AUSTIN — The words of the Litany of the Saints — a prayer that calls on holy people from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible — ushered Lady Bird Johnson from this world, according to the priest who was with her and her family as she died.
"Abraham, our father in faith," began the prayer by Father Bob Scott, who was called by Johnson's daughter, Luci, as the former first lady lay in a coma at her home. He continued through the roster: "David, leader of God's people, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Stephen."
As each name was cited, the group of about a dozen family members and close friends responded, "Pray for Claudia," Lady Bird's given name.
Scott, a Catholic priest, was called by Luci, who is a Catholic, even though Johnson was Episcopalian.
He knew Johnson, and has a relationship with her family, because her grandchildren attended the school associated with St. Austin's church. Scott's affiliated with the church, which is near the University of Texas.
The priest did not perform formal last rites but simply prayed with the family, after being called when it appeared Johnson was going to die.
"I said, 'Let's say some prayers and give her a welcome into heaven, from all the saints in heaven," Scott said today. "I finished the Litany of the Saints, believe it or not, and the nurse said, 'She's passed' — at that very moment when I finished the Litany of the Saints."
Scott then started another "beautiful prayer which says, 'Go forth, Christian soul, from this world, in the name of God, the Almighty Father who created you, in the name of Jesus Christ, son of the living God who suffered for you , in the name of the Holy Spirit may you see your Redeemer face-to-face and enjoy the vision of God forever."
For a number of years I have known Fr. Bob Scott, a Paulist, primarily because of my own children having attended the school at St. Austin's. However I also knew him from an earlier association I had as a volunteer at the University Catholic Center, which is near St. Austin's. When my mother died in 2000 it was Fr. Scott who said the daily Mass for her at the Catholic Center. It was also a former St. Austin's pastor, Fr. Jim McCabe, CSP, who originally supported and encouraged my entrance into diaconal formation. In many ways I remain grateful to the ministry of the Paulists.
Father Scott, in my opinion, is a priest who is dedicated to progressive ecumenical, ecclesial, and social views. In this he is not unlike the majority of his fellow Paulists. I thought it seemed somehow right that a clergyman like Fr. Scott would have been present at the time of the former first Lady's death, though I know that it was his friendship with the Johnson family that made it possible.
Since first reading the news of Lady Bird Johnson's death yesterday afternoon, I was saddened in many ways. Her name was practically a household word as I was growing up. Anyone who knows Texas also knows that Lady Bird Johnson stood for the many good things that it means to be both a Texan and an American. May she rest in peace.
Comments