All Souls Day - 2013; A Personal Reflection

On the Catholic Church's calender, this day is called "Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed."  Another common name for it is, "All Souls Day."  It is a special day during which Christians offer prayers for departed loved ones, and those who have died without anyone to remember them.  We pray that all the souls of the faithful departed are enjoying the peace and joy of Heaven.  Today, I remember in prayer, my father, Bill, my mother, Marna, and my uncle, Bill Winrow.  We lost Mom and Uncle Bill this past year, Dad we lost in 2011.  Earlier today, I went to my parents grave site; brushed the dried pine needles and leaves from their plaque.  I left some fresh flowers and offered prayers.  For a little while, as I stood there, the area was quiet, very still.  When I got back into the car to leave, for a minute or so, I did not want to turn the ignition key.  No matter how much time has passed, the feelings of sorrow, of loss, are just underneath the surface; ready to pop back into our consciousness. 

This, however, I believe with all my heart and soul, that though separated by death, we are all still one in the Body of Christ. And as I offer prayers for their sakes, I know deep down, that they are offering prayers for my sake, and the sake of all my relatives.  And I have the hope that there will be a day, when all of of us will be reunited, and we will find ourselves enfolded in our Father's arms.

"The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the 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."  (Book of Wisdom, Chap. 3)

A Loss In The Family

I am sorry that I have not been posting anything lately, but we suffered a loss in our family last week. My father, William (Bill) Jones, passed away on Tuesday, April 5th. He was 85 years old. A child of the Depression era; he entered the Navy right out of high school and served during the final years of WWII, in the Pacific. He served on the hospital ship, USS Benevolence, as an x-ray technician. While he may not have been in combat, he witnessed the costs of combat, as he cared for the wounded from those final, bloody, Pacific campaigns. He graduated from Boston College after the war. He worked at General Electric. He married my mother, Margaret, and with her, raised six children; three boys, three girls (they believed in equality). He was a very loving father. A convert to Catholicism while he was a teenager, he would teach religious education in our home parish for 30 years. He sang in the parish choir, was a senior altar server, and a regular lector at Sunday Mass. He was a Vatican II man, welcomed the reforms that came out of it. He always wished that the Church would push the envelope a little farther. His and my mother's example of living the faith were definitely an influence on me and my faith life. He died at home, after a long battle with cancer, with my mother and siblings with him. I think I am still processing the loss, because right now, despite all that is happening in the Church and the world at large, nothing is stirring these fingers to begin typing. Hopefully, this block will lift, and there will be more frequent posts. But for now, I ask your prayers for my father's soul, and for my family. Thank you.