Father Vincent Bataille OSB gave the homily at Irene Napier’s funeral in Barrington on Monday.
You can read it below:
IRENE NAPIER: funeral July 28, 2025
Irene Napier: what images or remembrances does that name conjure up for you?
Is it of a well-dressed older woman, maybe of a woman of strong opinions, a confident woman?
Do you see a smile when you hear the name Irene, or maybe you remember a glass of wine with her?
Most of us here have memories of Irene.
To recall those memories at a time like this is a very normal experience and most of us are familiar with this all too human reaction to death and funerals.
It is usual for us on the occasion of the death of a dear friend or relative to recall and retell stories about events or impressions that we have when remembering the deceased.
But why should we engage in the process of recalling times and events that brought a smile to our face or maybe a thoughtful recollection of gifts given and received?
It is in the stories that are recalled that we can treasure and recognize the gifts that the Good Lord has given us through the life of a person who has touched us.
And the gifts that are the most important to us are the recollections we have of the people who have shared our life’s journey with us and been there with their gifts of empathy and cheerfulness, especially when they were needed.
So once again what images does the name Irene bring to your mind?
Let’s start with the gospel we have just heard.
Gathered before us in the presence of a loving creative God, is the image of a crowd of people.
Some of them we recognize.
We are all gathered there because it is the time for our heavenly father to recognize the good we have
done and the bad we are responsible for.
The just judge begins the gathering by telling us what we should be looking for.
“I was hungry” he said, “and you fed me.
“I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.”
The good judge continues: “I was naked, and you gave me clothing, sick and you took care of me.”
The reaction of some in the group is that they didn’t recognize the hungry one or the lonely one.
So, they have a difficult time in relating those events to themselves.
And that is the best part of the story, all the good they did was not for them to receive any recognition but just because there was someone there who needed something.
So once again are you reminded of any one in your life who came to you when you were in need?
Now it is dangerous at a funeral to canonize the deceased.
God, the just judge, knows there are weak spots in all of us.
But a funeral is a good time for us to recognize the good that we have experienced and the way in which a loved person has lived out the request of the just judge to minister to those in need in whatever way.
Yes, this gospel, I am sure, rightly reminds you of Irene.
She was an untiring advocate for the unborn.
She imagined that maybe she would meet someone on the street who would not have been there if it had not been for her efforts.
She was a faithful believer in her resurrected Lord.
And that faith influenced the way in which she lived.
Maybe she did not directly relate the stories of Jesus eating and drinking with people to herself, because she enjoyed being with her friends and acquaintances and being able to help those in need.
Were you ever someone whom she invited at any time of day or night to sit and have a glass of wine?
But people and children especially, were important to Irene.
She was an educator.
To share what she knew and what she learned, with others was important to her.
Perhaps you have recognized a pattern here.
The stories in the Bible of Jesus are primarily stories that teach us how to live.
They are stories that encourage us to see in others the Jesus who wants to be a part of our lives.
And when we reach out to those others, we reach out to Him.
“When you cared for others in any way, you cared for me,” He will say.
This is the standard of a life well lived.
There was a time in Irene’s life when she thought that maybe she was being called to the life of a cloistered and silent nun.
Maybe we want to say: Oh, come on Irene, a silent nun!!!
We all know better than that.
We know that the silent life of a cloistered nun would not enable you to be of service and benefit to so many people.
God knows best!
And He had better plans for you.
What were those plans?
Smiles, help financial or otherwise, friendship, gentleness yet strength this is what we celebrate today, and indeed it is a celebration.
This woman Irene always so well dressed, so well put together, left a lasting mark on the people she
touched.
There is nothing more complimentary to say of a person than that they were greatly loved and appreciated, and their death has brought a loss to our lives.
But along with this sense of loss is also the great joy that your life has been blessed, has been better, for having shared it, even for a moment, with a strong, devoted and faith filled woman like Irene.
In the world in which we live sadly it seems that human life has a diminishing value.
But there are people who remind us that this should not be so.
Sometimes they do that reminding by preaching.
But more effectively they can show us the reality of this value of human life by the way in which they lived.
So, God bless you, Irene.
You were an effective teacher in so many ways of the value of life.
You brought the glow of a sincere smile to so many lives.
But yet you called to account those who needed to be reminded of what was important in life.
Yes, your life was a life well lived.
For you cared for me when I was ill.
You clothed me when I was without clothes.
You looked after me when my life was in danger.
You taught me when there were lessons that needed to be learned.
Yes, Irene you did all this.
