Death is a Beginning

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 reminds us that “for everything, there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die.”

Rev. Fr. Nestor Dalumpines’ wake was held at San Pedro Cathedral on February 25, 2024, Sunday, following his death on February 23. On February 26 at 9 am his Rite of Christian Funeral was presided over by Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, D.D., Archbishop of Davao, in honor of the life the late priest lived in Christ.

Following the deaths of four Catholic Church personalities in recent weeks, his wake is a loss among the people who loved him but also a reminder of his unity in Christ.

“[It is] the time to see the Lord face to face,” Most Rev. Valles said on Sunday.

He added that no matter how a human heart hurts upon his decease, as one’s brother, son, and friend, Rev. Fr. Nestor always belongs to Christ. That in Christ, our hearts from his loss will be healed for he will exude at the gracious home of heaven. He is His servant and priest and he will return to him so as His children.

Sorrow and death are conquered with the promise of our resurrection in Jesus. As we live day-to-day, God calls us to carry our cross with passion, kindness, and humility. As a frontline in faith, his journey and death call for Davao to revive its faith in Christ. It is in Him alone whom we will lose our lives to, in the journey to eternal life.

Rev. Fr. Nestor rested his cross and his death is never in vain for he finds meaning in Him. (Prenciss Jane S. Pandeling | HCDC Intern)