OBITUARY

Funeral Mass to Celebrate the Life

Margaret Mary Alford

16th April 1928 - 11th April 2024

St Boniface Church, Tooting

Wednesday 1st May 2024 at 12.00 noon

Celebrant: Fr Shaju Varkey

Mum had a great devotion to St Thérèse of Lisieux and the missions. Her older brother, Fr Joachim Tinneny OFM, was a missionary in Bellary diocese in Karnataka, India, for over 50 years. The text below comes from the last letter St Thérèse wrote to a missionary in China, dated July 14 1897.

Brother,

You tell me in your last letter (which pleased me very much): “I am a baby who is learning to talk.” Well, I, for the last five or six weeks, am a baby too, for I am living only on milk; but soon I shall sit down at the heavenly banquet, I shall quench my thirst at the waters of eternal life! When you receive this letter, no doubt I shall have left this earth. The Lord, in His Infinite mercy, will have opened His kingdom to me, and I shall be able to draw from His treasures in order to grant them liberally to the souls who are dear to me. Believe, Brother, that your little sister will hold to her promises, and, her soul, freed from the weight of the mortal envelope, will joyfully fly toward the distant regions that you are evangelizing. Ah! Brother, I feel it, I shall be more useful to you in heaven than on earth, and it is with joy that I come to announce to you my coming entrance into that blessed city, sure that you will share my joy and will thank the Lord for giving me the means of helping you more effectively in your apostolic works

I really count on not remaining inactive in heaven. My desire is to work still for the Church and for souls. I am asking God for this, and I am certain He will answer me. Are not the angels continually occupied with us without their ever ceasing to see the divine Face and to lose themselves in the Ocean of Love without shores? Why would Jesus not allow me to imitate them? . . . What attracts me to the homeland of heaven is the Lord’s call, the hope of loving Him finally as I have so much desired to love Him, and the thought that I shall be able to make Him loved by a multitude of souls who will bless Him eternally.

St Thérèse of Lisieux, General Correspondence; vol. II, 1890-1897, Washington, ICS Publications, 1988, pp. 1141-1142

Entrance Hymn

sung by the congregation Alleluia!

Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!

His the sceptre, his the throne;

Alleluia! His the triumph,

His the victory alone,

Hark! The songs of peaceful Zion

Thunder like a mighty flood.

Jesus, out of every nation,

Has redeemed us by his blood.

Alleluia! Not as orphans

Are we left in sorrow now;

Alleluia! He is near us;

Faith believes nor questions how

Though the cloud from sight received him

When the forty days were o’er,

Shall our hearts forget his promise.

“I am with you evermore”?

Alleluia! Heavenly High Priest,

Here on earth our help, our stay;

Alleluia! Hear the sinful

Cry to you from day to day.

Intercessor, friend of sinners,

Earth’s Redeemer, hear our plea,

Where the songs of all the sinless

Sweep across the crystal sea.

Alleluia! King eternal,

You the Lord of lords we own:

Alleluia! born of Mary,

Earth your footstool, heaven your throne:

You within the veil, have entered,

Robed in flesh, our great High Priest:

By your Spirit, left us heavenward

In the Eucharistic feast!

Opening Prayer,Welcome and Penitential Rite

Collect

O God, almighty Father,

Our faith professes that your Son died and rose again;

Mercifully grant that through this mystery

Your servant Margaret Mary Alford,

who has fallen asleep in Christ,

May rejoice to rise again through him,

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Liturgy of The Word

First Reading

Isaiah Chapter 49: verses 1 - 6

Listen to me, O coastlands

and hearken, you peoples from afar

The Lord called me from the womb,

from the body of my mother he named my name.

He made my mouth like a sharp sword,

in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

he made me a polished arrow,

in his quiver he hid me away.

And he said to me, “You are my servant,

Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

But I said, “I have laboured in vain,

I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;

yet surely my right is with the Lord,

and my recompense with my God.”

And now the Lord says,

who formed me from the womb to be his servant,

to bring Jacob back to him,

and that Israel might be gathered to him,

for I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord,

and my God has become my strength

he says:

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant

to raise up the tribes of Jacob

and to restore the preserved of Israel;

I will give you as a light to the nations,

that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

The Word of the Lord.

R: Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 129

R: I wait for the Lord,

I count on his word.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,

Lord, hear my voice!

O let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my pleading. R.

If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,

Lord, who would survive?

But with you is found forgiveness:

for this we revere you. R.

My soul is waiting for the Lord,

I count on his word.

My soul is longing for the Lord

more than watchman for daybreak. R.

Because with the Lord there is mercy

and fullness of redemption,

Israel indeed he will redeem

from all its iniquity. R.

Second Reading

Wisdom Chapter 3: verses 1–9

The souls of the virtuous are in the hands of God, no torment

shall ever touch them. In the eyes of the unwise, they did appear

to die, their going looked like a disaster, their leaving us, like an-

nihilation; but they are in peace.

If they experienced punishment as men see it, their hope was

rich with immortality; slight was their affliction,

great will their blessings be

God has put them to the test and proved them worthy to be

with him; he has tested them like gold in a furnace, and accepted

them as a holocaust.

When the time comes for his visitation, they will shine out; as

sparks run through the stubble, so will they.

They shall judge nations, rule over peoples, and the Lord will be

their king for ever. They who trust in him will understand the

truth, those who are faithful will live with him in love; for grace

and mercy await those he has chosen.

The Word of the Lord

R: Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia Alleluia!

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord:

whoever believes in me will never die.

Alleluia!

