Amidst a crowd of political, religious and judicial leaders,
Justice Antonin Scalia was remembered as a man who loved his
Catholic faith and his country. But above all “he was Dad. He
was the father that God gave us for the great adventure of
family life.”
That was among the points made by Father Paul Scalia, one of
Justice Scalia’s nine children and for the past 20 years a
priest of the Arlington Diocese, during his homily at the
funeral Mass for his father.
Father Scalia was both celebrant and homilist at the Mass
celebrated Feb. 20 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of
the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
“He loved us,” Father Scalia said, “and sought to show that
love, and sought to share the blessing of the faith he
treasured. And he gave us one another, to have each other for
support. That’s the greatest wealth that parents can bestow,
and right now we’re particularly grateful for it.”
An estimated 3,300 people were in attendance, including Vice
President Joseph Biden, former Vice President Dick Cheney,
Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Clarence
Thomas, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and
Catholic University President John Garvey.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, Archbishop Carlo Maria
Vigano, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde and Bishop Richard
B. Higgins of the Archdiocese for Military Services presided
at the liturgy.
Deacon Colin Davis of the Arlington Diocese read the Gospel
and the petitions. Numerous diocesan priests concelebrated
the Mass.
In his opening remarks, Cardinal Wuerl offered a word of
welcome on behalf of the Archdiocese of Washington and Msgr.
Walter Rossi, rector of the Shrine. He expressed to the
Scalia family his heartfelt sympathy at the loss of their
husband, father and friend and pledged his prayers, comfort
and consolation.
“We are gathered here because of one man. A man known
personally to many of us, known only by reputation to even
more, a man loved by many, scorned by others, a man known for
great controversy, and for greater compassion,” Father Scalia
said at the beginning of his homily. “That man, of course, is
Jesus of Nazareth.
“It is because of Him, because of His life, death and
resurrection, that we do not mourn as those who have no hope
but in confidence we commend Antonin Scalia to the mercy of
God,” he said.
“Scripture says ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today
and forever.’ And that sets a good course for our thoughts
and our prayers here today.
“In the past week, many have recounted what Dad did for them,
but here today, we recount what God did for Dad; how He
blessed him,” he said.
Father Scalia said his father, who died Feb. 13 at the age of
79, was nourished with the Eucharist and healed in the
confessional.
“We give thanks that Jesus bestowed upon him 55 years of
marriage, to the woman he loved, a woman who could match him
at every step, and even hold him accountable,” Father Scalia
said.
Justice Scalia loved the clarity and coherence of the
church’s teaching and treasured the church’s ceremonies,
especially the beauty of her ancient worship, he said.
“He trusted the power of the sacraments as the means of
salvation, as Christ working within him for his salvation,”
Father Scalia said.
He recalled one occasion when his father scolded him for
hearing confessions on a Saturday afternoon. “The issue that
evening was not that I’d been hearing confessions, but that
he’d found himself in my confessional line. And he quickly
departed it. As he put it later, ‘Like heck if I’m confessing
to you.’ The feeling was mutual.”
Justice Scalia saw no conflict between loving God and loving
his country, between one’s faith and one’s public service.
“Dad understood that the deeper he went in his Catholic
faith, the better a citizen and a public servant he became,”
Father Scalia said. “God blessed him with a desire to be the
country’s good servant, because he was God’s first.
“Even as we pray for Dad to enter swiftly into eternal glory,
we should be mindful of ourselves,” he said. “Every funeral
reminds us of just how thin the veil is between this world
and the next, between time and eternity, between the
opportunity for conversion and the moment of judgment.
“So we cannot depart here unchanged,” Father Scalia said. “It
makes no sense to celebrate God’s goodness and mercy if we
are not attentive and responsive to those realities in our
own lives. We must allow this encounter with eternity to
change us, to turn us from sin and toward the Lord.”
Wiley Lott, who works for the Southeast Alabama Gas District,
was in town last week for the national governors’ meeting.
Although not Catholic, Lott said he realized the historic
significance of Justice Scalia’s death and wanted to pay
tribute to him by attending the funeral liturgy.
Scalia was a good man who made this country a better place
because of his service, Lott said.
A memorial program for Justice Scalia will be held March 1 at
11 a.m. at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. All family and
friends are invited to attend and participate in this tribute
to Justice Scalia.
Memorial contributions
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to any of
the following organizations:
Supreme Court Historical Society, supremecourthistory.org
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, ccda.net
Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, benedictinesofmary.org
