The Henri Houwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with Father Henri J. M. Nouwen DAILY MEDITATION "Remembering the Dead" for Friday, 26 August 2016

Photo courtesy of SDGimagery.comThe Henri Houwen Society in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with Father Henri J. M. Nouwen DAILY MEDITATION "Remembering the Dead" for Friday, 26 August 2016
When we lose a dear friend, someone we have loved deeply, we are left with a grief that can paralyse us emotionally for a long time. People we love become part of us. Our thinking, feeling and acting are codetermined by them: Our fathers, our mothers, our husbands, our wives, our lovers, our children, our friends ... they are all living in our hearts. When they die a part of us has to die too. That is what grief is about: It is that slow and painful departure of someone who has become an intimate part of us. When Christmas, the new year, a birthday or anniversary comes, we feel deeply the absence of our beloved companion. We sometimes have to live at least a whole year before our hearts have fully said good-bye and the pain of our grief recedes. But as we let go of them they become part of our "members" and as we "re-member" them, they become our guides on our spiritual journey.

For further reflection...I thank my God every time I remember you.[Philippians 1:3 (NIV)]
Your response...How do you remember or commemorate loved ones who have died? 
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Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, ©1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible ©1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.
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