A Sunday Thought to Start the Week Off Right
This past week we caught some good advice from St Anthony, Abbot and desert hermit:
He reminds us of the simple stark fact of death - which comes to us all - and urges us not to let our time on earth slip through our fingers, as so many tragically do.
St Anthony's words came back to me when I learned that my cousin's daughter died this week. I knew her daughter was fighting cancer, but the news still jolted me. She was only 50, having lived a difficult life even before her fatal disease.
As I attended her wake and prayed for the repose of her soul, I also prayed for my poor cousin and would ask your prayers as well. Her beloved husband - the love of her life - also died at the age of 50. Her oldest daughter died at a young age, the result of complications caused by Lupus. And now her second daughter is gone.
She still has a son who lives near her with his family. She has a sister who lives next door and other family members nearby. Thank God she will not be alone in facing yet another terrible loss.
So yes, I urge you to heed St Anthony's advice:
While consolation comes slowly and sometimes with great difficulty in the circumstances in which my cousin finds herself, I hope and pray that she remembers our Catholic understanding that life doesn't end when we leave this world, either for us or those we love.
Thinking of all this on this winter Sunday morning, having just come across this lovely song by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings for the first time, the thought occurred to me that, while the song is about someone looking forward meeting "the one" meant for them some day, it might also be applied to my cousin and all of us whose loved ones have gone before us. So I thought I'd share this lovely live performance of "Dear Someone." I was especially moved by the slow simplicity of the music and the lyrical images combined with the purity of the two artists' voices. See if you agree.
I want to go all over the world
And start living free
I know that there’s somebody
Who is waiting for me
I’ll build a boat, steady and true
As soon as it’s done
I’m going to sail along in a dream
Of my dear someone
One little star, smiling tonight
Knows where you are
Stay, little star, steady and bright
To guide me afar
Rush, little wind, over the deep
For now I’ve begun
Hurry and take me straight into the arms
Of my dear someone
Hurry and take me into the arms
Of my dear someone
Do all work and pray as though it were the last thing you will do on Earth.
St Anthony's words came back to me when I learned that my cousin's daughter died this week. I knew her daughter was fighting cancer, but the news still jolted me. She was only 50, having lived a difficult life even before her fatal disease.
As I attended her wake and prayed for the repose of her soul, I also prayed for my poor cousin and would ask your prayers as well. Her beloved husband - the love of her life - also died at the age of 50. Her oldest daughter died at a young age, the result of complications caused by Lupus. And now her second daughter is gone.
She still has a son who lives near her with his family. She has a sister who lives next door and other family members nearby. Thank God she will not be alone in facing yet another terrible loss.
So yes, I urge you to heed St Anthony's advice:
Do all work and pray as though it were the last thing you will do on Earth.
Thinking of all this on this winter Sunday morning, having just come across this lovely song by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings for the first time, the thought occurred to me that, while the song is about someone looking forward meeting "the one" meant for them some day, it might also be applied to my cousin and all of us whose loved ones have gone before us. So I thought I'd share this lovely live performance of "Dear Someone." I was especially moved by the slow simplicity of the music and the lyrical images combined with the purity of the two artists' voices. See if you agree.
I want to go all over the world
And start living free
I know that there’s somebody
Who is waiting for me
I’ll build a boat, steady and true
As soon as it’s done
I’m going to sail along in a dream
Of my dear someone
One little star, smiling tonight
Knows where you are
Stay, little star, steady and bright
To guide me afar
Rush, little wind, over the deep
For now I’ve begun
Hurry and take me straight into the arms
Of my dear someone
Hurry and take me into the arms
Of my dear someone
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