BEPPU: 31 January 2012 -- Funeral vigils in Japan
are a wonderful example of
inculturation. They tend to be solemn celebrations of
the Word
enriched by speeches, eulogies, offerings of flowers and
incense.
Attendance is usually large, since evening time allows people
to come
after work. The Buddhist tradition for these events is very
formal and
somewhat fatalistic, but the ones celebrated in the church are
more
familiar and the sadness of the moment is lightened by the
hope of
eternal joy and the resurrection. Many of those who come are
not
Christians and this is why the funeral vigil is regarded as a
strong
occasion in Japan for missionary activity.
Saturday 29 January, at the Parish Church
in Beppu
we held the vigil for Fr Clodoveo Tassinari, patriarch of this
Province, who died just a few weeks short of his 100th
birthday. He
died on 27 January, a day commemorating his 82nd anniversary
of his
arrival in Japan.
Bishop Hamaguchi Sueo, bishop of Oita,
presided,
surrounded by some 200 people most of whom were members of the
Salesian
Family. In his eulogy, Fr Aldo Cipriani, provincial, recalled
the great
figure this Salesian was, emphasising his constant concern for
missionary activity.
On the following day, 30 January, Bishop
Emeritus
Mizobe Osamu sdb presided at the funeral itself, assisted by
Bishop
Hamaguchi Sueo and some 40 priests. In his homily, Bishop
Mizobe spoke
of the interest the deceased had shown in historical research
into
Christianity in Japan, and of his optimism and the attachment
he had
always cultivated for this country.
After a moving and heartfelt eulogy by Fr
Murakami Kosuke,
Fr Aldo Cipriani gave the final farewell, quoting Fr
Tassinari's
spiritual testament. Here are some of the more notable lines
from that:
“I entrust my soul to God's infinite mercy and my body
to brother
fire to consume it as a sacrifice of expiation. I want a
simple
funeral, that of a poor man, with panegyric, and with but a
brief
homily at Mass for the edification of those present”.
Fr Tassinari's body was entrusted to “brother fire” at 2:30
that day,
but the homily was not 'brief'” and there was more than one
panegyric,
as someone of the calibre of Fr Clodoveo Tassinari deserved.
After all,
he was successor to Don Cimatti as Provincial in Japan and
left us the
wonderful example of a missionary who gave everything for the
kingdom
of God.
