22-jja Sunday-ngujumi Ordinary Time-mi

Isumagilauruk una takujassaq: Nutaqqaq 15-nik ukiulik, Benjamin, illumiutainnit angajuqqaaminut unikkaaqtuartilluni airlines-mik pilirijumalluni. 'Con chim airlines'—taanna nipi, giggles-rluni ammalu qungattiarisimaluni uqaqtanga, illumiutangit uummammigut quviasungnirmik tatatitauvut. Taanna qunganninga, taanna 'con chim airlines'—burung-kuluup qangatasuuranga—tamma inuusiup ilua, tamma uummataup salumajua.

Ullumi, Evangiliumi, Jiisusi uqausiqaqpuq 'cross'-mik. 'Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.' Nunarjuap isumangitigut, cross-ngujuq uqumaittutut ippuq, aaniarnartutut, taartutut. Peter-up Jiisusiup uqausiqaqtillugu cross-nganik, Peter-up uqaqpuq: 'God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.' Peter-up isumanga nunarjuap isumangitut ippuq—uqumaittunik, aaniarnirmik, ammalu toqumik mianirisuungulluni. Kisiani Jiisusiup uqaqpuq: 'Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.'

Benjamin Vo, inuusiqaqluni, nunarjuap isumangitigut inuulaunngilaq. Ben-up logic-nga, Ben-up brilliant mind-nga, coding-mi, AI-mi, ammalu cloud infrastructure-mi qaujimaninga, inuusiqaqluni inuup isumangitigut. Kisiani, Ben-up uummanga—taanna 'con chim airlines'-mik qungattiarisimaluni—taanna Guutiup isumangitut ippuq. Ben-up uummanga cross-mik uqumaittumik tigumiarluni, kisiani taanna cross-nga uqumaittunngilaq, uummammigut quviasungnirmik tatatitaupluni.

Alan ammalu Thao, ammalu Ryan, ilissi uqumaittumik cross-mik tigumiavusi. Benjamin nuulaurmat, illu nipiqanngippallaarami uummammi aaniarnartuq saqqiqattarpuq. Issiarvik inuqanngittuq nirivingmi… Benjamin-up qunganninga, nipingalu tusaassaarutilimat illumi…

Nallunngituugaluaq, qatanngutikka, uqumaittumi aaniarnirmi, uummavut qiaisinamat, taaqtuq isuma saqquqtisarpaa. Suuq? Suuq Benjamin? Suuq maanna? Inuusiq heavy-tut ippuq. Comfort-niq saqquqtinnagu, uqaqtariaqaqpugut sulijumik: aaniarniq suli tatamnaqpuq. Alan ammalu Thao, ernissinnik 15-nik ukiuqaqtillugu asiujaarniq anniaqnaqtuq asuilaak. Guutiup illissi qiarumanissinnik tusaajuq, nalunngilaalu qanuq ititigimangaat uummatissinni aaniarniq. Suli qiajuvusi, ammalu Guutiup qiaqatauvuq ilissinnik. Do not rush past the wound. The silence in the house is real.

Kisiani, isumagilauruk una image: 'The Flight of the Gentle Heart.'

Benjamin Vo, inuusiqaqluni, inuit takulaurtangit silataani: silatualuuniranga, mathematics-mi pialuktuuninga, coding-mi ammalu technology-mi qaujimaninga. Taakkua pitsiaqtut, silataani qaumajut. Kisiani, Benjamin-up inuusia sanningajuup ujaqqatut tomb-tut ippunngilaq. Ben-up uummanga light-vallaalaurpuq, open-vallaalaurpuq, free-vallaalaurpuq. Ben-up uummanga walk-laurpuq Ataniup aqqutingitigut with a pure, simple heart.