Gospel Reading

John Chapter 11 verses :21–27

Martha said to Jesus, ‘If you had been here, my brother would

not have died, but I know that, even now, whatever you ask of

God, he will grant you’. ‘Your brother,’ said Jesus to her, ‘will rise

again.’ Martha said, ‘I know he will rise again at the resurrection

on the last day’. Jesus said: ‘I am the resurrection and the life

If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and

whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe

this?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ she said, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the

Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

R: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Bidding Prayers

Lord in your mercy,

R: Hear our prayer.

Offertory Hymn

sung by the congregation

In bread we bring, Lord, our bodies’ labour.

In wine we offer You our spirits’ grief

We do not ask You, Lord, who is my neighbour?

But stand united now, one in belief.

Oh, we have gladly heard

Your Word, Your holy Word,

and now in answer, Lord, our gifts we bring.

Our selfish hearts make true,

our failing faith renew,

our lives belong to You, our Lord and King.

The bread we offer You

is blessed and broken,

and it becomes for us our spirits’ food.

Over the cup we bring

Your Word is spoken;

make it Your gift to us

Your healing blood.

Take all that day daily toil

plants in our heart’s poor soil

take all we start and spoil, each hopeful dream,

the chances we have missed,

the graces we resist

Lord, in Thy Eucharist, take and redeem.

Liturgy of the Eucharis

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, receive the gifts we offer for the salvation of Margaret.

May Christ be merciful in judging our sister Margaret,

for she believed in Christ as her Lord and Saviour.

Through Christ our Lord,

Amen.

Communion Antiphon

May eternal light shine on them O Lord

with all your saints for ever,

for you are rich in mercy.

Give them eternal rest, O Lord, and may perpetual

light shine on them for ever, for you are rich in mercy.

Communion Hymn

Taizé Chant

Refrain:

Jesus, remember me

when you come into your kingdom.

Jesus, remember me

when you come into your kingdom.

Eulogy

Final Commendation

In Paradisum

May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your arrival and lead you to the Holy City Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive you and with Lazarus, once a poor man, may you have eternal rest.

Recessional Hymn

sung by the congregation

Immaculate Mary!

Our hearts are on fire,

that title so wondrous

ills all our desire.

Ave, ave, ave Maria!

Ave, ave, ave Maria!

We pray for God’s glory,

may His kingdom come!

We pray for His vicar,

our Father, and Rome.

Ave, ave, ave Maria!

Ave, ave, ave Maria!

We pray for our mother

the church upon earth,

and bless, sweetest Lady,

the land of our birth.

Ave, ave, ave Maria!

Ave, ave, ave Maria!

For poor, sick, afflicted

thy mercy we crave;

and comfort the dying,

thou light of the grave.

Ave, ave, ave Maria!

Ave, ave, ave Maria!

To God be all glory

and worship for aye,

and to God’s virgin mother

an endless Ave.

Ave, ave, ave Maria

Ave, ave, ave Maria

We chose the text below because Mum had a great devotion to St Faustina Kowalska and especially to the Divine Mercy chapelet which St Faustina received from Jesus. Mum had earmarked one of the pages from which this text is taken, showing that it meant something special to her. We think this is because the date of the entry in St Faustina’s writings - April 16 1928 - was Mum’s own birthday.

Towards the end of the first year of the novitiate, Sister Faustina began to experience the trial of the soul known as the “Dark Night”. . . She made many novenas to various saints but the situation grew more difficult. Suddenly the thought occurred to her to pray to St Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Before her entrance to the convent, Sister Faustina had had a great devotion to her . . . On the fifth day of the novena St Thérèse appeared to her in a dream . . . “At that moment, a great joy filled my soul and I said to her, “You are a saint?” “Yes”, she answered, “I am a saint” . . . And I said, “Dear sweet Thérèse, tell me, shall I go to heaven?” She answered, “Yes, you will go to heaven, Sister” . . . The second year of Sister Faustina’s novitiate was fast approaching . . . One day, just as she was placing herself in the presence of God, there came the overpowering thought that God had rejected her . . . When she began to agonize again during the evening service, Sister Faustina prayed, “Jesus, who in the Gospel compare Yourself to a most tender mother, I trust in Your words because You are Truth and Life. In spite of everything, Jesus, I trust in You in the face of every interior sentiment which sets itself against hope” . . . On Good Friday, which in 1928 occurred on April 16, Sister wrote: “Jesus catches up my heart into the very flame of His love. This was during my evening adoration. All of a sudden, the Divine Presence invaded me, and I forgot everything else. Jesus gave me to understand how much He had suffered for me. This lasted a very short time. An intense yearning - a longing to love God”

From Sister Sophia Michalenko, C.M.G.T., The Life of Faustina Kowalska; The Authorized Biography, St Anthony Messenger Press, Cincinnati OH, 1999, pp. 25-38

Thank you everyone who has kindly attended today. After the burial at Lambeth Cemetery, Blackshaw Road SW17 0BY, all are most welcome to join us across the road in The Long Room Hotel and Bar, 130 Mitcham Road.

If you would like to make a donation in Margaret’s memory, supporting Helen’s charity that provides scholarships for students from developing countries, these are the details:

Name: Adjuvantes Onlus – Fondo di Solidarietà Educativa ETS

Address: Largo Angelicum, 1 - 00184 Rome (Italy)

IBAN code: IT78W0329601601000067369971

7369971 Swift / BIC code: FIBKITMM

Name of the bank: FIDEURAM – Filiale 001

Address of the bank: Via Montebello 18

Postcode / Area code of the bank: 20121

Town and country of the bank: Milano, Italy