, in one way or another, and a man
whom we will always remember.
Normally, when a person passes
away, a wide of range of emotions will be exhibited. One will see pain, loss,
anxiety, anger etched on the faces of the bereaved.
The people left behind are
the people who are left to wonder where is our loved one now, what if we had
one more week, could we have helped?
With Josef, it is not as clear
nor is the procedure as normal. Because in his passing, as he was over the last
month of his life, Joseph has become almost an enigma. Many people recall fond
and happy memories of Joseph standing outside the church, or across from the
hotel here with Peter.
Many remember him wandering up and down O’Connell Street
asking maybe for one euro or two euro. However, many more remember a man who
had a lot of opportunities to improve, and did not capitalise.
However, I believe we must now
take a new road. Because ultimately, it is not important if Josef wanted one
euro, nor is it important that he was an alcoholic. What is important is
Joseph’s humanity.
Like us here, like everyone, he was made in the image and
likeness of the Father in heaven.
And in his humanity, weakness and even in his
brokenness, Joseph was loved by Jesus.
When I met Joseph, I had only
just literally arrived and he was standing with Peter outside the Church. It
was like an alien had landed. The two of them were looking at me and wondering
who I was.
As I unloaded all my clothes and luggage, Joseph walked, well, half
walked, half rambled, over to me and in his wonderful take on the English
language he said to me “And me help”?
I
had never met him, yet he wanted to help.
And so, he helped me unload all my
bits and pieces and as I thanked him, he said to me a line which I will always
remember him for… “Very important problem… maybe 2 euro…”
Joseph was no Holy Joe, and I am
not here to canonize him, because there were times when he would absolutely
drive me nuts.
Yet Joseph taught me it is in the hearts of the poor where Jesus
is to be found. Because it is in the heart of the poor the weakness and
reliability of our own innate humanity is to be located.
Like I mentioned
earlier, it would be very easy to be up here and moan about the State Sponsored
bodies, to lament what I have interestingly heard called killing Joseph with
generosity, and to whinge about the denial of the two lads sleeping in the
public toilets, even though I was there with them one night.
But, we must all
now remove that attitude.
Because behind all of that is the tragic truth of a
human life being lost here in Ennis and the worse tragedy is that it is happening
everywhere.
Joseph’s passing was a tragedy
and has brought much publicity to our town not all of which has been positive.
Yet, it is not a time to be angry, nor looking to play one-ups-man-ship. It is
a time to unite, to take action. We need to work with each other to improve on
the wonderful work already happening. We need to unite to ensure what happened
Joseph will not happen to others.
Now more than ever, we need to live out our
Christian calling, not just in the four walls of the Church but outside too.
The Spirit of the Lord is a living spirit, one which promises new life, new
hope and resurrection. Yet, it can only be loosed in the working of the church
which is all of us. And it is up to all of us, to ensure in our own small way
we help as much as we are able to.
To those in power in Ennis and in
Ireland, I ask you, I plead with you, on my knees to you as a representative of
Jesus here in Ennis, I ask you to please review the policies we have towards
the homeless and the vulnerable in our society.
I ask you to continue to work
with the poorest of the poor always in mind and we will work with you, if you
let us, to ensure what happened to Joseph never happens again. We are all in
the same boat, we are all human beings. We must work with each other to build
up the promise of new hope in the resurrection.
Lastly, to Joseph… No euro today.
I am very poor… however, Joseph Pavelka, Czech Republic Army number 6667, I do
want to tell you… I love you, I will miss you and when we meet in Heaven, we
will have our wrestling match which we always promised each other!!
Until
then,
may you rest in peace and I want to give you one last gift.. Something
you were
always pestering me for… (Fr Fitzgerald then placed upon the coffin his
ordination stole which Josef had pestered him for down through his time
of knowing him)