Ruth. January 28, 2013

I received the email which informed us of Ruth's passing from this world into the Kingdom. I read the news just after I arrived in Rome from Chicago. My very first venture this morning was to St. Peter's in memory of Ruth. Upon entering the basilica , to my right , is the famous statue of Michelangelo's , the Pieta, depicting a grieving Mary holding the lifeless body of her Son.
I couldn't help but think of Fred who, like Mary , is so grieving the loss of his beloved.
This journey of life is a beautiful one but one that not only embraces life, but must let go of life. The grieving is what truly binds us all for in the grieving is a vulnerability we share. Every one of us must let go of precious loved ones to be left with emptiness....an emptiness that can only be filled with Love.

As Mary held the body of Jesus she instinctively knew that something more was to come..,that death was not the final answer. She was the gathering force that united the apostles as they waited for thd outpouring of the Holy Spirit. With Fred and all those grieving, we wait for that sd Spirit to pull us out of grief and into expectant waiting. We wait, holding their lifeless bodies...handing them over to theOne who ROSE from the dead... Out of Mary's arms and into transformation.

We pray for those grieving like Fred. Our grief and theirs unite as we wait to be welcomed through the gateway of death by by all those who have made this ultimate camino or journey. One more will be there to welcome us, give as a bag of food. And a smile. Her name is Ruth.
Buen camino. Padre