Fr. Tom

 on the passing of his mother

Thank You!

I would like to thank those of you who inquired about my mother, and who have sent Mass requests.
  There have also been questions about donations or memorials.  Unfortunately, my family has not yet had the
 time to determine where donations would be made.  We will decide soon, but if you wish to make a donation,
please send it to me, and I will see that it gets to the proper place.

For your information, my mother (Teresa) died at age 88 of what will most likely be called natural causes.
She suffered for almost 30 years with a degenerative nerve disease that eventually caused her to be bed-
ridden for about 5 years.  As a result, there were a number of other conditions that would not be so trouble-
some for someone who could walk, but which ultimately contributed to her death.

I gave her last rites on Tuesday night, and on Thursday, the family decided to have her removed from the
ventilator, thus honoring her strong desire to not be kept alive on a machine.  I was with her when she died
a very peaceful death early on Friday morning.  I then celebrated and preached her funeral Mass in Los
Angeles (probably the most difficult thing I've ever done, and probably couldn't have done without the
help of the Holy Spirit, who was also strongly present at her deathbed).  My mother Teresa is buried in
San Diego, next to my father Thomas, who died in 1983.  Requiescant in pace.

17 May, 2008