"REST IN PEACE".....BRAD DAHLBERG 'OUR' BELOVED FRIEND.....JUNE 10, 1971 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2010..........

30 years ago, two years before I entered I was working in my native parish of St. Rose's in South Sacramento.   My duties included overseeing youth ministries, and under that umbrella was placed the training, scheluing, and coordinating, the parish Altar Boys.  That was the summer I met and trained, 9 year old, Brad Dahlberg.  Brad was a very happy and self giving person, the only child of his parents, Ted and Irene, he served faithfully as an altar while attending St. Patrick's School in South Sacramento and went on to Christian Brothers High School and then Sacramento City College.  He married and for eleven years worked for the California Department of Consumer Affairs.  Ten years ago Brad was diagnosed with cancer, and for the past decade struggled with a series of brain tumors.  He valiantly endured these ten years and his beloved parents were there with him and for him through it all.  The prognosis he was given at the outset was for ten years of life, and on September having surpassed the ten year mark, Brad Dahlberg, passed away.  His close friend and fellow altar server trainee and classmate, Chad Buechel, with whom I teamed him up thirty years ago after they were commissioned as altar boys, sent a comment to my blog earlier this month while I was on vacation, informing me that Brad had died.  With Msgr. Kavanagh and I in Ireland, the Dahlberg Family chose to await our return and have Brad's Funeral Memorial Mass today, September 17.  I was asked by Msgr. Kavanagh who presided at Brad's Mass, to preach the homily.  In the context of our Catholic-Christian Faith in the mystery of Life and the power of the Resurrection, I spoke of the boy I knew, the man he became, the long struggle with the cross of cancer he experienced, and the promise and hope of New and Risen Life in the Eternity of God's Kingdom, awaiting him, as it does all believers in Jesus the Christ.  As I said at the start of the homily, although Brad's passing at a much too soon time at age 39, grieves us and causes us sorrow, we can also rejoice in the good life he lived, in the love he shared with his family, friends, and others, and in his almost ever present, broad smile and generous spirit.  Chad and two other of Brad's altar server / classmates, spoke of their experiences with Brad since Kindergarten, along much the same lines I had recalled him in the homily.  It was a poignant, but wonderful Mass of remembrance and commendation, as we celebrated Brad Dahlberg's life and mourned his death, believing as his lovingly family, friends, and fellow believers, that he will always live on in our hearts, minds, and treasury of memories, until we are reunited with him forever in God's Kingdom of Everlasting Light and Perfect Love..........Rest In Peace Bradley And Thank You For Loving Us, For We Love You !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Fr.  Troy