Over the years, through my work in bereavement ministry, I have had the privilege of walking alongside many people as they navigate the painful and unpredictable journey of grief. In grief, people often want to comfort us but struggle to know what to say. Sometimes we hear, โI know how you feelโ, words that are …
One of the gifts of living in the fourth quarter of life is perspective. We look back through a different lens and begin to see Godโs grace in chapters where His presence was not clear to us at the time. Childhood. Adolescence. Marriage and family. Midlife. The empty nest. Retirement looming. And the legacy I …
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” โ John 1:5 Some moments never leave us. The JFK assassination. The Challenger explosion. 9/11. The COVID pandemic. We remember exactly where we were, because in those moments grief was not ours alone โ we grieved together, what’s often called collective grief. …
“๐โ๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐ค๐๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข?” “๐ฟ๐๐๐, ๐ผ ๐ค๐๐๐ก ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐,” โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. โ ๐ฟ๐ข๐๐ 18:41 (๐๐ผ๐) Back in 2013, over lunch with an old friend, I was asked a question that changed my life โ one I’m still answering today. That friend was Fr. Hank Hilton, SJ, and the lunch was …
โ๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.โ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐:๐๐ Last Friday, I completed the Camino Portuguรฉs, walking 227 miles from Porto through Santiago and then on to Finisterre โ often called โthe end of the world.โ As I reflect on the journey, three graces stand out: ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐: ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ My first …
“๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐ข๐๐ก๐๐จ, ๐ฃ๐ค ๐ข๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ก๐ค๐ฃ๐, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ก ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฎ, ๐ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐, ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐๐ช๐ค๐ช๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ช๐ข๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฎ๐๐ช๐ก, ๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐๐๐ฉ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ง๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ข๐.” โ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฝ๐๐ง๐ง๐ฎ, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐จ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐จ๐จ (๐ญ๐ต๐ณ๐ญ) Today, …
โ๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐โฆ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐.โ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฏ A few days ago, I loaded up my truck with petunias and impatiens โ two of my favorite flowers Iโve been planting for decades. Itโs one of my favorite spring rituals, following weeks of preparation โ power raking and fertilizing the lawn and …
โi carry your heart with me (i carry it inmy heart) i am never without itโ โ E. E. Cummings In Bereavement Ministry, we often talk about the โCalendar of Griefโ โ those dates forever etched in our hearts: a loved oneโs birthday, the anniversary of their passing, wedding anniversaries, and holidays like Motherโs Day, …
Fifty-four years ago today, my older brother Dennis passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 19. In early 2020, going through my Momโs personal things after her passing, I found this letter โ Dennis had written it to me in February 1972, just two months before he died. I was a junior at …
โ๐บ๐๐, ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.โ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐:๐ As I come to the close of my year-long journey through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, I find myself returning to certain Scripture passagesโnot just for what they meant then, but for how deeply they mirror …
