Dear Parishioners,

Thank you so much for all your prayers and well wishes which you offered me and my family after the passing of our mother, Helene, on September, 24th. She was eleven days short of her 95th birthday. And so, begins a new normal for me and my siblings. As it is for grief and loss, each of us deal with it in a unique way. One good thing is that we are pretty healthy about sharing amongst ourselves and others about how we are doing, sharing stories and feelings. A second good thing is grieving itself. Yes. I did mean to write that grieving can be a good thing. Am I nuts? Well, possibly, but not about this. Let me explain.

Now, nobody invites grief and sadness into their lives, but when it does come, instead of perceiving it as the worst of suffering, I would like to offer that it is an opportunity to be stretched by our Lord, to grow in our compassion, and to become more the people we are being called to be. Yes, suffering is difficult, but through suffering comes great consolation and joy! When someone represses suffering due to the loss of a loved one, it blocks our healing and will likely come out in ways that are destructive and even more painful. We Catholics understand, because of Jesus’ example, that the only way to resurrection is through suffering and death, particularly dying to ourselves. But more potently, our own eventual passing from this life with faith in our Savior brings a confident hope in eternal life in heaven. And so, we all need to say goodbye to people we love, and the closer they are, the more painful it is. But, let us take comfort in the knowledge that every loss, every pain, every moment of suffering offers us the promise of heaven.

May we allow the grace of God to transform each of the griefs we experience into a joy beyond understanding!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor