Life and Death

Today I received many blessings. Here is a snapshot of two.

Around quarter to four in the afternoon I was waiting in my car in the parking lot of the parish while my son was inside doing something with the homeschool co-op. I decided to step into the church for some prayer time with Our Lord. Having this availability is a blessing in itself. As I walked in I noticed the usual for a Thursday afternoon when the coo-op is in session. I noticed a handful of people – men, women, and children – scattered about the church kneeling and praying in reverent silence. As I walked to the center aisle I noticed a little buzz of activity coming from the baptistery. It was then that I realized that I had stumbled upon a moment of great grace. An infant in the arms of his parents and godparents was being given the gift of Sanctifying Grace!

I knelt down to pray for this child.

Just a few hours later I returned to the church for an evening Mass. This time it was the other end of life I saw, for this Mass was a funeral. I did not know the deceased. My wife had been one of his students years ago. Unfortunately she could not attend so I went in her place. There came a moment of almost sheer terror as if orchestrated by the Almighty. As the choir sang the Dies Irae, a passing thunderstorm tossed about flashes of lightning and the atmosphere outside the church cracked with the sound of thunder. Day of wrath, indeed. One can’t help but contemplate his own judgment at a moment like that.

I knelt down and prayed for this dead man.

And I thanked God for the reminders this day of my baptism and my ultimate end. I thanked Him for His priests. I thanked Him and asked of Him the grace of final perseverance and a happy death.

St. Joseph, pray for us!