Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Event/Special

Funeral Mass Of Justice Antonin Scalia. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired February 20, 2016 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BELL RINGING)

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

CROWD: And with your spirit.

[11:13:54] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the waters of baptism, Antonin died with Christ and rose with him to new life. May he now share with him eternal glory.

(SINGING)

[11:24:28] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My dear friends, please be seated for a few moments.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dear friends, as we come together for this funeral mass for Justice Antonin Scalia, I want to offer a word of welcome in the name of the archdiocese personally and together with Bishop Paul Loverde, the bishop of Arlington, the home of the Scalia family, and Monsignor Walter Rossi, director of this Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

[11:25:09] And express with all who are here to you, Maureen, to your children, to all of your family, to you, Father Paul, who will be the principal celebrant and the homilist of this liturgy, our heartfelt sympathy at the loss of your husband, your father, your grandfather, and friend.

And pledge once again our prayers that God will grant him eternal rest, and you comfort and consolation, in keeping with your desire to have a simple parish family mass.

I will confine my remarks to these few words of greeting and welcome to the many, many people who are here in this magnificent basilica simply to show their respect for the extraordinary man, Justice Antonin Scalia, and to express their faith, their faith in God's abiding love and all embracing mercy.

However, before proceeding with this welcome, I want to apologize for the condition of the center area in this basilica. The floor covering and the temporary seating arrangement, as well concealed as they may be, are the result of a major project under way to complete the renovation and the final declaration of this great, great basilica. The great dome is going to be faced in mosaic and the preparation, as you can see, is already under way. And so I'm grateful for your understanding and your patience.

It's a pleasure for me to welcome to this funeral liturgy Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano the apostolic nuncio to the United States and our holy father, Pope Francis' personal representative. Also Bishop Paul Loverde the bishop of Arlington, my brother bishops, distinguished participants at this funeral, especially the Honorable John Roberts, chief justice of the United States, and the other justices of the Supreme Court, the vice president of the United States, Joseph Biden, Former Vice President, Richard Cheney, Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the house. President and Mrs. John Garvey of the Catholic University of America and so many other distinguished guests here present. To my brother priests, deacons, women and men in consecrated life, brothers and sisters in the lord and friends, all who have come here to show their respect.

As I extend this warm welcome to each of you, I also express profound gratitude to all who are here, as I now ask Justice Scalia's son, Father Paul, to lead us in the church's liturgy for him whom God has called to his eternal home.

PAUL SCALIA, ANTONIN SCALIA'S SON: Let us pray. Oh, God whose nature is always to forgive and to show mercy, we humbly implore you for your servant Antonin whom you have called to journey to you.

And since he hoped and believed in you, grant that he might be led to our true homeland to delight in its everlasting joys, through our Lord Jesus Christ your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

[11:29:29] CROWD: Amen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A reading from the book of wisdom. The souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment shall touch them. They seemed in the view of the foolish to be dead and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction.

But they are in peace. For if before men indeed they be punished, yet is there hopeful of immortality. Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them.

As sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation, they shall shine and shall dart about as sparks through stubble. They shall judge nations and rule over peoples and the Lord shall be their king forever.

Those who trust in him shall understand truth and the faithful shall abide with him in love because grace and mercy are with his holy ones and his care is with his elect. The word of the Lord.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I shall want.

CHOIR: The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I shall want.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose.

ALL: The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I shall want.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He guides me on right paths for his namesake. Even though I walk in darkness.

ALL: The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I shall want.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You spread the table before me. In the sight of my foes.

[11:35:06]ALL: The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I shall want.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible).

ALL: The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I shall want.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Romans. Hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts to the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.

But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath.

Indeed, if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God, through the death of his son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life?

Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation. The word of the Lord.

(CHOIR SINGING)

[11:40:52]

PRIEST: The Lord be with you. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew.

At that time, Jesus answered, I give praise to you, father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my father. No one knows the son except the father and no one knows the father except the son.

And anyone to whom the son wishes to reveal him, come to me, all you who are labored and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. My yoke is easy and my burden light. The gospel of the Lord.

Your Eminence Cardinal Werl (ph), your excellencies, Archbishop (inaudible), Bishop Laverdi (ph), Bishop Hagins, my brother priests, deacons, distinguished guests, dear friends and faithful gathered.

On behalf of our mother and the entire Scalia family, I want to thank you for your presence here, for your many words of consolation, and even more, for the many prayers and masses you have offered at the death of our father, Antonin Scalia.

In particular, I thank Cardinal Werl first for reaching out to quickly and graciously to console our mother. It was a consolation to her and therefore to us as well. Thank you also for allowing us to have this parish funeral mass here in this basilica dedicated to our Lady.

What a great privilege and consolation that we were able to bring our father through the holy doors and for him gain the indulgence promised to those who enter in faith. I think the bishop of our diocese of Arlington.

[11:45:03] A shepherd our father liked and respected a great deal. Thank you, Bishop Laverdi, for your prompt visit to our mother, for your words of consolation, for your prayers.

The family will depart for the private burial immediately after mass and will not have time to visit. So I want to express our thanks at this time. So that you all know our profound appreciation and thanks.

You'll notice in the program mention of a memorial that will be held on March 1st. We hope to see many of you there. We pray that the Lord will reward your great goodness to us.

