Category Archives: Death and Dying

Mary, Our Queen Mother – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Death and Dying, Healing, Holiness, Jewish roots, Miracles, Relationships, Saints, Scripture


Mary, Our Queen Mother – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

On August 22nd, the eighth day after the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church celebrates the feast of the Queenship of Mary.  From the earliest days of the Church, these two events were seen as linked together.  When Mary was given the special gift of being assumed bodily in to heaven, it was to take her place as Queen of Heaven.  For us today, in a world where Kings and Queens are part of fairy tales or mostly exist for ceremonial purposes, it is hard for us to understand why the Church would recognize Mary as the Queen of Heaven.  In order to understand it better, we must look back in to our Jewish roots, scriptures and the early Church fathers.

Mary exists as Queen only because Jesus exists as “King of the Jews”.  The first time we hear Jesus referred to as King is in the Gospel of St. Matthew in his nativity accounts.  St. Matthew writes with a great knowledge of Judaism and its history.  His nativity account is flowing with references to Jesus as King of the Jews as related to the Davidic Kingdom.  He has the Magi, the eastern kings, come and worship the new King of Kings.  This is set in David’s city, Bethlehem.   It is the Magi who kneel down before the baby Jesus, and before Mary and call Jesus the King of the Jews.  Joseph isn’t even mentioned when the Magi adore the new babe.  The emphasis is placed upon Jesus and Mary.  To understand this we need to look at the Jewish role of the Queen Mother.

The Jews, like most of the other people of the Middle East, gave special emphasis to the mother of the King as the Queen Mother.  This was quite practical as most of the Kings had numerous wives, but only one mother.   Scripture tells us that King Solomon, David’s son, had 700 wives and 300 concubines.  In Jewish history the Queen Mother had her throne right next to her son, the King.  She helped him in caring for the Kingdom.   She was always especially known as an advocate for her people.  She very often interceded for her people.  In 1 Kings 2: 13-21 we hear the story of Adonijah who comes to see the Queen Mother saying, “I have something to ask to you.” She replied, “Say it.” So he said, “There is one favor I would ask of you. Do not refuse me.” And she said, “Speak on.” He said, “Please ask King Solomon, who will not refuse you, to give me Abishag the Shunamite for my wife.” “Very well,” replied Bathsheba, “I will speak to the king for you.”   Then Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, and the king stood up to meet her and paid her homage. Then he sat down upon his throne, and a throne was provided for the king’s mother, who sat at his right. “There is one small favor l would ask of you,” she said. “Do not refuse me.” “Ask it, my mother,” the king said to her, “for I will not refuse you.   So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunamite be given to your brother Adonijah for his wife.”  Of course, the King did what his mother asked.  This was the common practice for Queen Mothers; to sit on a throne next to their son and bring him intercessions.   This is what our Queen Mother, Mary does today for us.

There is no doubt that the Kingship of Jesus differs from the Kingship of David or Solomon or any of the Jewish Kings.  His Kingship is founded on his death and resurrection.  It is at the cross that we read “Jesus, the Nazorean, King of the Jews.  It was on the cross, with Mary at his foot, that Jesus shows us that His Kingdom is based upon Mercy and pure Love.  The Queenship of Mary follows this same example, Love and Mercy.  Now Jesus is enthroned in Heaven with Mary, the Queen Mother, at His side.  Together they are dispensers of God’s Mercy and Love.  Mary, the Immaculate daughter of the Father and spouse of the Holy Spirit sits with her son and her God, Jesus.

The book of Revelation, Chapter 12 verses 1 though 5 gives us an apocalyptic vision of Mary as Queen of Heaven.  It says, “And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his head seven diadems: And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne.”  I find it interesting that she has a crown with twelve stars.  Those twelve stars remind us of both the twelve tribes of Israel who relied upon the Queen Mother as their intercessor before the King and of the twelve Apostles who regarded her as the mother of Jesus and their mother.  The red dragon reminds us of how Mary, our mother and our Queen, has always resisted the attacks of the devil and is the promise of the New Eve who stamps her foot upon the devil’s head.

When we see Mary as the Queen of Heaven we honor her place in God’s plan as being the mother of His son Jesus, who is fully human and fully God.  Her resounding YES and her flesh gave flesh to the Word.   She was the new Ark of the Covenant in which the very presence of God resided.   It was because of her that our Lord and Savior were brought in to this world.  She is, most definitely, BLESSED among women.

St. Pope John Paul II in his letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, tells us, “Christ was raised in glory to the right hand of the Father, while Mary herself would be raised to that same glory in the Assumption,  enjoying beforehand, by a unique privilege, the destiny reserved for all the just at the resurrection of the dead. Crowned in glory – as she appears in the last glorious mystery – Mary shines forth as Queen of the Angels and Saints, the anticipation and the supreme realization of the eschatological state of the Church.”

Hopefully, some day we too, like Mary, will receive our glorified bodies and worship God and honor Mary in heaven.  Until we do, we can honor her as Queen of Heaven and bring before her our cares and concerns so that she can intercede for us before her son, Jesus, the King of Kings.

D-Day 75th Anniversary – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Death and Dying, Godly Patriotism, Peace and Justice, Scripture, Service, Soldiers

D-Day 75th Anniversary – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

On this 75th anniversary of D-Day I felt I should write about it.  I have shared some of this before, but I think that it is needed now.  War is a terrible thing.  It brings out the worst in humanity.  It also brings out the best.  World War II was a terrible and destructive war but it also showed that humanity can, and will, stand up against tyranny and evil.  Jesus told us that “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).  This was lived out every day of World War II and one of the greatest examples of this is the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France beginning on June 6, 1944.  The Allied forces lost almost 10,000 soldiers during that invasion.  It was the beginning of the end of the Nazi terrorism and the pure evil that they had spread.  If any war could be considered necessary, this one certainly could.  Freedom fought back against tyranny and goodness fought back against evil.  The darkness of the Nazi regime was overcome by the light of the Allied forces.  Proudly, the United States stood tall in bringing forth the light.

D- Day has affected us all in many ways.  I realized how much it affected me when my wife and I traveled to France and visited the beaches of Normandy where D-Day happened.  My birth father was one of the many soldiers who landed at the beaches of Normandy and lived through that to continue to fight the Nazis in Europe.  I certainly am proud of him for that.  While standing on the beach there and hearing our guide tell us of the large loss of so many soldiers there, my wife turned to me and said, “Just think about this; if your father had been killed here that day, you would never had been born”.  It was a most sobering experience.  I thought about those almost ten thousand men who lost their lives on those beaches and mourned for them and then mourned for all those children that they were never able to bring forth.  My father had two brothers in that war.  One of them, Carl was killed while trying to free Italy from the Nazis.  He was only eighteen years old.  He is still buried in Italy.  His other brother, Milo, lost his leg while fighting the Nazis.  My father suffered from “Shell shock” which is what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).   War is terrible and does terrible things to people, yet our soldiers go out in to the midst of this hell, willing to give all for the sake of freedom.

Europe is free today because of the fighting of the Allied Forces.  When we were in Normandy we saw the honor and respect and gratitude the French people have for Americans.  There are so many memorials there showing this.  We also saw it in Rome where there are a number of plaques and monuments honoring American forces for setting them free.  We, as Americans, should be very proud of what our soldiers did in WWII.  We should continue to be proud of them for all of the many wars and conflicts that have occurred since then and before then.  I pray that someday war may cease, but until then a strong military is needed.  We need to support our soldiers.  I am a Vietnam War Era veteran.  It was a hard time to be an Army soldier then.  The Vietnam War was very unpopular and unfortunately people took it out on the soldiers.  Fortunately, this no longer seems to be the case.

As I said, we need to support our soldiers.  We can do this in so many ways.  We can always thank them for their service when we see them.  We can pick up their food or bar tab.  I have done this so many times and find it so uplifting, some of the best money I ever spent.  We can work with and support soldier and veteran’s groups.  I work with and support a local group, Boots on the Ground of Long Island.  It is definitely one of the best around.  Since I am a Roman Catholic deacon, I also offer spiritual counseling to some veterans who are suffering from PTSD.  They have seen and done things in the war that no one should ever see or do.  They carry this home with them and it affects them tremendously.  Sometimes all they need (besides professional counseling) is a friend to share lunch or a beer with and to lend an ear and caring mind.  Our soldiers do so much for us; we need to do for them.

Lastly, as strange as it might sound, we need to celebrate our soldiers.  Going to Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day and Fourth of July parades is one way of doing this.  Recognizing their accomplishments is also so important.  Take time to visit a soldier’s museum or monument.  Say a prayer for them.  Just today I saw a video from CBS News showing a 97 year old veteran of D-Day, who parachutes out of plane to the field where he landed on D-Day.  Check it out here (short commercial before) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tom-rice-d-day-anniversary-97-year-old-paratrooper-jump-2019-06-05/ .  This is quite a way to celebrate.  Remember, we are called to thank and celebrate the men and women who did so much for us.  God bless America.

Domestic Terrorism: A Good Friday Reflection – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Church, Death and Dying, Healing, Holy Week, Terrorism, ,
And Jesus Wept

Twenty four years ago today, April 19th, the nation suffered a horrendous loss as 168 men, women and children (19) were killed by a domestic terrorist bombing brought about by Timothy J. McVeigh and Terry L. Nichols.   The bombing destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a 16 block radius of Oklahoma City.   The blast shattered glass in 258 other buildings and destroyed 86 cars.  Besides the 168 people killed about 680 people suffered injuries from the blast.  The emotional damages caused by the blast are immeasurable.   Truly our nation suffered greatly and families are still suffering from their loss. 

Five years after the bombing, on April 19th, 2000 the Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated at the site.  The memorial consists of 168 stone and glass chairs representing each life lost.  It is very sad to see them all, especially the 19 smaller chairs representing the children that were killed.   Remembrance services are held every year on April 19th.   Certainly this large tragedy can never be forgotten. 

A teddy bear sits on a chair in the field of chairs at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, April 19, 2011, on the 16th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Directly across from the site of the bombing is the oldest parish church in Oklahoma City, St. Joseph Old Cathedral.  The Cathedral was badly damaged but has been rebuilt.  The parish rectory was destroyed by the explosion.  At the site of the demolished rectory, the parish has placed their own memorial.  It is an Italian marble statue of Jesus with His back towards the site of the bombing.  Jesus has His head down and His hand over His face in sorrow.  Around the statue are pillars representing the children and unborn babies who were killed by the blast.   The name of the sculpture is “And Jesus Wept” (See picture on top).  It was dedicated in 1998.

This year the anniversary of the bombing falls on Good Friday.   I can’t help but to see a message for all of us in this.  First of all, acts of terror such as these really show the depravity of those who plan them.  They have no concern for the people who are so horrendously affected.  To call this sin would be an understatement.  It reflects the pure evil, the pure darkness that Jesus came to shed His light upon.  It shows why Jesus endured so much suffering for the sin that permeates humankind. 

Secondly, it shows how our knowledge of how Jesus suffered can help us in our own suffering.  The Catholic Church has always placed redemptive value upon the sufferings that we find in our own lives.  Somehow, our own sufferings are united with the sufferings of Jesus.  Somehow His sufferings can help us in our sufferings.  When we experience our own crosses, His cross helps us to endure.

Thirdly, we know that the sufferings and death of Jesus upon the cross led to the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning.  People of faith know that even though we miss our loved ones when they die, some day we will all be back together in the precious gift of heaven.  Jesus suffered and died and rose from the dead so that we might have life forever in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

We as Christians must do everything that we can to fight the evil within the world.  We must fight it with hope and with love.  The statue of Jesus weeping reminds us how Jesus joins in with us in mourning our losses and in mourning the sin and evil that can be so destructive to life.  Everything about God is about LIFE.   Everything about evil is about death.  When we work with God, we work on the side of life.  When we are caught up in sin and evil, we work on the side of death.  God calls us to choose life, not death.

