A portion of the Homily given by Father Michael Duffy at the funeral of Father Mychal Judge on 09/15/01:
(Father Mychal Judge was a chaplain for the New York City Fire Department; he died on 9/11 during the collapse of the World Trade Center while administering to a fallen fire fighter.)

“Mychal Judge could not have ministered to them all. It was physically impossible in this life, but not in the next. And I think that if he were given his choice, he would prefer to have happened what actually happened. He passed through the other side of life and now he can continue doing what he wanted to do with all his heart. And the next few weeks, we’re going to have names added, name after name of people, who are being brought out of the rubble. And Mychal Judge is going to be on the other side of death….to greet them instead of sending them there. And he’s going to greet them with a great big Irish smile….he’s going to take them by the arm and the hand and say, “Welcome, I want to take you to my Father.”….And so, he can continue doing in death what he couldn’t do in life….
And so, this morning…..we come to bury Mike Judge’s body, but not his spirit. We come to bury his mind, but not his dreams. We come to bury his voice, but not his message. We come to bury his hands, but not his good works. We come to bury his heart, but not his love. Never his love.”
This page will be updated regularly by Father Denny Hayes, FBI chaplain and Human Services Director, Onodaga County, New York, Sheriff’s Department.