A Plea from the Coffinmaker

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

My family is undergoing a couple of acute health crises right now. It is difficult at this moment to do the time demanding and urgent work of getting caskets built and shipped. I am writing this plea to ask all of you in the faith to purchase one of our Divine Mercy Crosses.

If I could make twenty of them a week it would greatly help to keep us afloat financially amidst the bills that are rapidly coming in. It would also be a big boost for us right now to prayerfully enter into communion with you as we do the work.

Please share this widely with friends and family.

Onward in Christ,

Marcus Daly

P.S. Several friends have asked us to let them set up a gofundme for our family. As much as I appreciate their concern for us, I would much prefer to work with my children to make your family something beautiful.

Friday Coffin Break #24 Gated Communities and the Way the Truth and the Life

I missed last Friday’s Coffin Break email for Good Shepherd Sunday wherein Jesus refers to himself, before referring to himself as the Good Shepherd, as “the gate.” Let’s bring that into the fold as we look at the Gospel for the upcoming Fifth Sunday of Easter in the Light of the Grave:

The Gospel reading is John 14: 1-12 and can be found here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050326.cfm

Jesus tells us that he is “the Way the Truth and the Life,” and that “no one comes to the Father except through me.” The gate into the protected sheepfold is the Way the Truth and the Life. I used to have a thing gated communities and I guess, rightly or wrongly I still do. At least when they’re man-made, because all sorts of stuff gets fenced in there that we’d do better not to be around -- particularly our sin.

But, if we follow the Way the Truth and the Life through Himself into the perfect gated community, the one with many mansions and a place prepared for us, then that is a different community altogether; that is the Father’s house; that is Heaven. In order for it to be Heaven, no drop of sin can have snuck in. Won’t that be wonderful?

So, on this Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker (patron saint of a happy death) and First Friday, let’s repent of our sins and give to Jesus the joy of freeing us, that we may soon follow (through, with and in) Him into Paradise!

Friday Coffin Break #23 – Breaking Everything but the Bread

Happy Friday of the second week of Easter, Everybody! This Little Triduum, encompassing the upcoming third Sunday of Easter, offers us a great lens through which to see why we so often don’t see. The Gospel is Luke 24 13-35 and you can read it here:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041926.cfm

It tells the story of Jesus’ meeting two of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. The disciples had been conversing and debating when he met up with them. This activity did not prepare their vision to recognize the Risen Lord. Even after he – Jesus Himself -- essentially ended their conversation and settled their debate, they did not recognize him.

It took Holy Communion.

In 2026, we are battered by “conversations” and “debates”— technologically tailored to our enduring, fallen, desire for gladiatorial blood sports, rather than a virtuous pursuit of the truth. But, unlike Cleopas and the unnamed disciple walking with him, we are not even participants in those conversations and debates! We are mere spectators! How in the world do we expect that anyone in such an environment might recognize, much less follow, Jesus?

He shows the disciples, and us, that he can only be known in worship. And that worship is fundamentally not about words, it is fundamentally about our Eucharistic Lord’s gift of Himself in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Today, this second Friday of Easter, is a great day to avert our eyes from the omnipresent spectacle of our imminent brokenness, within its high-definition disguise of conversation and debate, and allow the Eternal Word to bestow the peace-filled vision of Himself on us in the breaking of the bread.