Word to the Wise
Tuesday, November 12, 2019 - Tuesday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Wis 2:23—3:9 and Luke 17:7-10]But the souls of the just are in the hands of God, and no torment shall touch them. they seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. [Wisdom]
NOVEMBER 12, ST. JOSAPHAT, bishop and martyr
This passage from the Book of Wisdom is most often read at funerals, and I never fail to find it comforting. Death is a guaranteed experience for all of us, and grief is for those of us who mourn the loss of a loved one. Even if the deceased loved one is at peace, we still experience loss. St. Dominic is supposed to have said on his deathbed, "Do not mourn for me. I will be of greater use to you after I die." That did not stop his followers from grieving!
I can reflect on my own experience when both my parents and my older sister died, and my pastoral experience with parishioners who are grieving similar losses. It takes time to realize that St. Dominic was right. And in some circumstances - the death of a child, even an adult child - the grief can be very deep indeed and have lasting impact on surviving loved ones in the form of guilt or anger at God or one another.
The celebration, recently, of All Saints and All Souls can remind us of the Communion of Saints who join us everyday in faith and pray with us who grieve and with those who now take an eternal position in this communion of saints. AMEN