Dear Friends,
We love Ryan dearly, and we miss him so. As always, our faith is our hope and our consolation.
There is a hole in our hearts but we fill that hole everyday with faith, good works, and love. The
Ryan O’Malley Annual Run, and the scholarship it supports, are the fruits of our faith. Please
help us, by participating in ROAR and/or donating a gift.
On behalf of Helene, John, Ed, Julie, Diane, and Erin-and for our beloved Ryan
Most Sincerely,
Jack O’Malley
Mass of Remembrance 8-1-2013
My wife Helene and I attended a Mass of Remembrance for victims of tragic death on August 1
at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton. Most Reverend Joseph Bambera, Bishop of the Scranton Diocese,
was the principal celebrant. I was in awe and this is my attempt to describe the poignancy and power of
that wonderful Mass. The Church was filled with good people bound together by the specter of a journey
that must be traveled without lost loved ones. Our son Ryan died on August 21, 2011… and we miss him
so…and there is a hole in our hearts where he was. We understand the words of Dickens- everyone
present understands, because we live it… “And can it be that in a world so full and busy, the loss of one
creature makes a void in any heart, so wide and deep that nothing but the width and depth of eternity can
fill it up!” During the gathering there was silence, the sort of uneasy silence that comes with deep
reflection….and the emotion was palpable. A baby cried…and mothers wept. Dr. Linda Barrasse, a
woman of immense faith, gracious as always, read the assuring words of St. Paul-the promise that as we
die with Christ we also shall live with Him. The prayer of St. John Chrysostom, in my hand all the while,
leaped out at me. “They who we love and lose are no longer where they were before. They are now
wherever we are.” Julie Ferguson Hill sang, and the voice of an angel reminded us that Jesus too is with
us always, standing at our side, leading us in ways everlasting, to eternal life. I looked up and saw Jesus,
ascending to the Father, going home. Bishop Bambera, a loving, compassionate shepherd and homilist
without parallel, filled our hearts with his message of faith, trust, resilience, affirmation, hope….. and
love. As a woman who brought gifts to the altar returned to her place we glanced at each other-and I saw
beyond the mist in her eyes to the hope in her heart. And I saw Helene’s hope. The bread and wine
became the Body and Blood and we received the gift bought by His sacrifice-union with the risen Lord
and the promise of eternity with Him…and with our loved ones who have gone home before us. The
baby laughed…..and Jesus smiled….and we understood St. John Chrysostom. In Mona Simpson’s
unforgettable eulogy for her brother, Steve Jobs, she recounted his last words before he went home…“Oh
Wow, Oh Wow, Oh Wow!” What did he see? What did Ryan see, and Cody, and Mary Kay, and your
loved ones?
Thank you Bishop Bambera, and all who made the Mass of Remembrance possible. Our faith is
stronger for having participated. My colleague, Fr. Ryan Maher, S.J., has said “We spend our lives in the
foggy mystery between the foot of the cross and the empty tomb. For the journey, faith is indispensable”
Our faith is stronger, and as we continue our journey together we have hope; we have love; we have each
other; we continue our journey with joy knowing that our loved ones are wherever we are. Thank you
God. “Oh Wow!”
Jack O’Malley
August 4, 2013
E-mail: John.OMalley@scranton.edu
Phone: Home (570) 347-4156; Work (570) 941-4269