Remembering Geraldine R. Ferraro

Keep the family and friends of former congresswoman and vice-presidential candidate Geraldine R. Ferraro in your prayers.
Ms. Ferraro, 75, died Saturday, March 26. Her funeral Mass is this morning, Thursday, March 31, at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, 869 Lexington Avenue and 66th St., New York City, N.Y.
She was a gutsy and classy woman, a real role model, not just to all women in politics, but all men in politics, too.
It was great to hear Secretary of State Hillary Clinton say such kind words about Ms. Ferraro on Meet The Press on Sunday, March 27. She gave a beautiful mini-eulogy for Ms. Ferraro's influence on all who followed her.
I have a personal connection to St. Vincent Ferrer. It is a church run by the Dominican Order of Roman Catholic priests. They are the order of priests that run Providence College, where I went to college. They also ran Sacred Heart Church, Jersey City, where I was baptized. That is the parish where my mother and her family are from, in the Greenville section of the city. I attended Sacred Heart School for my first three grades.
My uncle, the late Rev. John Jordan Lacey, O.P., was a Dominican priest. He was a graduate of Sacred Heart School, a fellow graduate of Providence College, and the holiest voice I have ever heard preach in the pulpit.
As a matter of fact, whenever he administered the sacraments, his voice would alter ever so slightly, and it was as if the Lord's Grace, itself, was lacing every word.
He was assigned to St. Vincent Ferrar for several years before he died, and his wake and funeral Mass were held at St. Vincent Ferrer.  Ms. Ferraro is in very good company, indeed.
Eternal rest grant unto her, Oh Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her, and may her soul and the soul of all the faithfully departed, rest in peace, Amen.

For Musings
Denis J. Kelly
March 31, 2011