By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami

MIAMI LAKES | In life, he was all about comforting the sick. In sickness, he showed others how to die.

Father James P. Murphy, 68, died at 1:40 a.m. Feb. 8, nearly five years after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma — a cancer of the blood — and more than two years after retiring as pastor of Our Lady of the Lakes, where he had been assigned since 1996.

Since his diagnosis, he had kept his parishioners apprised of the progress of his illness via emails that would be printed and posted in the church vestibule. The one dated Feb. 3 started with these words: “The finishing line is in sight and I hope to go through it with a smile on my face…”

It continued: “I suspect the finish line may be less than two weeks away. Try not to be alarmed but rather share in my peace… I am no longer looking for a cure or even an extension of this life. Pray that I may have a happy and peaceful death.”

A priest known for his hospitality — he loved to cook dinner for friends and parishioners alike — he invited people to visit or call him throughout his final days. And they did.

“His death, as was his life, was filled with grace, love and friends,” said Rose Anderson, a friend and a nurse who helped care for him at the end, along with his sister, Madeleine, and another friend, Jacque Austen.

In his last letter, he called them “angels sent by God to minister to me 24/7.”

But it was Father Murphy who was known for arriving at the bedside of dying parishioners within minutes of being called. It was Father Murphy who had someone on staff to help people plan their loved ones’ funerals.

“He had a special preference for the sick and for those who were suffering — he had to be with them,” said Father Juan Carlos Paguaga, pastor of St. John Bosco Parish in Miami.

His first assignment after ordination was as parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Lakes, under the tutelage of Father Murphy. He recalled some words of advice Father Murphy had given him: “People won’t remember what you said in a homily but how you made them feel. Give them love.”

“He is going to be judged by the love he gave, because he gave love to everyone without distinction. He gave himself completely to everyone,” Father Paguaga said.

He also cared for the poor, often taking money out of his own pocket to help people in need. An amateur chef, Father Murphy would cook dinner every Thanksgiving for those who were alone, elderly or did not have a place to go for the holiday. He also always made room in his rectories for priests who were ill or dying.

During his years as pastor, Our Lady of the Lakes parishioners built 10 Habitat for Humanity homes, set annual records for donating more than 1,000 pints of blood, and tithed 10 percent of the weekly collection — $500,000 over five years — to the poorest of the poor in South Florida and abroad.

Although he was painfully shy, he was not bashful about asking his parishioners to help others. In fact, he joked, “I not only ask for money, I ask for blood.” But as he put it one time in a homily: “If I didn’t ask, would you give?”

He asked children to take part in the Mass, not just as acolytes but as lectors, cantors and ushers. He asked their parents to serve as well, saying he wanted the whole family involved in ministry. Because he asked, Our Lady of the Lakes has a veritable army of talented volunteers helping out at Sunday Masses: children in fourth grade and higher serving at the altar, fifth through eighth-graders proclaiming the first reading and leading the singing of the psalm, high school students serving as ushers, and long lists of adults scheduled as lectors or extraordinary ministers of holy Communion.

“He used the liturgy to express the feelings he had in his heart,” Father Paguaga said. “He put his heart into those liturgies.”

“I know I’ve touched a lot of people very deeply in my priesthood, which kind of has astounded me as well,” Father Murphy said in an interview while receiving treatment for his illness in 2009. “I know that God has used me as an instrument to touch these people. With a whole new experience, I’m sure I’ll touch people differently.”

Ultimately, Father Paguaga said, “He taught others how to die by his own example.”

A native of Cork, Ireland, Father Murphy was born June 24, 1945, one of seven children. He arrived in South Florida in September 1970 after being ordained June 7 of that year in Waterford, Ireland, where he had entered St. John’s Seminary right after high school.

Prior to Our Lady of the Lakes, he was pastor of St. Patrick on Miami Beach for 15 years, and before that he headed the archdiocesan Office of Youth Ministry. His first assignments in South Florida were as parochial vicar at Annunciation Church in Hollywood, St. Louis in Pinecrest, St. Michael in Miami and St. Mary Magdalen in Sunny Isles. From 2002 until his illness in 2009, he also served as chaplain to the Miami Hurricanes football team.

For a few months at the start of 2013, Father Murphy was well enough to serve as temporary administrator of Blessed Trinity Parish in Miami Springs after the sudden death of its longtime pastor.

He is survived by six brothers and sisters and many nieces and nephews, many of whom will be traveling from Ireland for the funeral. The wake is set for Friday, Feb. 14, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Our Lady of the Lakes, with the funeral Mass Saturday, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m., also in the church. Burial will follow at Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery in Doral.