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Rising with the Lord: In His glory after death
My dad died February 25 at the age of 91. He was ready to go home. His wife, my mom, had taken leave of him five-and-a-half years before, and he had experienced the most profound loneliness ever since.
But he had only grown gentler and kinder in the intervening years. Not that he had reached perfection, mind you. But he had grown to be the best image of the love of God that who he was allowed him to be. And it was a pretty inspiring image at that.
A nurse who had attended him wept when my sister informed her that he had died. She told her that it was not a pleasure to attend to everyone in their last days, but that it had been a pleasure to attend to my dad.
Easter Sunday
(Sunday, April 8, 2007)
Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Psalm 118: 1-2, 16ab-17, 22-23
Colossians 3:1-4
John 20:1-9
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Aging was good to my dad.
For the last six years of my mom's life, she was dealing with congestive heart failure and the beginnings of either senile dementia or Alzheimer's. In that time, my dad was unfailingly
kind and gentle, growing into the role of caregiver in ways we, his children, would not have expected.
The good effects of his years in the Presbyterian Church teaching Sunday school, studying Scripture, and serving in various ways seemed to show more and more in his final years.
Questions of theological significance, particularly as they related to seeing my mom once again and his obligation to take care not to harm his physical body surfaced again and again in thoughtful, pondering ways.
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Reflection question
• What can you do now to help you grow in love of God and others so that when your time arrives to become part of the resurrected body of Christ, you will be ready?
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In the end, the passing of this loving, gentle old man was a happy occurrence, with my sister holding one of his hands and I the other, each of us speaking words of love and encouraging him on into the next stage of his existence - the place to which he was going
not in doubt for either one of us. For as Paul put it in his Letter to the Colossians, "When Christ our life appears, then you shall appear with him in glory."
This column is presented in cooperation with the North Texas Catholic of Fort Worth, Texas.
This week's readings
Week of April 8 - 14, 2007
Sunday, April 8, 2007
The Mass of Easter Day
Reading I: Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Reading II: Col 3:1-4 or I Cor 5:6b-8
Gospel: Jn 20:1-9
Monday, April 9, 2007
Reading I: Acts 2:14, 22-33
Gospel: Mt 28:8-15
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Reading I: Acts 2:36-41
Gospel: Jn 20:11-18
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Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Reading I: Acts 3:1-10
Gospel: Lk 24:13-35
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Reading I: Acts 3:11-26
Gospel: Lk 24:35-48
Friday, April 13, 2007
Reading I: Acts 4:1-12
Gospel: Jn 21:1-14
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Reading I: Acts 4:13-21
Gospel: Mk 16:9-15
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Pope's Prayer Intentions
April General Intention
Call to Holiness. That guided by the Holy Spirit, each Christian may respond enthusiastically and faithfully to the universal call to holiness.
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April Mission Intention
Vocations. That the number of priestly and religious vocations may grow to meet the needs in North America and countries of the Pacific Ocean.
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Prayer for St. Raphael Cathedral
O God,
Whose word is like fire,
who spoke to Your servant Moses in the burning bush;
who led Your people Israel out of bondage
with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night:
hear Your people as we call upon You
in both need and gratitude.
May the Cathedral fire purify Your Church
in the Diocese of Madison
so that our hearts may burn with the knowledge
that Your Church is built upon the bedrock
of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the intercession of Saint Raphael,
Your messenger of healing,
in union with our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI,
and with our Bishop, Robert C. Morlino,
may we find comfort in our affliction
and the courage to proclaim
the Good News of Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever.
Amen.
For more prayer resources visit the Office of Worship's Web page at www.straphael.org/~office_of_worship/
(Click on the link on the main page.)
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