Our Vocation

A relative of mine passed away this week and today was the schedule for his funeral. The mass this morning was particularly moving given the priest's sermon and moreso, because of the speech of my cousin's eldest son.

Why do most people cry when someone dies? Do we grieve for the dead or do we grieve more for our loss?

The priest, in this morning's mass, reminded us that when someone dies, we are reminded, that we, too, one day shall go. It is a certainty. A death of a loved one, then, is a perfect time to reflect on how we live our lives. It is an appropriate occasion too to live our faith - to believe that with God, all things will turn out for the good, even if, in our grief, some of our questions remain unanswered.

The most important message I got though from the priest's sermon this morning was his reminder to us of what our vocation is in life. It is to love. For it is only in loving, that we live life fully. Full enough for our loved ones to remember us by, long after we have gone.

[Note from Manuel: Some relatives were trying to remember what the priest said about something written on a tombstone. Here it is--

To he who passes by, as you are, so once was I;
As I am, thou shalt be,
So prepare thyself to follow me.

(Then the priest added that someone scribbled the following in chalk)

To follow thee is not my intent,
unless I know which way thou went.

[Found the above courtesy of http://members.tripod.com/~MizBee/Epitaphs.htm]