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 great compassion.

That man of course is Jesus of Nazareth. It is he whom we proclaim Jesus Christ son of the father, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, buried, risen, seated at the right hand of the father.

It is because of him, because of his life, death, and resurrection that we do not modern as those who have no hope, but in confidence we commend Antonin Scalia to the mercy of God.

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 effect we look in three directions, to yesterday in Thanksgiving, to today in petition, and into eternity with hope. We look to Jesus Christ yesterday, that is, to the past, in Thanksgiving for the blessings God bestowed upon dad.

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. We give thanks first of all for the atoning death and life giving resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Our Lord died and rose not only for all of us, but also for each of us. And at this time, we look to that yesterday of his death and resurrection and we give thanks that he died and rose for dad.

Further, we give thanks that Jesus brought him to new life and baptism, nourished him with the Eucharist, and healed him 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.

God bless dad with a deep Catholic faith, the conviction that Christ's presence and power continue in the world today through his body, the church. He loved the clarity and coherence of the church's teachings.

He treasured the church's ceremonies, especially the beauty of her ancient worship. He trusted the power of her sac sacraments as the means of salvation, as Christ working within him for his salvation.

Although one time, one Saturday afternoon, he did scold me for having heard confessions that afternoon, that same day. And I hope that is some source of consolation, if there are any lawyers present.

[11:50:04] That the roman collar was not a shield against his criticism. The issue that evening was not that I had be hearing confessions, but that he 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. God bless dad as is well known with a love of his country.

He knew well what a close run thing the founding of our nation was and he saw in that founding as did the founders themselves a blessing.

A blessing quickly lost when faith is banned from the public square or when we refuse to bring it there. So he understood that there is no conflict between loving God and loving one's country, between one's faith and one's public service.

Dad understood the deeper he went in his Catholic faith, the better citizen and public servant he became. God blessed him with the desire to be the country's good servant because he was God's first.

We Scalias, however, give things for a particular blessing god bestowed. God blessed dad with a love for his family. We have been thrilled to read and hear the many words of praise and admiration for his intellect, his writings, speeches, influence and so on.

But more important to us and to him, he was dad. He was the father that God gave us for the great adventure of family life. Sure, he forgot our names at times or mixed them up, but there are nine of us.

He loved us 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 parents can bestow.

And right now, we are particularly grateful for it. So we look to the past, Jesus Christ yesterday, and call to mind all these blessings and give our lord the honor and glory for them, for they are his work.

We look to Jesus today in petition, to the present moment here and now, as we mourn the one we love and admire, the one whose absence pains us.

Today, we pray for him, for the repose of his soul. We thank god for goodness and know that dad believed, he did so imperfectly like the rest of us. He tried to love God and neighbor, but like the rest of us did so imperfectly.

He was a practicing Catholic, practicing in the sense that he hadn't perfected it yet or rather Christ was not yet perfected in him. And only those in whom Christ is brought to perfection can enter heaven.

We are here then to lend our prayers to that perfecting. To that final work of God's grace, freeing dad from every encumbrance of sin. But don't take my word for it.

Dad himself, not surprisingly, had something to say on the matter. Writing years ago to a Presbyterian minister whose funeral service he admired, he summarized quite nicely the pitfalls of funerals and why he didn't like eulogies.

[11:55:08] He wrote even when the deceased was an admirable person, indeed especially when the deceased was an admirable person, praise for his virtues can cause us to forget that we are praying for and giving thanks for God's inexplicable mercy to a sinner.

Now, he would not have exempted himself from that. We are here then as he would want to pray for god's inexplicable mercy to a sinner, to this sinner, Antonin Scalia. Let us not show him a false love and allow our admiration to deprive him of our prayers.

We continue to show affection for him and do good for him by praying for him. All stain of sin be washed away. That al wounds be healed. That he be purified of all that is not Christ. That he rest in peace.

Finally, we look to Jesus forever, into eternity or better, we consider our own place in eternity and whether it will be with the lord. Even as we pray for dad to enter swiftly into eternal glory, we should be mindful of ourselves. Every funeral reminds us of just how thin the veil is between this world and the next, between time and eternity, and the moment of judgment. So we cannot depart here unchanged.

It makes no sense to celebrate God's mercy to dad if we are not attentive and responsive to those own realities in our own lives. We must allow this encounter with eternity to change us, to turn us from sin and towards the Lord.

The English Dominican father, B. Jarrett, put it beautifully when he prayed oh strong son of God, while you prepare a place for us, prepare us also for that happy place that we may be with you and with those we love for all eternity.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. My dear friends, this is also the structure of the mass. The greatest prayer we can offer for dad because it is not our prayer but the Lord's.

The mass looks to Jesus yesterday, it reaches into the past, reaches to the last supper, to the crucifix, to the resurrection, and it makes those mysteries and their power present here on this altar.

Jesus himself becomes present here today under the form of bread and wine so that we can unite all our prayers of thanksgiving, sorrow and petition with Christ himself as an offering to the father.

And all of this with a view to eternity, stretching towards heaven, where we hope one day to enjoy that perfect union with God himself and to see dad again and with him rejoice in the communion of saints.

God the almighty Father, raised Christ, his son, from the dead. With confidence was ask him to save all.