Kathleen was a true servant

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

And, we too must serve the Lord. The words below are taken from Kathleen Howson’s eulogy, read at her requiem Mass to a church so crowded they had to put seats in the aisles for those unable to stand at the back.  Never has that church been so full of people come to celebrate the life of a woman of no distinction and no recognition beyond those whom she served with simple but profound faith.

When Kathleen died earlier this year, she was only a little short of 100 years old.  Her life was spent in serving the Lord via service to others. You could say she had a simple faith, but what she had was a profound understanding of a simple message simply lived, a faith central to her values and to who she was. She had no need to navigate biblical contradictions or theological complexities. Hers was an instinctual belief in God as love.  Her faith was expressed through prayer, devotion, service and honouring the dignity of all people.   She used to quote St Teresa of Calcutta who said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love”. Kathleen did small things with great love.   Those with a moral quandary had only to ask themselves, “What would Kathleen do?”.

Through faith and service Kathleen achieved something remarkable; she was loved by all who knew her.  Married at 30, she had seven children by the time she was 42.  To give birth to seven children within 11 years and care for them with little support was heroic. They had little money and worked day and night. And yet, despite the exhaustion and anxieties, the children always had home cooked food, and went out into the world well-scrubbed with the whitest blouses and shirts made brilliant with Dolly Blue.

It was her nature to love, to serve, to feed others before herself, to listen, to be genuinely interested in what others had to say. For the many who knew her, their abiding memory of her will be how she made them feel, the smile that reassured them that the world was good, and that they were loved. She communicated to people, the inner beauty that she saw in them. 

One day she met a young woman in the village drenched and clearly in distress. She had left her home in Glasgow and could not go back as she had become estranged from her family. Kathleen took her home, gave her dry clothes, food and made up a bed for her. The woman found the experience life changing and later wrote to say she had never met anyone as kind in her life and that the encounter had helped her see a future that she did not know existed.

Kathleen’s early life experience left a hole of sadness and loneliness which she was able to fill later with gratitude, kindness, compassion and joy. She was never bitter, cynical, regretful or envious, instead feeling blessed by the love of God and family.   Her sense of purpose was to serve, to give rather than receive and old age was no barrier to her participation in life. She was still doing the church cleaning well into her 80s, still shopping for the “old people” when she was 91, and only stopped helping with the church flowers when she was 96.  As health deteriorated and frailty increased, she came to rely on others and accept their care, entering into a time of peace and joy, accepting at last the love and care lavished on her by those she had so loved in her life. 

Kathleen’s impact and footprint on the world have been transformational for many who met and loved her. She truly lived a values-driven life, devoted to service, blessed by faith and supported by her adoring family.

Let us reflect and pray with Kathleen

Kathleen delighted in nature. She would marvel at the perfection of a tiny flower and the majesty of the skies. She loved all birds and animals and was passionate about their welfare.

Dear Lord: Help us to take delight and care for all aspects of the animal and natural world and protect and care for them, for our own and future generations.

Kathleen was incredibly loving, compassionate and kind to everyone she met. In particular to people she saw as vulnerable and suffering. She would hug someone while they cried and rejoice when they smiled. She demonstrated these qualities in her encounters with every person she knew. She believed that she met Christ in everyone.

Dear Lord:  Help us to pause in our lives to reach out with loving kindness and joy to those, beyond our own families and loved ones, who are vulnerable, marginalised or broken.

For Kathleen her faith was her foundation. She felt the presence of God powerfully in her life and her relationship with God was nurtured by prayer and devotion. She gained spiritual sustenance from her local Christian communities and found her church a place of solace, peace and healing.

Dear Lord: We pray for the gift of faith and the solace Kathleen found in God. Let that faith bring people of all faiths and none together in mutual respect, true communion and love.

Kathleen was greatly troubled by conflict and war. Her mind could not comprehend why divisions could not be healed. She was horrified by the suffering that war and conflict inflicted upon the innocent, as well as those who participated in it.

Dear Lord: We pray that leaders everywhere demonstrate humility, empathy, courage and determination to end conflict and reduce suffering. We also pray that we, as individuals and communities, demonstrate a commitment to actively seeking peace and reconciliation in our own relationships and communities.

Kathleen loved family. She was a mother, grandmother and great grandmother and blessed all with her love, guidance and values. She adored her own parents and grandparents as well as her husband, whom she lost when she was only 51. She absorbed and learned from the love she was given in these relationships and passed that on to others. She also dearly loved all the spouses and partners of her children and grandchildren and embraced them with her open and loving heart.

Dear Lord: We pray that all children, whatever their age, experience the love, care and guidance they need to build a strong foundation for their journey through life.