ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Family of Officer Christopher C. Jones: Suzanne, Christopher, Julianne, Brendan,
Dear Parents: William and Dorothea,
Dear Brothers and Step-brothers, nephews and nieces,
Distinguished Authorities,
Colleagues in the Police Department,
Friends and Supporters of a faithful public servant,

In the hours immediately after the death of Police Officer Christopher C. Jones, among the first reactions to his tragic demise was a statement of his own Pastor, which included these simple but deeply meaningful words: "He was a very, very good man."

We are grateful to Father William B. Dooner of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Penndel for this recognition of the splendid legacy of Officer Jones as an upright Christian, a member of the Catholic Church, a devoted husband, a loving father, a dedicated servant of the community as an officer of the Middletown Township Police Department. The fulfillment of Christopher Jones’ many-faceted role is indeed summarized as the goodness of "a very, very good man"—the goodness that Officer Jones received as a blessing from God and developed and nurtured throughout his life.

Today we assemble to recognize God’s generous gift of goodness to Officer Jones, as well as his own cultivation of this goodness in the upright life he lived and in the dedicated service that he offered to the community.

We thank God for the many blessings that He bestowed upon Christopher in this life and for the love that Christopher received from his parents and in his home, and then channeled to his own family: to Suzanne and the children. We are grateful that this love touched so many people.

In our thanksgiving to God, as we recall the many gifts given to Christopher, we share with his family and loved ones the great pain caused by his sudden death. There is nothing that can totally take away the deep hurt of human separation but we express our solidarity and love. As believers we also express our faith in eternal life, and share once again with one another the comforting words of Sacred Scripture that we have just heard proclaimed: "The souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment shall touch them.... They are in peace."

Even in the midst of suffering we affirm God’s holy word and repeat: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake." And again we proclaim: "Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil; for you are at my side.... I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come."

Our greatest comfort comes to us from our Christian faith. It is the consolation of knowing that even in pain and death we are linked to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and to His definitive victory over death, which is the victory of life, the victory of Christ’s Resurrection.

In his Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul holds out to all of us immense hope. It is the hope of Christianity, which is stronger than all the power of death. He says to us: "Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead... we too might live in newness of life. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him."

The holy Gospel today records an enormously important conversation between Jesus and Martha. The conversation took place after the death of Martha’s brother, Lazarus. Speaking to Martha, Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." And then came Jesus’ question: "Do you believe this?" And Martha answered: "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God...."

Dear friends: this is the response of the Christian faith before the mystery of death and the anguish that it causes in human hearts. But the response of Jesus Christ is clear: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live...." We can ask no more than this. We can aspire to no greater destiny, claim no greater promise than the right to eternal life with Christ in God and with one another in the communion of all the saints.

Our friend Christopher embraced Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior. He accepted Baptism into the Death and Resurrection of Christ. He believed in Christ’s word and endeavored to live according to that word in the hope of everlasting life, whose pledge he received in the Holy Eucharist.

Today the Church of God proclaims once again the hope of resurrection and responds trustingly to the words Jesus spoke to Martha when He said: "Do you believe this?" And with one voice, despite tears of sorrow and human loss, each of us replies: "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God...."

In the days and weeks and months ahead, the parish community of Our Lady of Grace in Penndel, so many other friends, colleagues and grateful citizens will, I am sure, help keep alive the holy memory of Officer Christopher C. Jones and show loving attention to his family as they profess their faith and trust in a loving God and mourn in Christian hope. Amen.