A Time to YEARN – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Church, Death and Dying, Eucharist, Family, Holy Spirit, Life in the Spirit, Liturgy, Sacraments, Scripture, Spirituality

 

We are at the end of the Church liturgical year. This Sunday, December 2nd, is the First Sunday of Advent. Advent is a very important, but very short, liturgical season. It is there to prepare us for the even shorter season of the twelve days of Christmas. Unfortunately and at the same time, our society also places demands upon us for celebrating Christmas, or as society says, “The Holidays”. These demands of society often keep us from the real preparation for Christmas that Advent calls us to. I really do believe that some of the demands of society such as Christmas decorating, parties and gift giving are important and do help us rejoice in the birth of our Savior, Jesus. But I also believe that we too often are more concentrated on these then on the spiritual preparation of the Advent season. This is something that we must work on.
I believe that at the heart of the Advent season we must recognize a yearning. This is a yearning that we have to be close to God and a yearning that He has to be close to us. The Advent readings reflect that two fold yearning. Advent is a time of yearning and a time of preparation to meet and be with the God who yearns to be with us even more than we yearn to be with him. It is a time when we celebrate the way that God comes to us. Christmas is the time we celebrate that the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, the WORD, became flesh so that we could be with God and He could be with us. Advent helps us to celebrate better that special gift of the Incarnation. We can experience the yearning that the Jewish people had for the Messiah to come to them. The Old Testament (or Hebrew) readings help us experience that. They waited so long for His coming.
Advent is also a time for us to recognize the yearning for Jesus to come to us here and now. Life often has so many difficulties such as disappointments, illnesses and death of loved ones. We need help to live through these difficulties and we yearn for Jesus to be there with us. When we open our hearts, we can see that He is. Life also has so many great experiences and joys and it seems that we yearn to have God experience them with us, especially when we are filled with gratitude and praise. In our everyday life, in all that we do, God yearns to be present to us. If we really look within ourselves we also yearn for him to be there.
Advent also reminds us that just as Jesus came to His people on that very first Christmas, and just as Jesus joins us in our everyday lives, especially in the Eucharist, we still await another coming of Jesus. This second coming of Jesus will bring with it the fullness of His Kingdom. This too all creation yearns for (Romans 8: 19). Whether we will be alive when He comes again or not, we do know that we all will meet him when our body finally fails. Most people in ordinary life do not yearn for death, and thus this coming, but I have been with so many older and sickly people who do. They literally are yearning for their death so they can meet their Savior.
We really do not know when the Lord will come again and we do not know when our own time to meet him will come, so we must learn to be prepared.
Advent, when celebrated well, can help us do this. So how do we celebrate Advent well? First and foremost, we should try to attend mass as often as possible. If possible, every day is best. When we attend we should listen closely to the scriptures and the homily. God’s Word helps form us and readies us. Receiving Him in the Eucharist is so very important. He literally comes to us there. At home we should try to use a daily Advent devotional. There are many available at religious goods stores and online. Many Catholic organizations offer free emails every day to you. They are sent out daily at no cost. I especially like Dynamic Catholic which includes a link each day to a short video to watch. It is called “A Best Advent Ever” and can be found at BEST ADVENT .
An advent wreath is a great devotional to have in a home. It consists of an evergreen wreath and four upright candles. Four of the candles are purple (the liturgical color of advent) and one is pink or rose (the liturgical color of Gaudate Sunday the 3rd Sunday of Advent). One candle is lit for each of the four Sundays of Advent. There are prayer books to accompany the wreath (check online). This gives a great experience of waiting.
A Jesse Tree is also a great devotional for advent. We used to make one every year. All you need to do is to find a fallen branch with several branches on it and no leaves. You put it in a pot of dirt to hold it upright. You can Google “Jesse tree cutouts” and get free cutouts that you can print and cut out and color and hang on the tree. The idea is that you learn about the ancestors in the line of Jesus. This is a great way for children to learn about some of the famous Old Testament characters.
Last but not least, you need to try to find time within the busyness of the Season for some quiet. This is an especially great time of year for Penance and Reconciliation.   Go to Confession.  Take some extra time alone to pray.   God comes to us when we find a place of stillness.  He comes to us when we seek Him and YEARN for Him.  Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus.

A Veteran’s Day Reflection – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Church, Death and Dying, Godly Patriotism, Holy Orders, Prayer, Relationships, Trust

Even though we, as Catholics, are called to seek peace in all things, I believe it is important for us to reflect and celebrate our Veterans. We must thank them for their service and thank them for the freedom that we, and so many other people in the world, enjoy. Many of our soldiers are good Christians who often have been called to die for others. Jesus says that there is no greater gift than that. If you search our listing of Catholic Saints, over five hundred of them were soldiers, including the Peace loving St. Francis of Assisi.
Veteran’s Day, November 11th, was first known as Armistice Day because it remembered the Day that WWI ended and it remembered all the soldiers who gave so much in that war. In 1954 the name was changed to Veteran’s Day so that it would remember all the soldiers of all the wars. War is an absolutely terrible thing, but unfortunately it happens too often. With all of the evil in the world, there must be some people who will fight to keep freedom going. We in the United States of America should be very proud of our veterans and all that they have accomplished. We should pray for them. In honor of Veteran’s Day I would like to share with you a poem that tugs on my heart. I am a Vietnam Era veteran (though I was never in combat, just support) and this poem is written by a Vietnam veteran who was involved in heavy fighting. He is now a Catholic Priest and is pastor of a parish adjacent to mine.
Msgr. Charles Fink went in to the U.S. Army right after college and after training was sent to Vietnam where he was a rifleman and often a point man (most dangerous position). He was in Vietnam for one year and saw a considerable amount of battle. He lost many of his fellow infantrymen. He himself was wounded. His time in Vietnam helped him discern his calling to the Priesthood. He went in to the seminary after Vietnam and after being there for a while a nun came to talk. She talked about the Vietnam War and said things about soldiers in the war that Fr. Fink found upsetting. He said that she said things that were simply untrue and basically reflected what much in society thought at the time. He was so angered by her talk and her untruths that he went up to his room and wrote a poem entitled, “Bury me with soldiers”. In honor of all veterans from all the wars, I want to share that poem with you (permission given to me by Msgr. Fink).

BURY ME WITH SOLDIERS

I’ve played a lot of roles in life;
I’ve met a lot of men.
I’ve done some things I’d like to think
I wouldn’t do again

And though I’m young, I’m old enough
To know someday I’ll die.
And think about what lies beyond, And
Besides whom I would lie.

Perhaps it doesn’t matter much;
Still if I had my choice,
I’d want a grave amongst soldiers when
At last death quells my voice

I’m sick of the hypocrisy
Of lectures by the wise
I’ll take the man with all his flaws
Who goes, though scared, and dies.

The troops I know were commonplace;
They didn’t want the war
They fought because their fathers and
Their father’s fathers had before.

They cursed and killed and wept –
God knows they’re easy to deride –
But bury me with men like these;
They faced the guns and died.

It’s funny when you think of it,
The way we got along.
We’d come from different worlds
To live in one, where no one belongs

I didn’t even like them all and,
I’m sure they’d all agree.
Yet, I would give my life for them,
I hope. Some would for me.

So bury me with soldiers, please
Though much maligned they be
Yes, bury me with soldiers, for
I miss their company.

We will not soon see their like again
We’ve had our fill of war.
But, bury me with men like them
Till someone else does more!                                                       ©Copyright by Rev. Charles R. Fink

Please remember to thank our Veterans for their service and pray for them. So many veterans today suffer so much from what they have experienced. They need our love and our prayers.

Embracing Death: The Ultimate Act of Faith and Trust – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Death and Dying, Family, Prayer, Relationships

Death is something that all of us must face some day. It is not an option. It is something that we all have in common, no matter what our station is in life. In my 38 years of diaconal ministry I have ministered to many who are close to death. Some people are fearful of death and try to avoid it no matter what the cost. Others seem to welcome it and even embrace it. I hope that when my time comes, I too will be able to welcome it and embrace it. It seems that when we have lived a life of faith and especially of trust in Jesus, we naturally can welcome and embrace death for it is our ultimate act of faith and trust.
A couple of weeks ago a close friend of mine called me and told me that one of his very good friends, Peter (not his real name) was near death. My friend told me of how close he was to Peter and how this man had helped him in his faith journey and even in meeting his wife. Now Peter was dying from cancer and had some questions about the death process. My friend asked me to come with him to visit Peter and hopefully answer his questions. I, of course, said yes and went with him that day. When I went to this dying man’s home, I was greeted by his wife and grown children. They were there to support him. As soon as I went in to Peter’s room, I could tell that he was weak and probably would die fairly soon. The cancer had taken all of the strength out of him, but his mind functioned very well. The first thing that we did was to pray for a moment. He then asked me how long this process of dying would take and what to expect. I had the sense that he had hoped the time would be short, but that he was also unsure of the process of dying.
Now I knew from my friend that Peter was a man of faith. He was a good Catholic that had attended things like Christian Awakening weekends and Charismatic prayer meetings. My friend told me that Peter had invited him to a Christian Awakening weekend many years ago and it was at that weekend that my friend met his future wife and also met Jesus in a new and real way. That weekend was instrumental in making my friend in to the good Catholic man that he is today, thanks to the Peter’s invitation. Peter’s faith had carried him through many difficulties in life. Now, his faith and trust in Jesus had to carry him through the death process.
Since Peter’s first question was how long it would take for him to die, I answered him by telling him that none of us can really know. Doctors can give estimates during fatal illnesses, but these are at best only an estimate. I told him that the timing was in God’s hands, BUT, in my many years of ministering to the dying, I found that those who had told their families and had told God that they were ready to die seemed to die quickly. This man seemed very happy to hear that. I then went through with him our Catholic teaching on death and what awaits us (for further information see my previous article by clicking the link below). The dying man seemed to find peace in what I said. I then told him that if he were ready to die, he should first tell his family members who gathered around him and then tell God that he was ready. Peter put a small smile on his face. We then all prayed together around him, including a Hail Mary. I told him that I would stop by again in two days.
The next day my friend called me to tell me that his friend had died, in peace. I truly believe that he had made peace with his family and had told God that he was ready. I know in my heart that this man had accepted, and even embraced and welcomed death. His struggles with cancer were now over and he was in the arms of God’s love and mercy. Death is hard on those who are left behind. My friend is a really great man and strong in his faith but I knew that this death was hard on him. I do see how God helped my friend in this. The day that Peter died, my friend was out on a long bicycle trip with another friend that we have in common. Because both of them have difficult schedules, this day trip was planned about two months before. My friend received the call of Peter’s death in the middle of the bicycle trip. Fortunately our other friend was with him and this helped tremendously. He too is a man of faith and a good Catholic. The beauty of the weather and their journey through a park and along the ocean brought comfort to my friend. Plus he had a good friend, a man of God with him. God put all of this together.
My friend was asked to do the eulogy and was a little nervous about it. He took a day to work on it and the next day I called him and asked him out to breakfast. I knew that his wife was away on retreat that weekend and that he was all alone. We had a great breakfast and talked a lot about the deceased. I then went with him over to his house to listen to the eulogy that he had written. He did a great job on the eulogy and was thankful to me for spending the time with him that day. It helped bring him strength and comfort. My friend knew the power of God working through the friends that he had. It truly helped him with this difficult time and made him strong enough to deliver a great eulogy.
Death is difficult on all who go through it. However faith in our Lord and the ability to trust in him (I love the Divine Mercy picture of Jesus that tell us JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU) can bring us true freedom where we can accept and embrace and welcome death when it is our time. It also gives us the ability to deal with loss when a loved one dies. God is so good. He is the God of LIFE and peace and comfort and strength.

For a previous article on death and dying see:   http://deaconmarty.com/lord-of-the-dead-by-deacon-marty-mcindoe/