Isumagilauruk una facet Benjamin-mit: Ben-up qunganninga ammalu tingmisuunik nagligusungninga. Ben-up passion-nga aviation-mut, commercial jets-nut, ammalu Boeing 737-mut. Airport spotting-rluni ataatami Alan-lu, unikkaaqtuartillugu, tingmisuup wings-ngit qutsiktumut majuraqtillugit. Ammalu isumagiliuk una: Ben giggles-rluni ammalu smiles-rluni uqaqtillugu anaanaminut ammalu ataataminut piumaniqaqtillugu company-liuriamik, airlines-mik taijaujumik 'con chim airlines'—burung-kuluup qangatasuuranga! 'Con chim airlines.' Think about that. A boy of 15, with a brilliant mind that could code games and understand complex DevOps, yet his heart was so simple, so joyful, that he giggled about a bird airline. This giggle, this smile, this wonder—this is not the heavy, closed world of the Pharisees. This is the light of a soul that knows how to look up.

Jesus condemns the Pharisees because they are locked in their tombs of pride, hypocrisy, and dead traditions. They build memorials to the prophets, but they do not have the spirit of the prophets. They are heavy, static. But Benjamin was light. His mind was soaring in the clouds of logic and technology, but his soul was soaring even higher in the simple love of his family. He loved to listen to his Dad tell stories. He loved to watch the birds and the planes. He wanted to fly.

'May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way,' Paul writes in the second reading. This peace is not a heavy stone. This peace is like the open sky. It is a peace that flies above the clouds of our grief, even when the storm is heavy below. Alan and Thao, this peace is for you. It is a peace that does not deny your tears, but it whispers that Benjamin is not in a tomb. He is not locked in the earth. He has taken flight on 'con chim airlines,' soaring into the vast, infinite sky of God's love.

Let us speak to the truth of this loss. Alan, Thao, and Ryan—you are carrying a cross that feels as heavy as the stone rolled in front of a tomb. Two months have passed, and the world expects you to 'move on' or to find 'closure.' But grief does not work that way. The empty chair at the table is still empty. The silence in the room is still loud. It is okay to cry. It is okay to feel the weight. But do not look for Benjamin only in the cemetery, only in the ground. He is not there. He is like that airplane that has flown past the horizon. You cannot see the plane anymore, but you can see the trail of love he left behind, and you know he is flying in the clear, blue sky of eternity.

Look at his brother, Ryan. Ryan, your brother Ben loved you so deeply. You shared so many simple, beautiful moments—sitting on a bench at the laundromat, standing in the parking garage with your colorful suitcases, posing under the tent. Ben's love for you is not gone. It is a foundation you can stand on. Ryan, you must continue to live, to laugh, to study, and to grow—not just for yourself, but for Ben. Carry his smile in your heart. When you look at the sky, know that your best friend is watching over you, guiding you, and cheering you on. You are not alone.

And to everyone tuning in from afar, to other children who are suffering, and to every family carrying a heavy cross: God does not lock us in tombs of despair. Sometimes, life brings random, heavy storms that we cannot control. But illness and death do not have the final word. Christ broke open the tomb. He rolled away the stone. He showed us that the soul is made for flight, for the sky, for the eternal Banquet of Heaven.

Benjamin Vo is now in that Banquet, standing beside Saint Carlo Acutis. Two brilliant, modern boys who loved technology, who loved the world, but who loved God more. They are not dead; they are more alive than we are. They are soaring in the light of the Father, free from all weight, breathing the pure air of heaven.

What can we carry out the door today?

Today, when you go outside and look up at the sky, if you see a bird soaring or a plane leaving a white trail in the blue, let it be a sign for you. Do not look down at the dirt; look up at the sky. Remember Benjamin's giggle when he talked about 'con chim airlines.' Remember his gentle heart, his brilliant mind, and his pure love. And say a quiet prayer:

'Lord of peace, give us peace at all times and in every way. Roll away the heavy stone from our hearts, and help us to look up, knowing that Benjamin Vo is safe in Your sky, soaring in Your eternal love.'

Benjamin Vo, saimmalirit Ataniup qaumarikningani isuqaqanngittumi.

Amen.