Death and Dying

This week seems a fitting one to write this post. Our beautiful Mother Church in her mercy and wisdom offers us the loving feast days of All Saints and All Souls, where we can celebrate the transition from this world to the next. We pray for the souls of those who go before us and are unable to pray for themselves and we ask for their intercession as well as those we know are part of the Church Triumphant.
Two years ago I was travelling this road with little understanding of the beauty of these teachings. I knew some of them in theory, but that means little when your heart is hard and hurting. I should have turned to the Cross and clinged to our Lord. I should have walked with Our Lady the Via Dolorosa, but I did not. I only wanted what I wanted and I did not want my mom to die. I wanted her healed and whole, not suffering and dying.
This brings us to the present where one of the most holy people I know is dying. His is a family that lives close to Christ and has embraced me in prayer and friendship time and time again. He is suffering with cancer and heart disease, but is doing so with patience and dignity. Here is a man who is living in Christ's shadow. His wife is walking with the Blessed Virgin. But this is not a road that is foreign to them. They walked this walk with their daughter 15 years or so ago and earlier this summer when their grandson was killed in a car accident. There could be bitterness reigning, but there is joy and hope. The lessons this family continues to teach me are humbling to say the least.
May the Souls of the Faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen