Death
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 […]
Comforting Message
We’ve been receiving some beautiful sentiments from friends and neighbors. One card had an especially meaningful and relevant quote from Christian author Max Lucado: “We don’t like to say goodbye to those whom we love. It is right for us to weep, but there is no need for us to despair. They had pain here. […]
God’s Words
My sister and I went to Mass this morning and the scripture readings were so meaningful – as well as the hymns. The theme was that God is with us through all the storms in our lives. After Mass, there was a reception for the beloved priest who came to our house several times and […]
Graceful
Yesterday as we talked with nurses and caregivers about my mother, my brother used the word “graceful” to describe her. When I sat with her this morning, her items on the nightstand caught my eye. They included her reading glasses, her St. Padre Pio prayer book, and a prayer card with her name on it. […]
The Rocking Chair
This morning as I sat with my mom, I was rocking in the rocking chair. It suddenly occurred to me that it was the same chair that my mom rocked me and my siblings in when we were babies and beyond. My mom was in this chair at the beginning of our lives and I […]
Blessed Connection
I was delighted to talk with a far away friend today. She and her family have been on mind and I pray for them often. Her husband passed away almost a year ago now, which was hard to believe. While our situations are different, the pain of suffering the loss of a loved is the […]
Building From God
I found today’s scripture reading from 2 Corinthians particularly relevant, hopeful, and encouraging. It said in part; Therefore, we are not discouraged;rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light afflictionis producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as […]
Memorial Day at the Cemetery
This morning I reminded my mom that is was Memorial Day. I asked if there was anything special we should do. She said no. At this point, my mom doesn’t really remember that my dad has passed away, which is both difficult and a blessing. We had a caregiver over this afternoon, so my sister […]
NICU Blessing
One of mom’s Hospice nurses came this morning and gave her a nice shower. I am so grateful for these ladies. Afterwards she was heading out to see her pediatric patients. I asked how hard or sad that must be. She said it is important to have the right frame of mind. She told me […]
Getting Out
A couple of weeks ago, one of the men in our prayer group died. We all went to his funeral and prayed for and with his wife and family. Both he and his wife had been joining the group via Zoom shortly after he got ill. Later, only his wife would participate. Tonight was our […]