“Turn and Hope for Enduring Joy” by Beth
DeCristofaro
Fear not, my children; call out to God! He
who brought this upon you will remember you. As your hearts have been disposed
to stray from God, turn now ten times the more to seek him; For he who has brought disaster upon
you will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy." (Baruch 4:27-29)
Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like
lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless,
do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your
names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:18-20)
Piety
I shall pass this way but once. Any good,
therefore, that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me
do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it; for I shall not pass this way again.
Amen.
Study
Last week my mother, Katherine Regina Hayes
Costea, died. It is one of our most dreaded “disasters” to lose a loved one to
death. Our culture avoids the thought, uses euphemisms (“lose”), looks for ways
to short circuit the reality that we will all go down to the death bed. We are
disposed to stray from God in so many ways because to walk Jesus’ walk
is hard. I wonder if anyone mourned bright angel Satan who fell like
lightning from the sky? Many, many people mourn my mother. Satan chose to
reject God. My mom did her best to live a good Catholic life. She taught her
sons and daughters that service to others is part of living.
We were blessed that Katharine was able to
die at home. At age 89, one thinks that perhaps it should not be so hard. We
all agree that she had a full life, much of it framed around piety and action –
she wasn’t so big on study. Her model was “fill the need” when you see it. My
sister, daughter and myself, with the help of hospice, struggled to be sure she
was comfortable. I say struggled not that she was in pain but we had our own
internal struggle to be sure she stayed out of pain, that her needs were met
and, most importantly, that we were not obstructing her journey to her new life
with God. We witnessed her relax into peaceful moments as we cared physically
for her, prayed with her, played music for her and witnessed her receive the
Sacrament of the Sick. Relinquishing human life for eternal life is difficult
labor. We are so tied to the beauty and wonder of this world gifted to us by
God and to the relationships that have grace our lives. We don’t really know until we are shown in God’s light, what is it to have our names are written
in heaven. It is a last leap of faith to trust that nothing will harm
you because God in saving you, (will) bring you back enduring joy.
Rest in Peace, Mom. May eternal light shine
on you and all those who have no one to pray for them.
Action
Jesus
sent out the 72 to prepare the world for him. They came back amazed that demons
responded to them. We are also sent out in Jesus’ name. We can hope, we can
live so that when we open our eyes to the light of God we experience enduring
joy and are amazed that (even the little) impact our lives had on the world
prepared His way. How are you obstructed in living your life in knowing your
name is written in heaven, caring for and sharing with your neighbors,
especially those most in need, whose names are also known by God?
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