Death
Can’t Run From Grief
Last night I went to the grief support group. One thought that struck me was that you can’t run away from grief. It will catch up to you one way or another. When I got home, I looked through the mail and saw a newsletter from the Hospice organization. The first article I came to […]
All Souls Mass
All Souls Day took on new meaning this year with the death of my dad. The church had a Mass dedicated specifically for those who died this past year. I brought a couple photos of my dad to the church. Mom picked out the one with him wearing his military uniform. One photo was fastened […]
Not a Saint
For the past week, I have been listening to a biography of St. Therese of Lisieux’s parents – Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin. They were extraordinary parents who served God faithfully through the joys and sorrows of their lives. Even though from their youth they wanted to be consecrated to God and not marry, circumstances […]
Rest and Reflection
I have been super tired the last couple days, so I was very happy that our friend came over today to stay with my mom for a couple of hours. I visited my son and his wife who are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary today. Then I spent some quiet time in church as I […]
Dying To Self
Today I listened to a meditation that focused on dying to self. The message was about our need to allow parts of ourselves to “die”. Perhaps bad habits, thoughts, ways we treat others, burdens we carry,..etc. We need to let go of the things that are not of God – not blessing us or others. […]
True Strength
Many times, perhaps most, strength doesn’t meant going it alone, standing and fighting by yourself. It means relying on others, allowing others to help. Mostly, relying on God. A friend of mine’s husband died unexpectedly several years ago. As she was reflecting on the anniversary of his death, she shared a quote that I thought […]
Special Mass
A couple months ago, I had scheduled with our parish that one of the Mass intentions would be for my dad. It was on the books for yesterday. Since I was away, my sister took my mom to the Mass. Our “usual” seats are in the first row of chairs in the back of the […]
Honing Out
All my siblings, my mom, and I got together today and started going through my dad’s library. People chose books that they wanted to keep and we talked about what to do with the rest. There were several collections that entertained my dad including Star Trek, old science fiction from when he was in high […]
Fine Father’s Day
I knew today would be tough without my dad here. So I tried to keep my mind on good things. I thought of many wonderful men that I have been blessed to have in my life and sent them a note. They have inspired me, kept me on the right track, and been someone for […]
Roses
Today at my grief support group, I told a story of how my dad found an offshoot from the rosebush that had sprouted near the sidewalk. That was not a good place for it to be, so he pulled it up and we replanted it in a bare spot. It was no more than a […]
Still Finding God 