On Monday, January 25, the funeral Mass for Father Joseph Anthony Southwood, L.C., who passed away on January 22 in Mexico City, was held in the chapel of the Universidad Anahuac Mexico, North Campus.
The Mass, which was broadcast on social networks, was attended by members of the Territorial Board of Directors of Regnum Christi in Mexico and Central America, Lorenza Sanromán, José Mateos and Fr. Alberto Simán, L.C., as well as a limited number of Regnum Christi members from the territory.
Alberto Simán, L.C., Territorial Director of the Legionaries of Christ, mentioned that “Father Joseph's life was a search for the will of God with joy. If I can highlight one virtue among many others of Father Joseph, it was his joy, it was his smile. And I am sure that many of us, and not only because of the photos of Father Joseph, remember him like that, with a smile”.
He also recalled “how he had that quality of becoming a child with the children and of living many aspects of his life with the simplicity of a child, with the joy of a child. I could even say that in some aspects with the innocence of a child”.
I believe that from the window of heaven from where he sees us, he invites us to this, to the joy that springs from hope in Jesus Christ and in his merciful love. From the joy and the smile of those who know how to remain in Him.
Recalling the reading of the Holy Gospel, he said: “Christ is faithful and that is why he invites me to remain in him. And I believe that this is one of the great lessons that we can draw from the relatively short life of Father Joseph, 54 years old. He is a man whose joy, whose smile came from that daily effort to remain united to Christ. And we, consecrated to God, with our faults and miseries, may we too live our lives in this way, with the joy that springs from the hope of the fidelity of Jesus Christ, who invites me to remain in Him, but it is He who remains at my side and who does not leave me, who comes for me, who takes me by the hand, who has given me His spirit to convert my body into a temple, the temple of God. And that is why today we want to say this last goodbye to Father Joseph, who although he is no longer here but we also venerate his mortal remains with faith in the resurrection, from here we can say to him: Father Joseph, thank you for the testimony of your life, thank you for your dedication, for your love for the Legion and Regnum Christi, for your love for your brother legionaries, for your trust in all this process that we have carried through these years, always with joy, always with a smile, let us ask God for this gift”.
Father Simán finally prayed in a special way for Father Joseph's family, particularly for his mother and thanked her for her generosity and the teachings that Father Joseph transmitted and manifested in his life and ministry.
After the Holy Mass, the mortal remains of Father Joseph were taken to the French pantheon, where he was given his last farewell.
Photo Gallery https://flic.kr/s/aHsmTVnrQh
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