Happy Thanksgiving!
Despite our family's difficult year following the death of our oldest child, we come to this day of thanksgiving will open minds and hearts.
We first and foremost thank God - our loving Father - for the gift our dearest son. He will no longer share our Thanksgivings in body and soul. But we believe he will be with us, praying for us today, even as we pray for him.
We thank God for the rest of our family. Despite the pain and sorrow of the last year, we have remained firm in our love for each other. None of us - to my knowledge - has lost his or her faith in God and our holy religion. While none of us is perfect, we all continue to strive for the perfection that God's grace will allow, in whatever degree He allows. And we all look forward to that time when we will be united with our dearest departed son "In Paradisum."
Yes, we'll have our Thanksgiving dinner, in the face of the Great Sadness that still hovers over us. And, yes, we'll do our best to celebrate all the blessings that have remained after the death of our son - and they are bounteous.
When the festivities end for this Year of Our Lord 2019, we will return to our daily work, each pursuing diligently the duties of his or her particular state of life, just as we did before our son's death, and as we have ever since. We will work for the greater glory of God, the God who has showered us with so many blessings for which we are thankful this day.
And as these days pass, we will continue to keep this beautiful vision of our son "In Paradisum," with a spirit of gratitude, ever alive in our hearts and minds.
We first and foremost thank God - our loving Father - for the gift our dearest son. He will no longer share our Thanksgivings in body and soul. But we believe he will be with us, praying for us today, even as we pray for him.
We thank God for the rest of our family. Despite the pain and sorrow of the last year, we have remained firm in our love for each other. None of us - to my knowledge - has lost his or her faith in God and our holy religion. While none of us is perfect, we all continue to strive for the perfection that God's grace will allow, in whatever degree He allows. And we all look forward to that time when we will be united with our dearest departed son "In Paradisum."
Yes, we'll have our Thanksgiving dinner, in the face of the Great Sadness that still hovers over us. And, yes, we'll do our best to celebrate all the blessings that have remained after the death of our son - and they are bounteous.
When the festivities end for this Year of Our Lord 2019, we will return to our daily work, each pursuing diligently the duties of his or her particular state of life, just as we did before our son's death, and as we have ever since. We will work for the greater glory of God, the God who has showered us with so many blessings for which we are thankful this day.
And as these days pass, we will continue to keep this beautiful vision of our son "In Paradisum," with a spirit of gratitude, ever alive in our hearts and minds.
Comments