Carmel and death

We buried my good friend Richard yesterday.  I had known him for more than thirty years but I did not realise how very fond I was of him until he left us.  I found myself thinking – how does Carmel help us to cope with death and bereavement?  There are many ways of answering this question, but I recall reading somewhere that as Catholics and Carmelites we have already died in this life because we have pledged to go beyond the ties which bind us to this earth.  We have declared ourselves exiles in the world just as the Israelites were exiles in Egypt and in Babylon.  As the Psalmist says, ‘By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion’.  On another tack, when we lose a human relationship we always have something more: our relationship with God. As Carmelites we can focus day by day on cherishing and deepening that unique relationship, and this helps to fill the voids left by the departures of loved ones.         

Intercessions:

Cancer: Brian Davis, Bernard (and wife Angela caring for him), Jacqui, Theresa K, Fr Jon B, Catherine,

Illness: Roy Seymour, Catherine Keeling

Siena, Elara – sick children

David OCDS – housebound

Sophia – blind infant

Grace – troubling ailments, job difficulties, family (deceased mother and health of father)

Lucia – Overwhelmed by weariness

Mark – brain infection

Defence of the unborn and the elderly

RIP Richard Parker, Martin Gilham, Sue Burton, Wojtek, Joy Smith OCDS