AI transcript of the sermon

Sermon, Feb. 20, 2026:

"Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem revertéris."

  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

  Dear Family, Friends of Charlie Koskinen, dear Faithful:

    Just a few days ago, on Ash Wednesday, we began this penitential season of Lent, with the priest placing ashes on our forehead, saying those words I just spoke.
  "Remember man, thou art dust, and into dust you shall return."

  So once again, with this funeral, we should present this thought in our minds and always keep it in remembrance that our lives here on this earth - it is fleeting - death can come unto us at any moment, even when we least expect it.

  You look at Mr. Koskinen for example, he tried to live a healthy life, he exercised, and yet at such a young age he is no longer with us. For every one of us, one day our body will be placed in the ground, going to decay, but our soul will go in front of the fearful tribunal of Almighty God, the great Judge, in order to give an account of our life on this earth, a what a sobering thought this will be! And a reality as well, that we will all experience...and then that fateful sentence will be given.

  Will it be the fires of Purgatory for the purification of our souls, so that we can enjoy eternal bliss in heaven, and forever...or is it going to be the everlasting fire of Hell for those who do not love God and don't live according to His will...which will it be for you?

  Since we are all living here today, it is not too late for anyone of us to change our direction, to convert to God, to do penance for our past sins. As this season of Lent calls us to do, to follow the exhortation of Our Lord Jesus-Christ who said: "Unless you do penance, you will likewise perish."

  But we must all have Faith, of course the Catholic Faith. We must all believe in this merciful God of ours, and we must also conform our lives to his will. We must receive the Sacraments of the Church which are necessary for our salvation.

  And since death is such a serious event in our life, it is critical that we prepare ourselves for it. And this can only happen if we allow ourselves to think about it, to meditate on it. The grim reality of death can never be ..., be brushed aside forever. Those last four things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell, these used to be the normal subjects for preaching in the Catholic Church, for many years, for thousands of years.
 
  Up until the modern times, then with the Second Vatican Council, all of a sudden, silence on these things. And it gave the idea that maybe the clergy had forgotten how to discuss these things, even cease to believe in these things...maybe the innovators thought that pre-conciliar sermon were too gloomy, too negative, but we know that this new approach of ' looking on the bright side ' does not really address reality - that we are going to die anyway; and now so many Catholics, they ought to prepare carefully for death.

  But if we start to live intentionally about death, and how to die well, the essential qualities of a happy death will be present.

    You know, spiritual writers are all one in declaring that the only adequate way to prepare for death is a just life. Catholic priest, by the name of St. John Vianney, would emphasize the fact that in order to die well, we must live well. And he recommended frequent examinations of conscience, to root out sinfulness in our life, to grow in holiness, encourage frequent confessions, in a life fixed in prayer, in doing penance, noting that even the most devout souls will tremble at the thought of death, while sinners often foolishly face it, without any fear.

  We'll just talk a little bit about the life of Mr. Koskinen. Charles went to school here, and in high school here at the Academy. He was the head sacristan at that time. He served mass for Archbishop Lefebvre on several different occasions. And he loved worshiping God in the Holy Mass. Even to the point of attending daily mass for the last 20 years of his life. He was a devoted husband to his wife, a good and loving father to his children. He supported even the building of this church! And yet, no matter how carefully conformed to the law of God, and the precepts of the Church, one's life may have been, or may have not been, let's face it, the truth is that we are all still sinners, okay? In need of God's mercy. Yes, Charlie was a sinner, just like you and I. And we gather here today, not only to mourn his departure, to grieve for the great loss we all experience when someone close to us dies, but more importantly, we come to remember him and to pray for his soul. No person will want to enter into eternity without some immediate preparation against the terrors of that last passage.

  So the things we can do, the main dispositions of our soul, as death approaches, should be, making frequent acts of Faith, hope, and Charity, making, having perfect contrition for our sins, while being more perfectly resigned to God's will, as well as maintaining a penitential spirit. St. Augustine says that no matter how innocent a life may have been, no Christian ought to die in any other state than that of a penitent. And so, you see the importance of humility. Seeing ourselves as we really are, sinners who have offended God and are in need of His mercy, then, you know, if the circuмstances allow, let us receive all that the Church has for those who are on their deathbeds. I know he is extremely thankful for his wife, who called the emergency phone immediately when she found him, so that the Church can come over and give him all those things that the Church can give for someone in their last moments. Conditional absolution, Extreme Unction, the prayers for the dying, the Apostolic Blessing, the prayers even for the dead.

  But for us, one day, everything will also come to an end. All the temporal things that we strove for in this life will, at that point, become meaningless and useless. And if after death, one should lose his soul, then everything will be lost. So therefore, let us consider ourselves as being almost already dead, at least to sin, at least to the things of this world, since we know they'll never bring us complete satisfaction, and that we'll have to give an account before God on that day. And let us also see the necessary, the necessity of having a great detestation of all of our sins throughout our whole life. Let us also remember our last end, and then we shall never sin.

    So this meditation on death is not an invitation to despair, a hopeless resignation. Rather, it should be a stimulus to make the most of this life that God has given us, and to bring glory to God, with this life. So time is something which we only see in this life. Let us not waste it. Let us use it to our advantage and live every day for the glory of God, even for the salvation of our own soul.

  During this season of Lent, a popular hymn, that we will often sing, is the Parce Domine. It says in the words here: Spare, O Lord, spare Thy people, lest Thou be angry with us forever. Let us bow before the avenging wrath. Let us weep before the judge. Let us cry forth in prayer of supplication, and all fall prostrate in prayer. By our sins, we have offended Thy clemency, O God, pour out on this, Thy pardon from on high, thou Who dost forgive.

  And so we pray, and we ask this for Charlie. And so, as we continue with holy Mass, let us continue to remember Mr. Koskinen in our thoughts, in our prayers, and before the altar of God here: "Eternal rest, grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.


Charlie Koskinen, Requiescat In Pace +