The family of ICMICA-Pax Romana is deeply sad to learn of the death of Fr. Antoine Sondag, a key member and friend of our movement. Fr. Antoine served as the international chaplain of ICMICA from 1997 – 2005.

We thank God for his life. We thank God for his witness. And we thank God for his service to our movements.

Join us to celebrate his life on November 21.

 

Memorial for Fr. Antoine Sondag (Nov 21, 2020)

Join us to celebrate the life of Fr. Antoine

Rejoignez-nous pour célébrer la vie du P. Antoine

Ven a celebrar la vida del P. Antoine

08:00 (New York / Lima) | 14:00 (Paris) | 16:00 (Nairobi) |
21:00 (Hong Kong) | 22:00 (Seoul)

Register here on Zoom:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwocu-gqz8vGNLW9oFBV2M-tZWKwt589Qf6

 

 

 

Watch a video of Fr. Antoine’s final message.

https://www.facebook.com/antoine.sondag.1/videos/10222021453619937/

If you are watching this video, if you are listening to my voice, it will be because I have died. I have cancer and it seems that the treatment was unsuccessful. At this moment, I am moved by three attitudes that can be summarised in three words.

The first word is thanks. Thanks to all those whose paths I have crossed. Thanks to all those who have helped me. Thanks to all those whom I have met. Thanks to all those who have enabled me to confirm that life is beautiful. Thanks to those who have given me big things including life itself or little things like the small meetings that make up the charm of each day. Life is a gift. Thanks to those who are unknown to me or remain anonymous, who will not see this video and who do not know me but who have helped me at one time or another by giving me a hand or a smile. Thanks above all to those whom I have forgotten to say thank you and who will never know. We are often invited to say thank you. To whom? For what? Thanks for being there, thanks for life. And we Christians, we say thanks. We are often invited to say thanks and we even have a word for saying thanks: Eucharist.

My second attitude at this moment is to ask forgiveness. Forgiveness from those whom I have wounded, intentionally or unintentionally. Forgiveness from those who feel abandoned, ignored, or not taken into consideration, And even more so, forgiveness from those many whom I could have helped, to whom I could have given a hand but did not do so. All those wounded at the side of the road whom we are invited to assist and, like so many others, I did not do so.

The third attitude at this time is hope. Nothing deserves to last and little will remain, nothing will remain of my life and yet… I have that conviction, insight, hope that this life was not in vain, that my life was not in vain even if nothing of it remains. Or perhaps yes, my name, my memory will remain in the memory of the one whom we call God. Right now, I have no image or representation of that hope. I am no longer concerned to find the right word, the right images, with the rigour of reasoning or the critical spirit that has inhabited me for so long.

But now we welcome, I welcome, the grace of what I would call, to use a clumsy word, survival. I welcome, to use another clumsy word, the one whom we call God, that Christ, who has helped us to get through life and who also helps us to go through death. I welcome that grace, I welcome that gift. And perhaps my death itself will be that final, sublime Eucharist.

I close my eyes on this painful, dramatic yet magnificent world.