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| Mortuary card for Felix Mendonca. |
How precious in the eyes of the Lord,
is the death of his faithful servant.
- Psalm 116: 15
-Brian Mendonca
Friends, I wish we didn't have a reason to be here. I wish we were all doing the things we usually do on a Sunday, things we are not able to do on weekdays.
But weekdays or Sundays, Felix touched our lives in his special way. We can see Felix with that mischievous smile which meant, 'I love you. I care for you.'
If there is a lesson that life teaches us it is that we are here to love. And we realize sooner rather than later, that we don't have much time. But love always comes with loss. It was the Persian poet Kahlil Gibran who said, 'When you are happy look into your heart and you will find that what makes you happy, once made you sad. When you are sad, look into your heart and you will discover that what makes you sad, once made you happy.' Today we appreciate this paradox.
Today is the last Sunday of Easter. As so many condolence messages expressed, 'Let Felix rise with the risen Lord.' It is appropriate that we partake of his memorial service today.
Felix chose to leave on a warm, bright, Summer May morn. It was as if he was saying, 'Okay guys, here is where I am getting off. But the sun is still shining.' And we all know that the moment he passed on, the weather changed. It started raining. Nature ordained what was meant to be. When Jesus died the weather changed too. The centurian saw the curtain of the temple torn into two.
Felix was a legend. Let us not carp at saying that. He loved life and lived it with zest. And so must we. We carry his values with us. It is with this endeavour that we continue to live our lives.
And today when we contemplate the suddenness of his passing, we are comforted by the words of Tennyson. In his poem 'In Memoriam' on the death of his friend Arthur Hallum he wrote, 'It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.'
Felix, the world is a lonelier place without you. But it was made more beautiful because you walked the earth in your time.
Rest in peace. We will always remember you.
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Edited version of the eulogy delivered by Brian Mendonca at the memorial evening after the Month's Mind Mass for Felix Mendonca in Pune on Sunday, 8 June 2025. Updated 14/6/25.
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