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Familiar Words
A few months ago, my mom’s friend’s son-in-law died. I had scheduled a Mass to be offered for his soul. It was today. I met our friend there and we prayed together. I recognized the Gospel reading: Mt 11:28-30Jesus said:“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. […]
Loving Friendships
Tonight I went to dinner with my friends who I worked with years ago. The group still meets at a restaurant once a month. Some people were at my mom’s funeral, but I had missed several months of the get togethers, so it was good to see everyone again. I was met with hugs, words […]
Daughters In Law
I am grateful to have two amazing young women as part of the family. One is my older son’s wife of almost twenty-two years. The other is technically not yet a family member, but she will be marrying my younger son next year. The three of us had breakfast together this morning. During our conversations, […]
The Funeral
I have taken a little break from writing, but not from praying and pondering. As I think about the events during the last few weeks, I am grateful to realize God’s hand and love through it all. When my father died, my mom chose everything for his funeral, from the visitation through to the burial […]
The Engagement
My son met an amazing young woman 2 1/2 years ago. From the beginning she has been a blessing in our lives. Once she became a licensed massage therapist, she came over every week to give my mom a soothing hand massage. Even when my mom wasn’t up to it, she would just come over […]
Playing Her Piano
Today as I was making my way through estate paperwork, I suddenly got the urge to play the piano. I haven’t actually played in years. I sat down at the piano in front of my mom’s music books. On top was the collection of sacred music. I opened it to Amazing Grace, which was one […]
Remembering Their Beautiful Song
We received a beautiful card today that spoke perfectly to my mother’s life. It said: God gives every person their own unique song. It’s one that will play their entire life long. Through the love that they give and the gifts that they share, through the memories they make and the dreams that they dare. […]
Do Not Be Afraid
I have been thinking about what my future is going to look like. I had somewhat thought about what I may want to do after my parents died, and where I might want to be. But now it’s here and it is a big unknown. I listened to the Gospel reading and reflection for Mass […]
Life Not Death
At church today, the first reading was from the book of Wisdom. The first sentence was, “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.” That hit my heart immediately. The Gospel reading was about a woman who was ill for many years. She touched Jesus’ cloak and was […]
Getting Out
Today my brothers and I decided to get out of the house. It was a relatively cool day so I packed a lunch and we went to one of favorite state parks which we had not been to in a long time. We hiked a little more than we originally anticipated and my legs made […]