Death

Grinch Returned Easter

A friend shared a reflection with me that was written by a retired Christian pastor. It really touched my heart, so am sharing it here. THE GRINCH THAT RETURNED EASTER Sometime in the last 2000 years—Resurrection Sunday got hijacked. It got commercialized into bunnies and eggs, chocolate rabbits and “tip of the hat” church attendance. […]

Good Friday Prisoners

On this Good Friday, at 3:00 my parents and I searched for a Stations of the Cross that we could pray. We came across the recording of Pope Francis and started watching. He was once again in a mostly empty St. Peter’s Square, with a handful of people who would be processing with the cross. […]

God is Still With Us

A family friend called this morning and told me that her sister suggested she listen to the homily from her parish. Our friend listened to it and thought I would really enjoy it as well, so she told me how to find it. My parents and I sat down this evening and listened to it. […]

Blessings While Passing

My dad’s cousin has been in an assisted living facility for about a year now and receiving hospice care on and off. It was exciting when he reached his 95th birthday – the oldest relative that my dad was able to document. Unfortunately, we received word that he died a few days ago. There were […]

Responsible for Souls

Today I read a story from a beautiful friend of mine who teaches in a Catholic school. I am sharing it here for you. “This is what real love looks like.. About a week and a half ago I received a message from a friend asking for prayer. This happens often and I am most […]

Church Offers

I met with some friends today and we got on the topic of Catholic funerals. We talked about the beauty of the traditions and customs of the Church. Typically, funerals begin with praying a rosary, then a full Mass. I thought of 2 specific priests who sang the final blessing as the deceased is taken […]

God’s End Game

Today at church, the scripture readings were focused on the fact that we, people, are very busy every day doing the things that we find important. Some of the things we do are necessary for living, for survival. But all things in this world will fade and pass away – even ourselves – and we […]

Repose of the Soul

Years ago when my mother-in-law died, I was distraught at the fact that there was no wake, no funeral, no services. I spoke to a priest friend of mine who suggested having a Mass said for her. What that means is the Sacrifice of the Mass would include a specific prayer for her soul. I […]

Selfless Soul

Today I read the obituary for my son’s friend. It was a beautiful write up as most are. However, the article had something I don’t think I have ever seen. It included, “He lived his life to the fullest and his last wishes were for people to take better care of one another, perform random […]

Progressive Prayers

I met with a group of friends from the church last night and the topic for discussion led to prayer. We talked about how we pray differently at different times – to God the Father, Jesus the Son, or the Holy Spirit, or we may ask for intercession from the Blessed Mother Mary or from […]