SUDDEN DEATH, ETERNAL VICTORY!
My fifteen year old son Zachary, lay down on the sofa next to me and asked, “Would you cry if I died?” “Absolutely!” I replied. “A lot?” he continued. “I would cry rivers and rivers of tears,” I assured him. “I don’t know if I could handle it if you died,” he said. “Of course I’ll probably be able to handle it one day when you’re old,” he added trying to sound brave. His questions pierced my heart.
"Zack" I continued, "If you died I would really suffer. I love you and you mean more to me than you can ever comprehend."
My youngest son is struggling with some uncomfortable emotions triggered by the tragic death of his friend’s 8 year old brother Joseph. The little boy was also the cousin of another one of Zack’s close friends and so my son is suffering for both his buddies.
Unquestionably sad and heart wrenching death demands a lot from the living. Grief seizes every waking moment and is often characterized by disbelief and anger, fear and powerlessness.
I felt the rush of those emotions when my younger sister died of a brain aneurysm after the birth of her second child. At the time I was six months pregnant with Zack and the shock and circumstances of her death rocked me to my core. The pain was compounded because six months earlier I had buried my dad who died of a massive heart attack. Unfortunately this German/Irish girl made the mistake of short circuiting the process of grieving and the buried emotions would one day come back to haunt me.
My friend, the Archbishop who said Patricia’s funeral Mass (and my dad’s) tried to console our family with these words. “Just as we love to pick flowers when they are vibrant and beautiful, God sometimes picks us to return home to him at our most youthful, beautiful state.” The beautiful eulogy softened the blow, but honestly, I just wanted my sister to wake up so that her newborn son and toddler daughter would not have to grow up without their mom.
I think about her death and the Archbishop’s words every time someone young dies…and I am reminded of my essential belief: God is in charge, he has a plan for our lives and faith is our lifeline to deal with the sufferings of our humanity.
Zachary and I both agree that Joseph went straight to heaven, where he met radiant joy and peace in a world resplendent with God’s generous, illuminating love! And even though the rest of us may be left to deal with the often impenetrable sadness, there is great hope in knowing that death isn’t the end, it is the beginning of something very beautiful!
And yes, it’s tough to lose people we love deeply, but it’s worth the risk. Love defines who we are as human beings and enriches our experience in this life and our capacity to understand and accept the source and the summit of all love who awaits us in the next.
Jesus willingly suffered a very painful death at the hands of those he loved-because he loves us that much. And through his resurrection he delivered on his promise to transform our darkness into light; our fear into peace, and to carry us through every single human struggle-even death, to victory, on the wings of his eternal grace!
"Zack" I continued, "If you died I would really suffer. I love you and you mean more to me than you can ever comprehend."
My youngest son is struggling with some uncomfortable emotions triggered by the tragic death of his friend’s 8 year old brother Joseph. The little boy was also the cousin of another one of Zack’s close friends and so my son is suffering for both his buddies.
Unquestionably sad and heart wrenching death demands a lot from the living. Grief seizes every waking moment and is often characterized by disbelief and anger, fear and powerlessness.
I felt the rush of those emotions when my younger sister died of a brain aneurysm after the birth of her second child. At the time I was six months pregnant with Zack and the shock and circumstances of her death rocked me to my core. The pain was compounded because six months earlier I had buried my dad who died of a massive heart attack. Unfortunately this German/Irish girl made the mistake of short circuiting the process of grieving and the buried emotions would one day come back to haunt me.
My friend, the Archbishop who said Patricia’s funeral Mass (and my dad’s) tried to console our family with these words. “Just as we love to pick flowers when they are vibrant and beautiful, God sometimes picks us to return home to him at our most youthful, beautiful state.” The beautiful eulogy softened the blow, but honestly, I just wanted my sister to wake up so that her newborn son and toddler daughter would not have to grow up without their mom.
I think about her death and the Archbishop’s words every time someone young dies…and I am reminded of my essential belief: God is in charge, he has a plan for our lives and faith is our lifeline to deal with the sufferings of our humanity.
Zachary and I both agree that Joseph went straight to heaven, where he met radiant joy and peace in a world resplendent with God’s generous, illuminating love! And even though the rest of us may be left to deal with the often impenetrable sadness, there is great hope in knowing that death isn’t the end, it is the beginning of something very beautiful!
And yes, it’s tough to lose people we love deeply, but it’s worth the risk. Love defines who we are as human beings and enriches our experience in this life and our capacity to understand and accept the source and the summit of all love who awaits us in the next.
Jesus willingly suffered a very painful death at the hands of those he loved-because he loves us that much. And through his resurrection he delivered on his promise to transform our darkness into light; our fear into peace, and to carry us through every single human struggle-even death, to victory, on the wings of his eternal grace!
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