Two places at once

This morning, I celebrated a funeral. I didn't know this person other than the details I had received in the days leading up to his funeral, so in some ways this was a difficult moment to live. At the same time though, I knew somehow that this moment was more for the benefit of his family and friends, who had to come to terms with the fact that goodbyes were in order.

This morning, there was a second funeral celebrated, in a neighbouring parish, for another lady who I did know. Over the past couple of years, I've crossed paths with her on a number of occasions, and watched from a bit of a distance as she's become more and more frail, depending on others to do more and more for her.

Where once she was vibrant and an integral part of so many levels of society, she became more and more of a recluse, isolated by her suffering, the limitations imposed by necessary medical treatments, and advancing years. Even a couple of weeks prior to her death, as I visited with her in hospital, she greeted me warmly and filled me in on all her comings and goings with the same fervor I had always known.

For at least these two families, today was a day of letting go, and of new beginnings. How will they welcome this opportunity? Will they recognize the blessings they have known, and the graces which accompany them? Do we stop every now and then to recognize the fact that the painful moments in life are often doors which open to blessings that await us?